Digital Book World » Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Publishing Takes Over NYC

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:36:21 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

For all the talk of disintermediation, real and exaggerated, New York City is still the metaphorical heart, if no longer the primary physical home, of the publishing industry. All of the major publishers and myriad smaller ones are based here, and despite the increasing amount of influence intermediaries like Amazon and their Silicon Valley competitors have, they’re no strangers to NYC airports.

Starting today and running through next Wednesday, more than 1,500 authors, publishing professionals, booksellers, librarians and technologists will be gathered at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Manhattan for the 2011 Writer’s Digest Conference and Digital Book World 2011. While I may be a little biased, few could argue that the attendee lists for both events are as impressive as their respective speaker lists. I have the great fortune of participating in both events, giving a couple of presentations and moderating a couple of panels, all with one common thread: engaging readers.

WDC11

DBW11

Besides my direct participation, I’m also looking forward to sitting in on a number of sessions at each conference, but these five are my can’t miss sessions:

Beyond the sessions, the best part of any conference is being able to spend time talking to smart people from a variety of backgrounds, and both WDC11 and DBW11 are sponsoring fun gatherings to accommodate that:

WDC11 Tweetup: Friday, 7:30-9:30pm @ FACES AND NAMES, 159 West 54th Street (right around the corner from the Sheraton)
DBW11 Opening Ceremonies: Monday, 5-8pm @ the Sheraton Hotel & Towers

If you’re attending either conference, please be sure to introduce yourself. I’ll be a little less frantic at WDC11 than DBW11, but no matter what I’m in the middle of, I always enjoy putting faces to names (and avatars) so don’t be shy!

And if you’re not able to attend, you can still follow along on Twitter via the #wdc11 and #dbw11 hashtags.

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is the Director of Programming & Business Development for Digital Book World, and a published poet, writer, and active blogger since 2003. An old and new media pragmatist, social media realist, and marketing strategist, he views publishing as a community service, and is optimistic about its future.

Electric Literature and the Digital Future

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:16:15 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

The debate surrounding ebooks over the past two years has often reminded me of the one that surrounded banner ads in the early days, when they were going to replace print advertising, offer heretofore unimagined data, and completely upend the magazine publishing industry as we knew it. Reality, of course, turned out to be a little different, as publishers found themselves trading “analog dollars for digital pennies,” clickthroughs were eventually downplayed in favor of branding, and advertisers shifted increasing percentages of their marketing dollars towards creating their own content, websites, and online communities.

The “business model” became more important than the reason publishers were in business, and the Business Model of the Month Club offers a mind-boggling selection of digital pixie dust, few of which have proven scalable and/or profitable in the long-term beyond the earliest adopting VCs and technology developers who cashed in and moved on to the next big thing as fast as possible.

Too many traditional magazine publishers lost sight of what made them valuable to their readers in the first place (as opposed to their advertisers), and editorial and marketing staffs were slowly transformed and, in many cases, decimated, as content became increasingly devalued in a race to the bottom. The major new media success stories have ended up being variations on an old theme, attracting maximum eyeballs for fickle advertisers, and the biggest winner of all ended up being a little technology company that’s never published a single piece of original content of its own, Google.

ELECTRIC LITERATURE

It took a while for me to buy into Electric Literature, a publishing startup launched in 2009, and its intriguing but seemingly futile mission “to use new media and innovative distribution to return the short story to a place of prominence in popular culture.”

In the beginning, I thought co-founders/editors Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum were just pitching yet another “innovative business model” untethered to reality, and pretty much dismissed any chance of their still being around in 2011. I was highly skeptical of the Twitter / Rick Moody experiment that first put them on many people’s radars, and during their appearance at the 2009 Ebook Summit, I tweeted: “Love Electric Lit’s approach and intent, in theory, but where’s the market? Is the tech tail wagging the dog here?”

Turns out, I was wrong about them.

Although I’ve always shared their sense of optimism for the potential of short stories to return to prominence via digital channels — as does The Atlantic, and Amazon — I’m now equally optimistic about their playing a significant role in achieving that potential, not because they talk a good game, but because to-date, they’ve executed on their strategy exceptionally well.

In late October, Hunter wrote an excellent piece for Publishers Weekly, “Literature, Plugged In,” that I’ve had bookmarked ever since, and refer to often as I look forward to 2011:

[The Twitter/Moody] experience showed us that risk-taking requires a willingness to fail. Failure is the inevitable first step to success, and an experiment only truly fails when it yields no useful results. We were fortunate that we didn’t have to worry about being fired during the maelstrom. In an environment where people are afraid of losing their jobs, the risk involved with experimentation is a strong disincentive. Yet without experimentation, traditional publishers will not successfully adapt to the digital age.

