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July 18, 2010
BTB #175: E-Magination: What’s Now & What’s Next in Ebooks (Part 2)
On Monday, May 24, 2010, CCC’s Christopher Kenneally moderated a panel for the Independent Book Publishers Association at their annual “Publishing University” program. Featured guests discussing E-Magination: What’s Now & What’s Next in Ebooks were Mark Coker, Smashwords; Jack Sallay, Vook; David Hetherington of Baker & Taylor’s Digital Service Group; and Sara Nelson, Books Editor, O Magazine (formerly Publishers Weekly editor-in-chief).
Beyond the Book is pleased to present an audio transcription of the program in two parts (this is part 2).
A complete video recording is also available at http://beyondthebookcast.com/live-webcast/
July 11, 2010
BTB #174: E-Magination: What’s Now & What’s Next in Ebooks (Part 1)
On Monday, May 24, 2010, CCC’s Christopher Kenneally moderated a panel for the Independent Book Publishers Association at their annual “Publishing University” program. Featured guests discussing E-Magination: What’s Now & What’s Next in Ebooks were Mark Coker, Smashwords; Jack Sallay, Vook; David Hetherington of Baker & Taylor’s Digital Service Group; and Sara Nelson, Books Editor, O Magazine (formerly Publishers Weekly editor-in-chief)
Beyond the Book is pleased to present an audio transcription of the program in two parts (this is part 1).
A complete video recording is also available at http://beyondthebookcast.com/live-webcast/
May 23, 2010
Live Webcast: E-MAGINATION: What’s Now and What’s Next in Ebooks
Sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association
The e-revolution is upon us. What do authors and publishers need to know to come out on top?
On Monday, May 24 at 2:30PM Eastern, in a special Webcast LIVE to the world from Publishing University, a panel of digital pioneers and industry prophets weigh in on a host of e-issues to help you formulate your e-strategy right now. Emceed and podcasted LIVE from New York’s Roosevelt Hotel by Chris Kenneally of CCC’s Beyond the Book.
Watch this event as it happens on the Beyond the Book Live Webcast page.
February 7, 2010
BTB #152: With E-Books, Take Time & Be Sure
In the middle of the e-book hurricane, it may be time for some calm thinking – along with a little debunking. Founder of Unlimited Publishing and book industry analyst Danny O. Snow tells Chris Kenneally now is a good moment for publishers and authors to stop all the rushing about.
“Having observed what happened in the music business ten years ago, we are on pins and needles not to be left in the dust of technology,” Snow says. “Actually, publishers are very lucky to be behind the curve, which is kind of surprising, but we can learn from the mistakes, and the good things, that are done by others.”
Without denying that the time has definitely come for book publishers to take e-Books seriously, Snow seeks to debunk some of the more prevalent myths about e-Books under current market conditions and technological realities. These are:
- Myth #1: e-Books: will soon overtake tree-Books in the marketplace
- Myth #2: EPUB format is a cure-all
- Myth #3: e-Books Will Always be Hard to Publish
- Myth #4: The Market for e-Books is Peaking
A senior research fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and a board member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Snow admits that e-Books solve serious problems in traditional publishing, nevertheless, and that those benefits virtually insure continuing growth for e-Books.
February 5, 2010
Live Webcast
E-MAGINATION: What’s Now and What’s Next in Ebooks
Sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association
The e-revolution is upon us. what do authors and publishers need to know to come out on top?
On Monday, May 24 at 2:30PM Eastern, in a special Webcast LIVE to the world from Publishing University, a panel of digital pioneers and industry prophets weighed in on a host of e-issues tohelp you formulate your e-strategy right now. Emceed and podcasted LIVE from New York’s Roosevelt Hotel by Chris Kenneally of CCC’s Beyond the Book.
January 14, 2010
Mythconceptions: Debunking the E-Book Hype with Danny O. Snow
The following is a preview of an upcoming interview with Danny O. Snow, founder of Unlimited Publishing, who promises to debunk several myths about e-publishing. The podcast will be released on Monday, February 8, 2010.
