YOU AND YOUR FUTURE IN DIGITAL PUBLISHING
by Gordon Burgett
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If
you're a "small publisher" like me, or will become one, we're in the
same pickle. We produce the kind of product that we grew up with—ink-on-paper
bound books. But we can't not see that traditional structure
around us tumbling down: larger publishers closing their doors,
newspapers and magazines disappearing, shipping slowing down and costing more,
libraries and schools buying less, fewer reviews in fewer publications,
distributors squeezing harder and selling less, and so on...
It's
not all bad. It is easier, faster, and over-all less costly to print books now,
mostly because of computers and that we can produce affordably smaller runs.
And if our books are niche-sold, we can control our near-term destiny by
pre-testing to see if our book will sell before we even write and publish. But if
our books are general (mostly bookstore sold, with some library sales) or are
for children, our fate is less controllable. And then there are all those
digital products threatening to turn it all upside down!
Is
digital publishing the salvation? I was eager to read the 148-page first-rate report
by Steve Paxhia and Bill Tripp called "Digital Platforms and Technologies for Publishers:
Implementation Beyond 'eBook'" sponsored by
Follett Digital Resources (serving the educational field).
I'm
going to share the key points the report made that directly affect us right
now. That will make this newsletter longer than I'm told you will read, but
I'll take my chances. The last paragraphs are the report's main conclusions, if
you can't wait.
Some
quick notes first. Consider each section self-contained and to be reflected
upon by itself. And know that the writing style jumps around a lot, since I
pluck the key words from different authors giving different lessons. Still,
they have a lot to say...
The
authors and I had very different concerns. They talked about digital books and
technology, workflow implications, editorial and business models, channel
relationships, partners, and the role of search engines They were sharing best
practices and lessons learned from the megahouses
(like McGraw-Hill and Random House) and mostly talking about content
development processes and the larger firms using it (or hiring other firms to
implement it). Important stuff but fat chance that much of it will
intentionally find its way to my two-man publishing stand!
My
questions were: (1) since my books
have a digital core but are mostly sold on bound paper, how can
I use basic manuscript information digitally (as is or restructured) so I can
sell (and sell again) its unique concepts (and artwork) more widely and for
greater profit? (2) where are digital products (now spin-offs) going in the near future, how can I
get aboard, and when will it be profitable? (3) what new digital skills must I learn?,
and (4) what new mindset is required
to jump from print to digital? In reading what the industry
leaders are sharing with each other, I feel like a guerilla fighter reading
future battle plans while I'm sneaking a peek behind the lines. We are using
different weapons. They have digital cannons; I have a 22. What can I learn
from them?
And
what can I share with you in summary form that I'd like to know if someone else
had a chance to read those battle plans? Here it is.
u Digital
publishing is suddenly coming of age after a very disappointing start. Digital
sales percentages were about 10% of the total book sales in 2008.
u All
the writers saw its future as moderately to alarmingly positive. It won't replace
ink-on-paper publishing, but it's where most of the substantive increases in
the industry will take place. You can't ignore it either. Your future readers
are Internet babies, digitally-trained.
u The
digital market will accelerate about as quickly as the reading platforms (the
dedicated devices like Kindle and the Sony Reader and the mobile devices like
the iPhone, iPod, and the
Blackberry) are accepted and improved.
u The
number of titles in digital form will also substantially increase once the
Google settlement has finally been approved by the courts.
u A parallel advance has particularly improved the
small publisher's flexibility in reaching tight niche markets quickly and
inexpensively in print. The two changes that have revolutionized publishing in
general are print-on-demand
and short-run printing.
u David Taylor from Lightning Source provided a
good set of definitions. "POD means that a book is sold before it is
manufactured and that each copy is manufactured especially for a specific
customer. Short-term printing involves using new, more efficient processes and
printing technology to economically produce a smaller number of copies than
would have been possible with traditional long-run printing processes."
u Small publishers need to fully understand POD.