I’ve preached the Gospel of Experimentation before, and Hunter acknowledges one of its biggest obstacles, the fear of losing one’s job being a strong disincentive. On that note, I quote Don Linn: “Your old job, whatever it was, doesn’t exist anymore (even if the title does).”

In the aftermath of that “maelstrom,” they’ve announced and launched Electric Publisher, an intriguing platform that enables small presses and authors to execute and monetize their own digital strategies via the iPhone/iPad App Store, because they firmly believe that “a thriving independent press is critical to our culture.” And last week, at the 2010 Ebook Summit, they announced broadcastr, “a Social Media platform for location-based stories” that reminds me of MondoBizzaro’s I-Witness Central City, but on a global scale.

Both initiatives go well beyond what I ever expected from a small literary publisher, but both fit squarely within their core mission and made me realize that, not only are they very serious about it, they’re actively working towards achieving it.

The way the publishing world is embracing this new platform is in stark contrast to how the music industry reacted to new technology changing its business model, and I think that where they failed and lost their way, publishing will adapt and strengthen and will play a defining role in this technology’s development.

“The Novel is not under threat from technology,” Mark Wernham

Disruption doesn’t acknowledge titles or job descriptions, and often inspires innovation from unlikely and/or unheralded sources.

While the technology enabling the latest wave of disruption tends to get a disproportionate amount of attention, what’s far more interesting and predictive of the future is the user behavior driving the technological innovations, and the initiatives that find success at the chaotic intersection of publishing and technology.

Electric Literature is just one of myriad examples of what the digital future might hold, very different from each other except in one respect: it’s not about their business model, it’s about their reason for being in business.

If your core pitch is your “innovative” business model and not what you publish and for whom, your 15 minutes are almost up.

This post was excerpted from “The Atlantic, Electric Literature, and the Digital Future,” originally published at loudpoet.com.

What Can Publishers Learn From an ARG?

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:00:44 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

“If it’s successful, I think we’ll see even more and better things like this in coming years. As far as ARGs as a genre, it’s becoming less and less of a genre for itself and more like how entertainment is done as cross-media elements meld together.”

–“Perplex City Faces Reality Check ,” Wired

Andrea Phillips‘ presentation on Perplex City at the Transmedia New York City Meetup was fascinating on a number of levels, primarily because she offered such honest insights into what she felt they got right and wrong with the ambitious, ground-breaking project, launched back in the summer of 2005 as the first major attempt at a “self-sustaining, commercial Alternate Reality Game.”

Part collectible card game, part treasure hunt, augmented with an immersive online community, Perplex City predated The 39 Clues — the closest publishing-related example I can think of — by a few years, but Andrea offered a number of interesting takeaways for anyone wrestling with how and where audience development and transmedia intersect.

First, some stats. Over its two year lifespan, Andrea noted that Perplex City generated:

55,000 registered users
- 50/50 Male/Female
1 million+ page views/month
~1.5 million cards sold
~850,000 cards solved online
500,000 words written

Among the things she felt they got right was the immersive online world, populated by a variety of fictional characters and companies, and augmented by a a weekly newspaper and user-generated content. Their initial marketing strategy was solid, too, opting for a combination of guerilla tactics — posting “$100k Reward” signs and classified ads in newspapers for the return of The Receda Cube — and old-fashioned PR to generate a lot of pre-launch buzz.

The cards, puzzles, live events and online community offered multiple layers of engagement to players, though that strength ultimately became a weakness, as the game eventually became “too intimidating” for newcomers. She noted how Star Wars’ sprawling Expanded Universe still offers entry points to newcomers via the original movies (and I’d add the new Clone Wars cartoon to that list, too); Perplex City, though, became far less accessible as it progressed.

Of the things Andrea felt they got wrong — planning, follow-through, and accessibility — perhaps the most crucial one was related to Perplex City’s driving platform and primary source of revenue: the cards. Released in three waves, they were initially only available via one UK-based online retailer (Firebox.com), and later in select UK-based brick-and-mortar shops, a major obstacle for their US-based players who made up 41% of their user base. Distribution via Gamestop came later, but there were reports of the cards often not being in stock. They also ran into shipping delays that pushed their planned nine-month season to two years, resulting in the need to generate additional “filler content” to bridge the gap between releases.