In 2010, the long anticipated migration of periodicals from print to Web is undeniably underway. Major daily newspapers including the Christian Science Monitor are already replacing unprofitable (and environmentally unfriendly) print editions with leaner, greener, more timely online distribution. As much as newsprint is a beloved institution, most informed observers agree that the transition from paper-n-ink to bits-n-bytes for newspapers and magazines makes good sense in today’s world – and certainly in tomorrow’s. It’s a better match between form and content.
In the book world too, the word on the street these days is e-Books, e-Books, and more e-Books. The scuttlebutt among book publishers is that they must rapidly jump on the e-Book bandwagon, or risk getting left in the dust. Having observed how record labels were blindsided by music downloading over the last decade, most book publishers are taking this risk seriously.
One motive for publishers to embrace e-Books is that sales are growing exponentially. “Convert from print to digital distribution,” they hear, “and tap a booming new market while earning as much per copy as you did with tree-Books… maybe more!” But early adopters are now learning that this widely circulated notion may be overstated for the moment, as reported below.
Likewise, book publishers are told that the emerging e-Book industry standard EPUB format is a kind of silver bullet. “Convert your production files from PDF to EPUB,” they hear, “and your books will almost magically become marketable for reading on nearly every conceivable electronic device from the Kindle to the iPhone, and everything in between!” Like the misconception that e-Books are rapidly supplanting tree-Books in the marketplace, in 2009 the full promise of EPUB is still unrealized.
This report, without denying that the time has definitely come for book publishers to take e-Books seriously, will debunk some of the more prevalent myths about e-Books under current market conditions and technological realities.
A senior research fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and a board member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, serving thousands of publishers across North America and around the world, Danny Snow admits that e-Books solve serious problems in traditional publishing: overprinting; the cost of shipping books back and forth between warehouses and stores during a time of climbing fuel prices and growing focus on air quality; and the bad bookstore practice of over-ordering, then returning unsold books are all eliminated by digital distribution. These benefits virtually insure continuing growth for e-Books.
The world of publishing is changing in 2010, with real and lasting results after years of wishful thinking. Music, radio and TV, newspapers and magazines are already firmly shifting to online distribution. Books will follow soon, though no one yet knows exactly when, or in which of several possible directions… or whether e-Books will evolve as a separate market entirely.
The landscape for e-Book publishing is growing and changing by the day. It isn’t easy to navigate yet, due to a myriad of lingering uncertainties about hardware, software and market factors. But the future potential of e-Books is clear, and points toward leaner, greener and more efficient ways for publishers to reach readers in the near future.
Please return to Beyond the Book starting Monday, February 8, 2010, to hear this important discussion!
June 21, 2009
Best of BTB: For Small Publishers, Good Marketing Is Hard to Find
But look no further than the IBPA, which is set to launch an ambitious new membership drive.
“These times demand publishers work smarter and work more efficiently when producing and marketing their titles,” notes Frank Gromling of Ocean Publishing, who is heading up the effort.
May 19, 2009
For Indy Pubs, ‘Strength In Numbers’
A week before classes open at the 25th annual Publishing University, IBPA’s Terry Nathan tells Chris Kenneally, “When an economy gets this way, publishers need to be using their collective strength.”
He outlines several new member programs, including a just-launched distribution program with Independent Publishers Group called Small Press United.
March 8, 2009
BTB #85: For Small Publishers, Good Marketing Is Hard to Find
But look no further than the IBPA, which is set to launch an ambitious new membership drive.
“These times demand publishers work smarter and work more efficiently when producing and marketing their titles,” notes Frank Gromling of Ocean Publishing, who is heading up the effort.
February 22, 2009
BTB #83: Pub. U. Preview: Your Own Publishing Stimulus Package
In the last of four installments highlighting the upcoming “Publishing University,” IBPA leadership team members tell Chris Kenneally that staying on top of industry trends could be the stimulus package independent publishers are looking for.
This special series is a co-production with the Independent Book Publishers Association, which brings the annual Publishing University to NYC on May 26 – 28, 2009.