Since POD copies cost more per unit than offset printing, it only makes sense
to consider going there when you want to print less than 1,000 or so copies. (The key advantages of POD? Less money spent for smaller
runs, less shipping, and reduced inventory obsolescence.) At Lightning Source,
their Espresso machine can print 100 pages a minute at the cost of a penny per
page.
u How will PODs
particularly help us? Rather than bulk printing again, the one-time copies will
keep a book alive longer at the end of its normal lifecycle. In fact, now many
more books are simply starting out as PODs,
particularly to very limited audiences. It also lets us escape the warehousing
and physical distribution business—and invest that money elsewhere. It will
also let customers select and print out key selections from their eBooks. What I like best, its digital asset management
capacity will give us full digital capacity without having to create the
infrastructure. For example, it will make our printed books, eBooks, excerpts, even our widgets, instantly usable on mobile
phones.
u The
lower costs of digital products (and their downloadable immediacy without
shipping) will increase their buyability (and still
make profits and reasonable royalties possible).
u The
biggest benefit of digital publishing is its ability to keep its
viewers/readers informed at the very moment that change occurs. Not only, for
example, can the medical field learn of life-changing procedure or research as
it is reported in real time, they will be able to see both the history and the
projected future of that subject in text or three-dimensional, active video,
all at one sitting.
u By
extension, digital components to a printed base can keep the "locked"
text alive by directing the reader to credible and appropriate websites and
news sources.
u Consider
the flip: the book first appears digitally, is expanded as needed by add-ons in
multiple media, is kept current by links—and, when the reader wants, is
"frozen" by that reader at a chosen moment, with that configuration
reproduced and downloaded or mailed by print-on-demand.
u Our
biggest challenge is "tapping into the many competent and sophisticated
channel partners to help us distribute new and mature products to consumers and
institutions worldwide."
u The
term "cross-media strategies" was used repeatedly throughout the
report. No longer are the publishers bound to the words and static
illustrations or charts initially captured on paper. Digital formats combine the
immediacy of word definition linkage, color, sound, conversation between the
reader and writer, cross-text references (with the other media also involved),
and reader response (like opinion surveys, with to-the-second tallies).
u Cross
media usually refers to where print is linked to digital to reach the widest
possible audience of readers. Whether the content uses XML and a content repository
or is pieced together on the fly, print delivery will be composed on the press
as we know it, print-on-demand, or self-printed while digital delivery can
occur via email, RSS feeds, podcasts, DVDs, and so
on. The future sees much of the same base content being provided by more
appropriate means. Rosenblatt's example of a higher education product has the
customized narrative content delivered as a printed book, problem-solving help
and sophisticated solutions coming through a computer, and iPhones
used to ask for help or to take sample tests.
u How
might we publish our work once we have digital in place? As interactive
hardcover, trade paperback, or mass market paperbacks; audio; electronic;
digital; eBooks, websites; video; real-time updates,
video interviews with authors, in large-print format, ...
u Concerning
portability, the report suggests that each of the various reading devices seem
to work best with different formats: long-form reading and novels are best on
Kindle, mobile devices work best for short selections of books or short-form
content, and computers work best for educational content (so students can carry
all their textbooks on their laptop).
u It's
easy enough to convert a Microsoft manuscript into an attractive digital book
cheaply and quickly that costs very little to manufacture and distribute.
Prices will drop (and more items will be bought) when the distribution and
royalty models are changed. They say to look at licensing and subscription
models for even more cost savings.
u Will
copyright on all of these new platforms be a problem? Just remember the key
points: Buyers can't copy and distribute information found in a book, but they
do acquire a perpetual license to use the book and then sell it to another
reader. That doesn't change on the formats. Incidentally, used book sales have
almost no effect on other publishing sales except in higher education, where
they can cause an increase in the cost of new books.
u One
theme appears repeatedly in the report that we small publishers must embrace.
Says Brook, "develop a product roadmap before
specifying individual product offerings." Or mindmap
your book idea before you dig into the research. (I'm
going to write an eBook about this in the coming
months. It's simply too exciting a concept not to fully explore.) Richard Ferrie says it again, "think
through and plan a new product for multi-channel development," and he
adds, "while keeping the traditional book people in the lead." I
read: if we are print publishers, don't throw that away in some digital mania.
Build out from what works—but plan all the formats before anything else.
u The
new paradigm in publishing is taking place way above us. It is defined in the
report as WCM (web content management), DAM (digital asset management), XML,
and PFD (which in small publishing we now mostly use for print workflow, print
on demand, and digital distribution, including eBooks).
The technology is strategically important for the bigger houses; it allows them
to get control over their digital strategies and assets.
u XML
provides a way to develop multiple products from a single content base. How
does that reach the small publisher, and is it ever going to be applicable to
us? In the meantime, how does the unique content of the small house products
get protected and acceptably absorbed by larger firms for mutual benefit?
u Some
business models discussed in the report: (1) outright sale of a digital
product. Buyers starting to expect to pay less for digital content products;
(2) hybrid print and digital (at Amazon now, digital costs less, about $10—they
see this flipping, with book (POD) offered at cost, $5-10, (3) subscription.