Notably, with its first (and only) season ending in early 2007, Perplex City missed out on the social gaming and sharing phenomenon that might have enabled them to adjust their strategy. When I asked if it were to launch in 2011 if she’d forgo/augment the physical cards in favor of/with virtual substitutes, she surprisingly said no, noting the importance of the cards’ tangibility to their players.

THE TAKEAWAY?

Though Perplex City‘s second season was ultimately canceled, causing some to declare it a failure, its ambition and accomplishments are noteworthy, and there are valuable lessons to be learned from their experience.

From a publishing perspective, there are obvious parallels to the print vs. ebook debate, as well as questions related to the ROI on audience development initiatives that don’t have an easily measurable impact on revenue.

Perplex City’s most notable challenge was arguably its dependence on a single source of revenue, and having multiple intermediaries standing in its way, a situation many publishers are very familiar with. (I forgot to ask, but I didn’t get the impression Perplex City was selling anything directly via their own site.) While they did introduce a board game near the end of its two-year run, despite having 55,000 registered users, there were no other brand extensions, no merchandising, and no premium options for their most engaged users to delve deeper.

In 2011, publishers and authors solely focused on the book, print or electronic, as their primary source of revenue are not only leaving money on the table, they’re doing a grave disservice to their most passionate readers, aka their best customers.

The successful publishers of the 21st Century will need to shift their focus from the books they publish and dig a little deeper into the stories they contain, unlocking their full potential: “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.”

This article was originally published at loudpoet.com.

Interested in learning more about using transmedia storytelling and cross-media strategies? Join us at StoryWorld, the only major gathering of industry leaders, decision makers, and transmedia specialists, to explore new business models, innovative partnerships, and fresh revenue streams.

Dark Horse Circumvents iTunes, Plans to Sell Direct

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:59:47 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

Digital comics were one of the primary topics of discussion at this year’s NY Comic-Con, with the iPad in the spotlight and a variety of publishers and technology intermediaries offering up new announcements and intriguing bits of data, but the most interesting news arguably came from Dark Horse Comics.

Best-known for publishing high-profile licensed comics (including Star Wars, Conan and Mass Effect), Frank Miller’s 300 and Sin City and Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, and for ahead-of-the-curve approaches to digital media, Dark Horse’s VP of Marketing, Micha Hershman, announced their latest initiative as “the most ambitious, most exciting digital comics program on the market.”

Launching in January 2011 with over 130 individual issues and “several dozen collections,” Dark Horse Digital Publishing will be a proprietary, web-based platform accessible via any device with a browser (but not Kindles, Nooks, or Kobos), as well as via proprietary apps for iOS, Android and others to follow. Their ecommerce model will be “very similar to the Kindle experience and as seamless as possible for the user,” with a Dark Horse-branded app replacing their title-specific apps (400,000+ downloads to-date), and an online store where comics can be purchased, downloaded and synced wherever they’re being read. Existing standalone apps will be upgraded and those comics migrated into users’ accounts in the new store.

Hershman noted that selling direct gives them full control and flexibility on pricing and availability of their content:

“We don’t have to submit our comics for approval, and no licensing fees to Apple means we can pay our creators more while offering readers lower prices.”

Dark Horse’s digital comics will be $1.49/issue (vs. Marvel & DC’s $1.99 via comiXology) and they plan to sell collections from $2.99-$5.99.

Titles available at launch will include Hellboy, BPRD, Serenity, Fray, Mass Effect, The Guild, Conan, Grendel, Dr. Horrible, The Goon, The Umbrella Academy, and Creepy, featuring a mix of “new comics and backlist” and a “low-end estimate” of an average of 20 books added to the store each month.

Dark Horse’s digital comics will be in a “proprietary format, but our DRM will entail flexible allowances for viewing your purchased content on any supported client, as well as on the web.”

When asked about piracy concerns, Hershman said: “We’re having the same experiences that many other comics publishers are having: some obvious piracy, an unclear impact to sales and plenty of frustration. I anticipate that we – and most other publishers – will continue having the same experiences as platforms and technologies change.” He also noted that there would be “no sharing functionality at launch.”

Feedback to-date has been “warm and receptive,” most notably from tech observers impressed by Dark Horse’s plan to circumvent iTunes and sell direct: “They’re looking for innovation which doesn’t come in a monopoly.”

Hershman added: “It’s undeniable to say that the ability to reach a broader audience will also impact our acquisition approach.”

