e-books

Useful Stats:Trends in E-Reading

Two separate reports from InfoTrends and the Association of American Publishers indicate that people are quickly adapting to new ways of reading.  Although the market for reading books and publications on screen is still small, it’s expected to grow rapidly as better devices and content continue to be introduced.

Paying attention to trends in e-reading and e-book-publishing can help you determine whether it makes more sense for you to self-publish and promote your own works or continue to seek a traditional publisher for your work.

InfoTrends E-Media Report

InfoTrends recently captured survey responses from 700 users of e-reading devices, including dedicated devices (such as the Kindle and Nook) and multi-purposes devices such as iPads, laptops, notebooks, and smartphones. The results from this survey suggest that e-reading is here to stay and poised for growth. InfoTrends analysts believe that within five years, one-third to one-half of all readers will be using electronic devices.

According to the study, the amount each survey participant spends on e-media is growing at 4.3% a year among those who use dedicated e-readers and 6.9% among those who use multi-purpose devices.

The report was conducted to help technology providers and publishers understand some of challenges and opportunities related to e-media hardware and content. For example, while there will be an expanding base of customers for companies that want to publish electronically, one of the challenges will be to determine which formats will most likely to be favored by the largest groups of readers.

Data and analysis in the report can help publishers understand how the rise of e-media will affect the purchase of hard-copy publications, what types of media are read most frequently on e-readers, the perceived shortcomings of the e-reading devices, and plans for new purchases of e-readers and multi-purpose devices.

Press Release: Reading E-Media: The End-User Perspective

Association of American Publishers

In the February 2011 sales report issued by The Association of American Publishers (AAP), e-books ranked as the number-one format among all categories of trade publishing (adult hardcover, adult paperback, adult mass market, children’s/young adult hardcover, children’s/young adult paperback).

Sales of e-books in February 2011 were $90.3 million, which is 202% higher than in Febuary 2010. The association attributes this surge primarily to a high level of buying by consumers who had received e-readers as gifts. Other factors contributing to the growth include the expanded selection of e-readers introduced for the holidays and the availability of more titles as e-books.

Some publishers who contributed to the study said e-books are generating fresh consumer interest in “backlist” titles (e.g. books that have been in print for at least a year).  Many publishers noted that e-book readers who enjoy a newly released book will frequently buy an author’s full backlist.

According to Tom Allen, president and CEO of AAP, “The February results reflect two core facts: People love books and publishers actively serve readers wherever they are. The public is embracing the breadth and variety of reading choices available to them. They have made e-books permanent additions to their lifestyle while maintaining interest in print-format books.”

The AAP monthly sales data represents data provided by 84 U.S. publishing houses representing major commercial, education, professional, scholarly, and independents. Data on e-books comes from 16 houses.

For the months of January and February, 2011, the sales of print books fell to $441.7 million, down 24.8% from the amount of print books sold in January and February, 2010. By comparison, the sale of e-books for January and February 2011 totaled $164.1 million, up 169% over the same two-month period in 2010.

Press Release:  E-Books Ranks as No. 1 Format Among All Trade Categories for February 2011

Museum of Modern Art Offers MoMA Books App for iPad

Although art lovers will continue to treasure beautifully printed art books, expect to see more museums make some titles available as e-books.

For example, with the new MoMA Books application from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Apple iPad users can purchase, download, and read MoMA e-books, including favorite backlist titles that are no longer available in print. The MoMA Books App also provides convenient access to exhibition catalogues, scholarly texts on key works and artists in collection, and anthologies of important art-historical texts from around the world. In other words, the e-books provide a way to disseminate a lot more knowledge about the works in the museum’s collections.

Screen shot of MoMA Book App
The first five e-books on the digital shelf feature works by French photographer Eugene Atget, the French artist Odilon Redon, noteworthy Chinese artists, and modern and contemporary women artists. You can also explore key works from MoMA’s architecture and design collection.