They see popular nonfiction books will offer enhanced services, readers become
subscribers to continual updates, newsletters, communities..., (4) modules, see
Cengage's iChapters, where
breakeven is at 8-10 iChapters; chapters could be
worth $1 sold individually to hundreds each for content license; (5) licenses
(institutional), courses priced per student enrolled, would cover upgrades and
updates—would let user make liberal modifications to customize the contents;
(6) individual licenses, sold by the publisher to the person or through bookstores
or e-tailers; (7) sponsored or ad sponsored—GoogleBookSearch offers 30% to the publisher of web ad
revenue, where ads appear in book, ad inserts, sponsored websites, or update
services linked to book, and (8) free. Here, it's promotional; authors give
books to show their expertise, thus sell consulting or speaking (see Free: The Future of a
Radical Price by Chris Anderson.)
u In
education, Ferrie sees "lower-cost,
higher-function handheld devices could become a game changer." That would
replace the bag of books, but it would only happen "where all students,
even the neediest, could be provided with such devises, perhaps through state
or federal funding." He sees it starting in the upper grades and working
down, with different devices at different levels.
u Pay
attention to iChapters and eChapters,
which allows price conscious students to buy parts of eBooks.
Ken Brooks sees more digital products in higher education, more modularity, and
more learning products developed from scratch by a new generation of
web-centric authors to take full advantage of digital platforms. Some students
will still want print products (likely customized by their instructors), and
they will combine personal computers, dedicated readers, and mobile devices. Audio
and video will be part of the mix. Why limit our minds to higher education
here?
u In
the same vein, if your publication is used by students or teachers, investigate
how your digital editions can be sold by chapters or sections, and how the bookstore
can be compensated for its role in aggregating adoption information and
transmitting to you and to the students. Consider selling licenses directly to
students. Or how the college store might merchandize optional
study materials, perhaps by producing customized printed materials via
print-on-demand.
u If
you publish books that educators might consider for class adoption, replace the
old "free printed copy" with a "free digital download copy"
ASAP. And link the cover letter, at least, to ancillary components at the
support website. (We've done it for the past year and it's worked great. Just
gently remind the instructors of the copyright restrictions.)
u You
don't want the confusion, risk, or hassle of publishing at all? Rather, just
speak or create other products instead? Then check lulu.com, where they will print your book or photo creation
plus provide some solid social networking. You get total control (sort of,
within Lulu's formats), and 80% of the revenue (after book costs are paid). It
has a solid on-line sales and distribution structure. If you're not going to do
your own book, for lots of your needs Lulu is quicker, cheaper, less risky, and
more efficient than standard publishing. The biggest feather?
Regular publishers are using Lulu to keep a book alive after the regular print
copies run out. (An alternative: POD backlist copies.)
u Only
now! If your reader wants your words in daily 5-minute-or-less installments
(like learning a different language, business guides, or test prep), see
DailyLit.com or look at the 50 free Wikipedia tours.
Works best on mobile devices (or email or RSS feeds): "quick-read"
installments. A thousand titles already.
u Jim
Lichtenberg (Lightspeed) captures the publishing
future best when he sees it heading towards a service model. The model we have
known is uni-directional. The customer could only buy
a specific product at a set price—printed words on a page. Then came digital:
multi-directional. Here, the author and publisher can expand into a range of
products, and plan it all in advance, including a direct relationship with the
customers at each step, particularly in what is needed, how, and in which
order. Each component of the product has its own manufacturing and distribution
model, plus its own channel (selling) strategy—the order can be fulfilled by
the publisher, distributor, retailer, or e-tailer.
The author's personal voice can be added to the boo k through blogs, podcasts, and reader
communities. Lichtenberg says "that listening to readers, not just
bookstores, is the first key to transitioning to a service mentality. This
allows publishers to concentrate on their core competency of developing
outstanding content rather than designing beautiful books."
u I
like the SharedBook's idea of letting readers dip
into a digital pot of content and artwork and add their own comments to create
their own book, be seen on the web, downloaded as .pdfs,
or just printed out. I see a dozen applications but you'll have to check their
website to see if it would work for you, if it will justify its cost, and if
you could affordably sell the result in volume.
u One
Gilbane conclusion says that "publishers must
remember that their mission is not to create books, per se, but instead to
develop content products that satisfy the needs of their customers. Print
publishing will continue to be a vital business." Whew.