The announcement also included a bit of a cliffhanger, as Hershman teased an angle for brick-and-mortar retailers that would be part of the new initiative, but didn’t offer any details. Beyond integrating the Comics Locator Service into their apps, he said they also plan to offer “the most compelling retailer features available, including exclusives” that they would make “simple for the retailer” to implement.

They will also take a reverse approach to “enhanced” ebooks, selling inexpensive digital collections that only include the primary story, while the print collections will feature exclusive premium content and extras.

“We see digital comic books as a revenue generator, but also as a way to introduce new readers to our comics,” Hershman said.

Does Ebook Growth Mask Market Share Declines?

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:12:50 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

eBook sales statistics for August 2010 have been released from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) who collects these statistics in conjunction with the IDPF. Trade eBook sales were $39,000,000 for August, a 172.4% increase over August 2009 ($14,300,000). Calendar Year to Date sales show growth of + 193%.

Source: IDPF

Myriad caveats aside, the latest AAP/IDPF ebook sales data for August 2010 shows a slight leveling off from July’s record high of $40.8 million to $39 million, making it the second highest month of tracked sales ever.

While few would argue anymore that ebooks are here to stay, Forrester Vice President and Principal Analyst James McQuivey raised a more intriguing question while previewing an upcoming report at yesterday’s Digital Book World Executive Summit in New York City:

“Agency model publishers have to ask themselves: which red line best fits my eBook sales growth curve? Both look good at first blush, but one suggests long term losses in share.”

The red lines he was referring to were hypothetical views of ebook sales compared to ereader adoption, with one tracking ahead, the other behind. While both showed impressive growth, the one that lagged ereader adoption suggested a publisher might be enjoying increased sales while simultaneously losing overall market share to its competitors, many of whom are not reflected in the AAP/IDPF sales data.

According to a report released earlier this week by Cowen and Co., “not only are sales of the Kindle device expected to grow 140% this year to nearly 5 million units from 2009, but digital book sales via the Kindle store are on track to grow 195% to $701 million in 2010.”

Cowen estimates Amazon currently having 76% of the ebook market, which would put the overall market at approximately $922 million, while the AAP/IDPF sales data is only tracking sales of $259.5 million year-to-date. Ebook sales of the twelve publishers they track would have to average $132.5 million/month through the end of the year to match Cowen’s projections, a highly unlikely occurrence.

More likely is that gap is being filled by the many small publishers and traditional and self-published authors who are selling ebooks via Amazon and whose sales aren’t tracked by the AAP/IDPF.

Of course, lacking anything resembling reliable, comprehensive sales data for ebooks, this is the fuzziest of fuzzy math, but there’s an undeniable gap there that needs to be defined, and within that gap lies the answer to McQuivey’s critical question.

“Does ebook growth mask market share declines?”

And if it does, how would you know?

Comics Publishers Recognize Digital Opportunity

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 06:04:48 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

If there’s one area of publishing where the “game-changing” hype around the iPad has substance, it’s comic books.

While comics have been in digital formats, legally and otherwise, for years, few would argue that Apple’s sleek tablet is the first platform to offer an optimal digital reading and purchasing experience, from comiXology’s innovative Guided View (TM) Technology that powers some of the most popular apps (including Marvel and DC), to the potential for expanding the audience beyond its hardcore, superhero-centric base.

Kicking off the 2010 Comics & Digital Conference, on October 7th at NY City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, ICv2′s President, Milton Griepp, set the stage with an overview of the market, and Comics Alliance’s Laura Hudson took better notes than I did:

Sales in the U.S. and Canadian comic book and graphic novel market are down 12% in the first half of 2010, with comic books seeing a small 1% increase while graphic novel sales have dropped 20%. In 2009, the total market was $680 million dollars, with $370 million in graphic novel sales and $310 million in comics. The decline in graphic novel sales was particularly steep in bookstores, which saw a 30% decline in sales, versus a 9% decline in traditional comic book stores…

Griepp suggested that there was a significant decline in graphic novel sales in 2009 as well, but that was masked by what he called “the Watchmen effect,” thanks to the enormous sales of the “Watchmen” graphic novel following the movie that accounting for 50% of bookstore sales in the first half of 2009.

The news was particularly dark for manga, which declined 9% in the first half of 2010, with an estimated 20% overall drop in 2010, making it likely that this will be the third bad year for manga sales in a row. If current trends continue, manga will drop 50% over three years, where we’ve seen the closing of Aurora, Go Comi, Dr. Master, and most recently DC’s CMX line.