With the digital bookshelf in the MoMA Books App, you can preview free sample sections of each book’s contents and purchase books through your Apple ID and account. Once you download an e-book to the MoMA’s App’s Library, you can enjoy an enriched reading experience directly within the App.

MoMA e-books preserve the original design and layout of the print book while enabling you to zoom in on superb, high-resolution reproductions of artwork for close study of details.

You can also bookmark favorite pages for future reference. As more MoMA e-books become available, the App will automatically prompt you to update their browsing shelf to show new titles.

If you want to explore collection works, check the exhibition schedule, or purchase admission tickets, the MoMA Books App lets you link directly to MoMA.org. Recent MoMA books that are not yet available as e-books can be purchased through a direct link to MoMAStore.org.

The MoMA Books App is available as a free download from the App Store.

If you don’t have an iPad, you can purchase and download MoMA e-books to your personal computer through the MoMA Store.

 

Self-Publishers Can Use iBuildApp.com to Produce iPad Publications

iBuildApp ScreenShot of iPad AppsIf you would like to produce your own iPad magazine, catalog, or book app, check out the free iPad Publishing solution announced by Silicon Valley-based start-up iBuildApp.com. The company  has created templates that make it much less complicated for authors and other non-coders to format and publish content to mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

The solution was designed to deliver a good experience for the reader. “We believe that a digital magazine or newspaper should feel like a media app, not like a magazine reader,” said Rafael Soultanov, of iBuildApp.com “When someone swipes from page to page they can choose different stories to read. Images are vivid, and video is optimized. If a reader wants to comment or share what they’re reading, they just tap a button.”

The fully functional publishing app takes about 2 to 3 hours to create and publish content. Just copy/paste content into the pre-made templates for the iPad for free. With the templates, self-publishers can focus on their content and leave the formatting, publishing and distribution to iBuildApp.

The company plans to integrate the iBuildApp iPad solution with other CMS platforms such as WordPress, Drupal and Joomla. It will simply require snippets of code from iBuildApp to be inserted into the CMS code.

Unlike other services, iBuildApp Self-Publishing Solution provides authors with a free online editor, free formatting and design templates, and integrated publishing for iPad and Web.

Founded in 2010, iBuildApp is headquartered in Foster City, California. Their goal is to make it easy and affordable for businesses of all sizes to build and manage mobile apps.

iBuildApp’s first product was a do-it-yourself platform for making iPhone/Android apps without knowledge of coding. As of the end of March, the iBuildApp solution had been used to produce about 2,000 of the iPhone apps available on iTunes.

LINKS

 iBuildApp.com iPad Self-Publishing Solution

 About iBuildApp.com

MindStir Media Can Set You Up with a Virtual Book Tour

MindStir Media LogoWRITERS. If you’re not sure you have all of the skills needed to publish and promote a book, check out the wide range of services offered by MindStir Media. This self-publishing/book marketing company is quickly becoming a one-stop shop for all of the support services that a self-publishing author might need, including:

  • Ghost writing
  • Copy editing
  • Cover design
  • ISBN assignment
  • Copyright registration
  • On-demand printing
  • Ebook and Audiobook conversions
  • Distribution to major booksellers
  • Press release development and distribution
  • Website design
  • Online advertising assistance
  • Virtual book tours

The company even offers book-signing kits that contain 500 bookmarks, 500 postcards, 500 business cards, and 25 posters.

MindStir services can be purchased separately (a la carte) or in packages.

The company’s newest service is a Convenience Book Tour, in which MindStir will set up a month-long online/virtual promotional book tour for you. They will help you get exposure your book on 20 high-traffic blogs, including some that are syndicated into USA Today, Chicago Times, or the Wall Street Journal. While MediaStir handles all of the “bookings” for your promotional tour, you will write guest blog posts, take part in author interviews, and/or receive book reviews by bloggers.  You don’t even have to leave your home.

