First there was print, where all we needed was the written word. Then blogs, where writers learned to become publishers, photographers and marketers. Now there’s the new iPad from Apple, where publishers are salivating over a new way to imbed video into their products.

Think about it. Will assignments from magazines soon include video? If so, it’s exciting for readers to see as part of an article or recipe, for example, exactly what stiff peaks mean when whipping egg whites, or how to sear a steak. Yes, we’ve got those videos on the Internet now, but so far they haven’t been part of our freelance writing assignments or book deals.

While it’s clear that the iPad is a cool new development, it doesn’t necessarily bode well for publishers or authors compared to print. According to the New York Times, royalties will initially be less. And “Publishers acknowledge that digital content should be priced lower than the print content,” said Carolyn Reidy, chief executive of Simon & Schuster.

Oh joy. Yet another digital medium where we can be paid less to do more.

My three questions for you are: Do you think publishers will pay us to produce video, or will it be a separate discipline, like photography? Are we writers willing to learn this skill? (For those of you already producing video, you’re ahead of the curve.) And, am I just being a crab about this cool new medium?

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