It wasn’t all bad news, though, as Griepp noted that kids and YA comics were growing in popularity, highlighting the 350,000 print run for Yen Press’ Twilight: The Graphic Novel (it sold over 66,000 copies in its first week) and projecting a ten-fold increase for digital comics, from an estimated $500k – $1m in 2010 to $6-8m in 2011.

While few of the panelists throughout the day’s program would give any hard numbers (at least one executive stated afterwards that “we can’t give any numbers because we don’t HAVE the numbers!”), none suggested Griepp’s projections were off-base.

Michael Murphey, iVerse‘s CEO, claimed over 3 million downloads of their various apps to-date, noting kids titles were their best-sellers and that “iOS and PSP have both been very successful platforms.”

David Steinberger, comiXology‘s CEO, was also optimistic, observing that the iPad was only the beginning: “We’re just getting started with devices; there’s huge growth ahead.” comiXology also received credit for its efforts to support brick-and-mortar retailers via pull lists and an in-app locator to “Buy in Print”, in contrast to Diamond Comic Distributors’ complete lack of innovation to connect their brick-and-mortar partners to a digital opportunity. (Disclosure: that was me doing the contrasting during the Q&A!)

Dave Gabriel, Marvel‘s SVP in charge of print and digital sales, seemed to share Steinberger’s optimism, claiming 2 million downloads of their app to-date, and announcing that, “because of what digital comics are doing,” they would be lowering the prices of some newly launched comics in print to $2.99/issue, starting in January.

(In a separate earlier announcement, Griepp noted that Dark Horse would be announcing that their digital comics would be lowered to $1.49/issue. Most Marvel and DC digital comics are $1.99/issue, while indies, including DC’s former Zuda titles, are typically $.99.issue.)

Ted Adams, IDW‘s CEO, offered some ballpark figures and insights on their Star Trek: Countdown mini-series, a four-issue prequel to the hit movie, the digital version of which “sold tens of thousands of each issue on iTunes.” This was back in 2009, pre-iPad, when there were far fewer digital comics available, but those sales “didn’t hurt print sales” as he noted the 4th issue outsold the 3rd in print, a rarity in comics.

Beyond well-known superheroes and licensed properties, Steinberger believes “there’s an opportunity for a lot more genres,” an observation Jim Fallone also made back in April:

To compete, smaller publishers need to begin to experiment with innovation of form. No longer bogged down in the swamps of print production and distribution, comics aren’t limited to distribution via 32-page chunks of story. Instead of monthly issues bought at the local comics shop, they can now be distributed directly to audiences in as little as a panel a day.

Dave Baxter, Robot Comics‘ deputy director, happily offered up some numbers, claiming the independent comic Robot 13 had achieved 200,000 downloads of its free sample, and had converted 5-6% of those to paid downloads at $.99/issue, while the print versions of the comics had sold out. (NOTE: On August 3rd, Robot Comics announced Robot 13 had achieved 100,00 downloads, so either there’s been a massive spike since, Baxter misspoke or my hearing is bad because I tweeted that figure right away. I’ve reached out for clarification and will update this accordingly, but even at 100,000 downloads, it’s an impressive figure for an unknown comic.)

Of course, digital comics aren’t limited to the iPad; webcomics have been around far longer, and the web is an equally compelling platform for publishers to consider.

Mark Siegel, First Second Books‘ editorial director, acknowledged some of the challenges that come with being part of a major publisher (Macmillan) taking baby steps towards digital initiatives, but offered some interesting insight on the success they’ve had with serializing upcoming books online for free. In one case, Zahra’s Paradise, by the time they’d posted the third chapter, they’d sold the translation rights in enough languages to recoup the advance, and the book won’t even be published until next year.

Generally speaking, while there was a bit of lip service paid to the “print vs. digital” debate, most of the speakers throughout the day believed digital comics represented a significant opportunity to grow the overall audience for comics, and even the lone retailer in the mix, John Riley of Williston Park, NY’s Grasshopper Comics, said he’s had “people coming in to buy trade paperbacks of comics they were exposed to online.”

Towards the end of the day, IDW’s Adams summed up the underlying tone of the conference best:

“My job,” he explained, “is to find audiences for this content any way I can.”

That’s always been every publisher’s job; digital simply represents myriad new opportunities to find those audiences.

12 Reasons to be Excited About Publishing’s Future

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:52:26 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future.

–Sidney J. Harris, Journalist (1917–1986)

2010 has been a tumultuous year in the publishing industry, and while there’s no shortage of doom-saying pundits eager to sign its death certificate, there’s actually plenty to be excited about.