The book tour service includes:

  • a personalized tour page with your tour schedule, book cover, book cover, and ordering information.
  • a personalized tour banner graphic for your tour page, website, or blog.
  • a press release announcing your book tour.
  • advertising on social networks, e-groups, and blogs.

LINKS

MindStir Media

Smashwords Makes It Easy to Publish Your E-Book

WRITERS. Last week, I attended a terrific 90-minute webinar entitled “Do Your E-Book Right (and Start Making Money).” Presented as part of the Writer’s Digest Webinar Series, this particular session was led by the former publisher and editorial director of Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman.

She described how e-books are providing new opportunities for aspiring authors to publish their work electronically at little or no cost. Friedman also talked about some of the services that can help you convert your manuscript into book formats that can be read on media tablets, smartphones, and computers.

One free service Friedman highlighted was Smashwords, which allows you to become a published author in minutes. You can use Smashwords to publish full-length novels, short fiction, essays, poetry, personal memoirs, non-fiction, and screenplays.

Smashwords will convert your manuscript into multiple e-book formats, making your book readable on most e-reading devices, including: the Amazon Kindle; the Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad; the Sony Reader; the Barnes & Noble nook; Android devices; and personal computers.

You can set your own price for the book and retain full control over sampling and marketing. You receive 85 percent of the net sales proceeds from your titles (70.5 percent for affiliate sales).

Based in Los Gatos, California, Smashwords was founded in 2007 by aspiring novelist Mark Coker. After he and his wife co-authored a book in 2002, they were unable to land a book deal even after two years of representation from one of the most respected literary agencies in New York City. Coker concluded that that in today’s digital age, authors should be able to publish whatever they want and readers should be able to decide for themselves what’s worth reading.

“Authors lucky enough to land a book deal rarely sell enough books to earn royalties beyond their initial $5,000 to $10,000 advance,” noted Coker. He learned that trade publishers were losing money on nearly 80 percent of the books they publish because of the high costs of production, warehousing, distribution, and marketing. Bookstores were often returning up to 50 percent of their inventory for a full refund.

With the launch of the iPad and other improved media tablets and e-reading devices, e-books are becoming increasingly important to the book-publishing industry.

Smashwords has already published more than 30,000 ebooks for more than 13,000 authors and independent publishers.

“By digitizing a book, authors and publishers can immortalize their works, making them permanently discoverable to new audiences,” explains Coker. “For authors and publishers of out-of-print books, e-books offer a great way to bring these works back to life.”

Smashwords Book Marketing Guide CoverPublishing e-books can be a great option for all sorts of entrepreneurial writers, including business professionals interested in publishing or test-marketing their content or ideas.

Of course once you publish your ebook, you will still need to promote it. To get started, download the free “Smashwords Book Marketing Guide.” This marketing primer presents an overview of how Smashwords helps promote your book, and then provides 26 simple do-it-yourself marketing tips.

Smashwords Style Guide Book CoverIf you want Smashwords to distribute your book to major e-book retailers such as the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobe, and Diesel, you will need to download and use the free Smashwords Style Guide. The guide provides step-by-step instructions for formatting the manuscript for your e-book.

 

Report Says Technology is Changing the Way We Read

Sideways LogoSideways, a software company that transforms books, magazines and other publications into immersive experiences on mobile devices, has released a white paper entitled “Turning the Page: How Digital Technology is Changing the Way We Read.”  

“E-readers and tablets have changed reading habits more than any technology since the printing press,” said Eliza Wing, co-founder and COO of Sideways. “They are changing content and reading permanently, and for the better. While the space is moving too fast for anyone to predict its final form, we have every reason to believe that these devices will become the preferred medium for readers. That said, only the publishers and authors willing to evolve by experimenting with video and audio, animation, web links and other interactivity will survive and thrive.”