u I've
left out about half of the material concerning textbook publishers—not many
survivors there are "small publishers." If that's your field, Follett
wants to know you anyway. Ask for this report because much of it addresses your
needs and your future. The most compelling arguments sit in the digital
textbook area.
u Many
publishers now offer a "digital" version of their book that is
usually nothing more than the same text slightly modified, saved in .pdf, and downloaded. Gilbane says
they "need to find ways to make digital editions richer than printed
books." With fiction, for example, "perhaps audio with authors
reading selected passages, or video clips could be added."
u It's
a huge pain to sell bound books one at a time; it's more profitable (though
hardly painless) to work through distributors and retailers. But it's
infinitely easier to directly sell digital books individually. There is no
warehousing and since they can be immediately downloaded, there are no costs of
shipping and handling either. The problem is getting buyers to buy digital and
to be aware that the digital editions even exist.
u "All
content is now digital" says Ingram Digital's
Frank Daniels III. Check Ingram's Lightning Source for quick and reliable
transition to the digital world. I have used them for years to produce
print-on-demand large print spin-offs and to make our digital book copies more
widely available. Their conversion process from .pdf
is very easy to use, but their website software to get there is a groaner.
u "Until
recently, the sales of eBooks have been extremely
disappointing, mostly because of the lack of a suitable platform, weak
publisher commitment, minimal consumer demand, and affection for (ink-on-paper)
books. But that has changed in 2008 over 2007, with a growth of 68%.
u Why
are eBooks growing now? Readers like the new eBook platforms: Kindle, Sony Reader, and Apple's iPhone and iPod. Plus, the increased availability of titles for each of these
platforms.
u There
is a need for new products that aren't simply repurposed print items. In short,
a digital-first publishing strategy, rather than looking at markets through the
primary lens of a book. Fortunately, digital production costs are low. But
strongly consider as you create your digital-first plan that you seek (or even
develop) websites that serve those who have interests and topics similar to the
kinds of products you want to publish so you can identify and address them in
your products. Your shift must come from not looking at digital products as
derivative items delivered on gadgets, rather to publishing on the coming
readers' favorite media platforms—including the traditional book.
u With
the Internet, people's reading habits worldwide have changed. They actually
read more, but less in traditional media, like books. The
difference? Digital platforms. They are reading
topics that are more personal than general, and spending less time to do it.
u We
aren't responsible for preserving printed books as the dominant media format,
rather to serve readers by providing them with compelling content that is entertaining
and/or informative. We should offer content on as many popular formats as are
practical and profitable.
u It
is much more efficient to plan the full suite of intended products at the beginning
of the authoring and publishing process instead of retrofitting them after a
book is published. Every platform has unique characteristics that should be
considered during the product planning process. The best content products are
those optimized for each media platform.
u Pay
particular attention to what Lulu.com and Safari Online are doing, with their
authoring and publishing platforms that are in line with the current Media 2.0
principles. See how that fits into what you are planning to do in the next few
years.
u Answer
a simple question with a book, then let the reader digitally roam (with your
help) on an interest-piqued quest. That's one way to begin a suite of
"living book" products plus build a reader-led following from which
you can build your empire.
u Consider
making the digital form (with full multimedia richness) your lead product, with
a print-on-demand book available on request. Few upfront costs, no expensive
print runs, and you can expand as interest dictates.
u "The
biggest challenge is to change the planning processes from being book focused
to being customer focused. By thinking about how customers can benefit from content
delivered in various media formats, publishers will be well positioned to
benefit from customer preferences and reading behaviors to garner a greater
share of the expanding reading marketplace."
____________________________
A short bio: I have offered 2000+ paid
speaking presentations (and been a member of NSA since 1982) as well as been a
publisher (of 120 books and related products). I’ve written 36 published books and
1700+ articles in print, and I offer a free, monthly newsletter directed to writers,
speakers, publishers, and product developers (subscribe at www.gordonburgett.com/free-reports).
Here are links to several of my current publishing and
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Niche
Publishing
For more product
information, please see the links before each item’s price.
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Niche Publishing (2nd
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Expanding
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Case Study: A New, Profitable Publishing Imprint (2009, with workbook and text summary sheet) |
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Audio
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How to
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Set
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How to Set Up and Market Your Own Seminar (2nd ed, 2009, with workbook and text
summary sheet) |
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The following
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Or,
if desired, purchased individually as digital reports below.
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Lifelong Wealth by Being Indispensable |
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101 Niche Marketing Topics |
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Finding Topics That Make Your Articles
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