Back in August, I asked a number of colleagues why they were optimistic about books, and their responses turned into one of our most popular posts ever, so I decided to do it again, this time asking for something they were specifically excited about here at the end of 2010.

Here’s how they responded:

“I’m excited about the future of publishing for several reasons, the most significant of which is that publishers are, by and large, out of hand-wringing mode and are into action mode. Most have now engaged in some sort of reflection on what their specific value is in the community of books and readers. Most have realized that they are now as much merchandizers as they are marketers, and that they need to bring value directly to readers in a way they haven’t had to before. Their strategies are becoming more clear, and how each publisher pursues their own particular strategy will be very exciting to watch (and support)! I believe, that the pursuit of these new strategies will beget a whole ration of new ideas that will propel us into a new era of publishing, that even the most visionary among us has yet to see!”

–Fran Toolan, Chief Igniter, Firebrand

“I’m really excited about the scope and reach of transmedia (especially as I’m just back from TEDx Transmedia in Geneva and have spoken to lots of entertainment industry people who are just beginning to ‘click’ with it)! So, I continue to be extremely excited about the current evolution of storytelling, in ways that transcend platform and genre. When choreographed elegantly and with relevance, transmedia will extend story far beyond, and outside of, the book. Transmedia storytelling has the possibility to put the reader into the story and I’m hopeful that over the next 12 months we will begin to see transmedia novels organically written from a new breed of writer for this new breed of reader and publisher! The union of a publisher’s vision, a reader’s imagination and a transmedia writer’s craft will be explosive and revolutionary, but may require publishers to loosen their collars a little and nurture media partnerships with other entertainment industries!”

–Alison Norrington, Transmedia producer & writer

“I hesitate to use the word transmedia but I’m excited about the fact that creators and publishers have more and more opportunities to communicate ideas, stimulate thought and debate, and fulfill wishes using a range of techniques. We are no longer limited by format but can see ourselves as facilitators in the relationships between creators and consumers; and the other exciting thing is that those relationships can now be more two-way than ever before.”

–Rebecca Smart, Managing Director, Osprey Publishing/Shire

“I think the thing that makes me most optimistic at this point is the fact that I see publishers of all shapes and sizes finally doing more than paying lip service to change. Only twelve or eighteen months ago (with a few exceptions) there was considerably more talk than action and most of the action was in the nature of attempting to replicate or overlay traditional workflows and business models with their digital counterparts. What I see and feel now is the realization that, for most, simply retooling old models, forms and processes isn’t enough and I see them moving toward real change. Some will work, some won’t… but I think at least the wheels are turning toward fundamental change in a positive way.”

–Don Linn, former owner/CEO of Consortium Book Sales & Distribution

“I’m excited about how, two years after StartwithXML, publishers are finally re-aligning their production/composition processes for print and digital instead of running them on two parallel tracks. I’m excited that both ebooks (which you HAVE to buy online) and the inexorable migration to online shopping even for print books is forcing publishers to confront their metadata issues as an SEO strategy. So I’m thrilled to be an utter geek.”

–Laura Dawson, Content Chief, Firebrand

“I’m excited about the iPad. Love it or hate it, people are now seriously looking at tablet computers as a great source of portable entertainment, and ereaders are a huge part of that drive. It seems like more people around me are reading than ever before.”

–Eddy Webb, World of Darkness Developer, White Wolf Publishing

“I’m just excited to ship, man! Ship books, ship code. All talk and no work makes Dick a dull boy…”

–Richard Nash, Founder, Cursor

“I’m chuffed over the fact that as bad as things are in Library Land, I’m still encountering young bloods who love the profession, are kicking its ass artfully into the 21st century, and are chipping away toward their MLIS degrees, money be damned. Some say ebooks will sink libraries; I say the committed pros and parapros, in tandem with their publishing supporters, will find a way to extend access to all readers.”

–Heather McCormack, Book Review Editor, Library Journal

“I’m really excited about the next generation of publishing leaders who I see reaching and rising, with passion, vigor, intrigue and enthusiasm. These digital natives are facing the anachronistic issues of the book industry with fresh eyes, and from a different perspective. Top on my list of people to watch are Iris Blasi, Colleen O’Connell, Marny Smith, Marian Schembari, Ryan Chapman, and Ami Greko.”