The white paper clarifies the difference between “book apps” and e-books: “Book apps offer a richer experience than e-books, which are limited to text, images and video. Book apps, by contrast, can incorporate audio, animation, video, interactive maps, slideshows, databases, linking, and other features in highly flexible layouts that literally redefine the idea of what a book can be.” As a result of some of these new possibilities, Sideways believes that:

  • Younger generations of readers will grow up with a new idea of books and magazines and will not accept reading as a passive experience.
  • Tablet and e-reader users are not only receptive to enhanced content, but will be expecting it in digital books and magazines.
  • Book apps will provide authors and publishers with control and flexibility. For example, they can set the price for books, have sales, and adjust prices to market conditions.
  • E-reading will increase as the number and variety of e-readers grows and prices for devices and content fall.
  • Digital reading could lead to an overall increase in reading as it becomes more widely available, easier and less expensive.

Some of these projections are based on the findings of recent surveys that how people are already using their iPads.

  • The vast majority of iPad users read books on the device.
  • iPad usage is shifting users away from reading content in their workspace to at home and at their leisure.
  • iPad users now prefer reading periodicals and books on the device as opposed to print, computer, mobile phone, or e-reader.
  • Readers of some of the most well respected, high-circulation monthly magazines spend more time with the digital versions of these publications than with the print copies.

Eventually, the report concludes, “ink on paper alone will be seen as lacking.” A younger generation of readers will not accept reading as a passive experience. Not only will they expect writers to write for this new digital medium, but they may also expect to be able to comment on and share the material.

Founded in 2010, Sideways is a Cleveland, Ohio-based company that makes apps for the Apple iOS and Android platforms. The company’s M3 digital publishing platform allows clients to use common file types to efficiently and elegantly produce multi-media, multi-touch and multi-user apps.  

The Sideways team of developers, designers, artists, and editors can help develop intuitive and immersive experiences that will enrich the user experience. Sideways can also consult on marketing, pricing strategies and other challenges that must be met to release a successful app.

LINKS

Sideways

White Paper
Turning the Page: How Digital Technology is Changing the Way We Read

Five Trends in E-Books

Tablet PC and booksWRITERS. The ongoing evolution of e-books may change how you think about the type of content you suggest when submitting a book proposal to publisher. For example, consider these five e-book trends that Philip Ruppel, the president of McGraw-Hill Professional, listed in a recent post on Mashable.com.

Enhanced E-books

“The e-book of the not-too-distant future will be much more than text,” writes Ruppel. “Interactivity has arrived, and will change the nature of the e-book.” For example, he says an e-book could contain a video showing how to fix a leaky faucet or pronounce foreign-language words as you read them. A novel could provide a platform in which the author can have a live exchange with reading groups.  Thus, in your book proposal, you might want to suggest creative ways to make the content more interactive.

An End to the Device War

Ruppel believes that consumer confusion will lead to quick consolidation around a few winners in the market for e-readers. He says consumers will care less about which device they use and more about the experience provided by the software, the portability of titles, and accessibility to a full catalog of titles.

E-books Costing More than $9.99

Although the $9.99 price for established bestsellers might have sparked initial consumer interest in e-books, expect future e-books with unique interactive features to cost more.

An Upsell for Value-added Extra Features

With enhanced e-books, publishers can interact with their customers in new ways. For example, clicking a help button will point readers to the publisher’s site where they can pay extra to download a tutorial about a specific point in the book they don’t fully understand.

An Expanded Role for Publishers

Producing a conventional technical or reference book requires a team of editors, copy editors, proofreaders, and designers. Producing digitally enhanced e-books will require even greater technical expertise.

In addition, Ruppel believes that with the skyrocketing amount of content being posted on the web, customers will seek out and pay expert content providers that can aggregate and contextualize information. As he puts it: “Commodity content is everywhere (and largely free), so high-quality, vetted, edited content—which takes a staff of experts—will be worth a premium.”

This last prediction, of course, should boost the morale of dedicated, professional freelance writers who have been dismayed by the flood of poorly researched, sloppily written content being churned out by low-paying content mills.  

Link:  5 E-Book Trends That Will Change the Future of Publishing