–Debbie Stier, Director of Digital Marketing, HarperCollins

“I’m thrilled to see the growth of OpenSky, an e-commerce platform that’s all about sharing more of what you love. Authors can use this service seamlessly with their own site or social networking efforts. It’s one of the best tools I’ve seen to help authors build a sustainable business model that doesn’t rely on publishers or book sales.”

–Jane Friedman, former Publisher of Writer’s Digest

Can I double the pleasure? I’m flipped out about two books. Peepo Choo vol. 1 (Vertical Inc.), the first book in new manga series by Felipe Smith, a fabulous talent and one of very few Americans (and likely the only American/West Indian/Argentinian) working as a mangaka in the Japanese manga industry. It’s a hilarious, sex-charged farce about mutual cultural misapprehension when an American otaku gets to see the real Japan. And Adam Hines’ Duncan the Wonder Dog (AdHouse Books), his first published work, is a mindblowing graphic novel masterwork about a world where animals are in communication (and in conflict) with humans over their treatment.

–Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor, Publishers Weekly / Co-editor, PW Comics Week

I’ll add my own two cents to this to say I’m excited by some of the new transmedia-centric business models that are popping up, including the announcements of Macmillan Films and Random House’s partnership with Hammer Films, and Scott Walker’s idea of Participatory Entertainment and the proof of concept he’s building in Runes of Gallidon.

Unlike Philip Roth, I don’t believe the book is in competition with the screen, but that the two are converging and the publishers who see that convergence as an opportunity to tell better, more engaging stories are the ones who will succeed in the digital age.

What about you? How do you answer the question: “What’s exciting you in publishing right now?”

Comment here, or tweet your excitement with the #pubexcite hashtag, or submit it to our Publishing Optimism blog on Tumblr.

Digital Natives and Ebooks: Missing the Point

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:42:37 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

WE BELIEVE that reading widely and reading fluently will give children the reading stamina to deal with more challenging texts they will meet in college, at work and in everyday life. And every child should be able to choose and own the books they want to read for that choice builds literacy confidence—the ability to read, write, and speak about what they know, what they feel, and who they are.

-Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO, Scholastic Inc.

The just-released 2010 Kids & Family Reading Report™ conducted by Harrison Group and Scholastic has caused a bit of a stir thanks to one relatively minor data point that’s been highlighted more than any other, perhaps best illustrated by the AP’s misleading headline that reads more like Huffington Post linkbait: “Survey: Children like e-books, parents not so much.”

While the study did show a notable interest in reading a book “on a digital device (including computers)” among children aged 9-17, far more relevant was the context of that interest, reading more books for fun, and why that was important.

When asked if they would read more books for fun if they had access to eBooks, one-third of kids age 9-17 of kids [sic] said yes, including frequent readers (34%), moderately frequent readers (36%), and even infrequent readers (27%; PAGES 14–16).
When asked about the most important outcome of reading books for fun, children age 9–17 say it is to: open up the imagination (43%), be inspired (36%), and to a lesser degree, to gain new information (21%). Parents express similar views (43%, 35%, and 22%, respectively; PAGE 20).

Sparking the imagination and offering inspiration are arguably the more significant takeaways from this study, especially when contrasted with what books, print and digital, are competing with for kids’ attention.

The study notes that, “As age increases, the time kids spend reading declines in direct opposition to the time kids spend going online for fun and using a cell phone to text or talk.” While the more social activities (text or talk; online) increase with age, the more solitary activities (video/computer games; reading books) decline. Interestingly, “TV, DVDs and videos” hold their own with each age group, and could arguably be considered social activities, too.

All of them are able to spark the imagination and offer inspiration, but it’s the more social activities that lead the way as they get older, so focusing on an interest in ebooks as a primary takeaway is completely missing the forest for the tree du jour.

As I write this, I’ve been following the tweets coming from The Bookseller‘s Children’s Annual Conference, and it’s been interesting to see how much of the discussion is centering around transmedia, both overtly and otherwise, and how much of the so-called conventional wisdom about “digital natives” is off the mark:

RT @thebookseller: #kidsconf trends, @AdrianHon: #transmedia – 39 Clues, Cathy’s Book, codes to register online, play games, immersive exp.
RT @thebookseller: Dr Sue Cranmer defining digital natives. Kids born after 1980 always had digital media. #kidsconf
RT @Booktrust But… 66% of children (in the US) still want to read books on paper too #kidsconf (Per Scholastic study: http://j.mp/dzq2Pu)
RT @cmussi: #kidsconf consumers want to consume content when it fits their needs it is not about technology but behaviours
RT @TheBookseller: #kidsconf reading habits of Stardoll users [77m]: where do u go to find out abt books: friends etc but library high %
RT @nosycrow: Random House also working w/ Stardoll on Mortal Kiss – pub first online in episodes + inviting comments, blogging #kidsconf
RT @nosycrow: Random/Stardoll – multi-language. Fiona Macmillan: “kids are asking when the real book is coming out” #kidsconf

Besides the definition of “digital natives” being debatable — I was born in 1969 and grew up with the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64; my first email address was with CompuServe back when they were numeric — the idea that they are some monolithic group that eschews the analog world is ridiculous.

Last week, I wrote about the latest findings from TalkTrack, an ongoing study conducted by market research firm Keller Fay Group, which specializes in word-of-mouth (WOM) and noted that “85% of teen brand WOM that takes place offline, fully 75% occurs face-to-face/in person.”

Besides noting that the vast majority of teenagers’ word-of-mouth recommendations occur offline as opposed to only “3% through social networking sites,” the results were also surprisingly similar to that of consumers overall, with one notable exception: “the school environment is a close second (28%), whereas for the general public, the work environment is a distant second (12%).”

As the old saying goes, “Kids are people, too.”

It’s not clear whom @cmussi was quoting in the tweet referenced above (it might have been Matt Locke, acting head of cross platform, Channel 4), but I wholeheartedly agree with the point being made and it also happens to be the fundamental idea of transmedia: It’s not about the technology or the format, it’s about giving readers multiple options to consume the content they’re interested in.

Two in three children say they will always want to read books printed on paper even though there are eBooks available. Kids who already have experience reading eBooks are just as likely as kids who have not had experience eReading to agree.

-2010 Kids & Family Reading Report™

The Scholastic report offers a lot of compelling data and is worth reading in its entirety. While focusing on ebooks, the generation gap, and a zero-sum scenario that ends with the “death of print” is great for pundits’ page views and speaking gigs, as a strategy for publishers, it’s a non-starter.

The real opportunity for publishers in the digital age can be summed up in one simple idea: curate and market great content, and offer engaging experiences, in whatever formats the community you serve desires.

On Digital Natives, Analog Marketing and Branding

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:07:36 +0000

By Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World

“It’s true that teens are twice as likely, compared to the general public, to hold brand conversations online. Still, just 13% of teens’ brand discussions take place online (including email, texting/IM and social networking), versus 7% of the general public’s.”

85% Of Teen Brand Word-Of-Mouth Occurs Offline

The MediaPost blog, Engage:Teens has some interesting data on the latest findings from TalkTrack, an ongoing study conducted by market research firm Keller Fay Group, which specializes in word-of-mouth (WOM), and counters some of the conventional wisdom regarding teens, word-of-mouth, and analog vs. digital marketing.

Besides noting that the vast majority of teenagers’ word-of-mouth recommendations occur offline as opposed to only “3% through social networking sites,” the results were also surprisingly similar to that of consumers overall, with one notable exception: “the school environment is a close second (28%), whereas for the general public, the work environment is a distant second (12%).”

While several publishers are investing heavily in building teen-centric social networking sites, it would seem a more integrated approach that includes a healthy analog component will be critical to their long-term success.

In the article, Keller Fay Group CEO Ed Keller observes that “visual cues” are important word-of-mouth triggers, and those cues are primarily analog:

He cites recent research from Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger confirming that the products that tend to have the most sustained WOM over time are ones for which we most frequently see visual cues in our daily lives – frequently in the form of actual product usage, as well as advertising and marketing. This, says Keller, underlines the importance of taking a holistic, sustained approach to WOM that includes product usage, advertising, point-of-sale activity and promotional strategies. For marketers looking to engage teens, in particular, a key value in teen versus general public brand WOM behavior comparisons may lie in using them as a jumping-off point to analyze what controllable factors tend to drive WOM among teens — specifically, whether the channels and messages being employed by their brands facilitate sparking conversations about them, Keller says.

Keller’s point also raises some interesting questions about print books vs. ereaders:

If books are “social objects” and book covers are effective word-of-mouth triggers, what happens when ereaders take the spotlight away from individual books and instead become the center of attention themselves?
In light of ebook sales steadily increasing, and reports that they might now be cannibalizing print sales in science fiction and romance, how might that affect word-of-mouth, arguably one of the most valuable forms of marketing for any book, regardless of format or sales channel?
Does a publishers’ brand and the communities they’re engaged with become even more critical areas of focus when ebooks are the dominant format?

What do you think?

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On Digital Natives, Analog Marketing and Branding