A Digital RoadmapFor Writers
NZSA AGMChristchurch, 15 May 2010
Martin TaylorDigital Publishing Forum
http://[email protected]
Outline
• The rise of ebooks• The business of ebooks• Is it time to fire my publisher?• Will writing change or books die?• A crash course in internet
marketing
• More if time permits because … there’s more.
How big is this?
• This is happening in the midst of a generational shift in technology– Decline of PC, rise of mobile web and “the
cloud”
• Proliferation of smart mobile devices connecting to the cloud– standards wars (but has Apple already
won?)
• Google, Apple, Amazon are early drivers
Music’s iPod moment
• Disruptive technology changes the game
• Apple sells billions of songs in the face of free
• Five years for 5 billion, 1.8 years for next 5 billion
• iTunes share now 69% of online music sales (Amazon 8%) and 24% of all music sales in US
Source: MacRumors.com
iTunes reaches 10 billion music downloads, 24 Feb 2010
Books’ iPod Moment (courtesy of Amazon’s 90%
share)+333% Q4 2009 vs Q4 2008
US trade ebook market growth, 2002-2009
Amazon Kindle launched
Sony Reader launched
Next?
Skiff Hearst / Plastic LogicDell Streak
Google Android
HP Slate Windows 7
Google Nexus One
AndroidNotion Ink
Adam Android / Pixel Qi
Speed of consumer technology adoption
Source: NY Times
Is this already a one horse race?
Source: Flurry.com
Mobile App Development by Platform
The iPad: Is it a new paradigm for presentation of digital
works?• iPad is part of a new
digital paradigm• Multi-touch: Pinch,
swipe, tap (no mouse or keyboard)
• Multiple media types
• Optimised for media• Connected• The sizzle to win
consumers, media
Source: YouTube, woodwing.com, the wonderfactory.com, zinio.com
Illustrated publications and the iPad
Who sells ebooks• So far, a small number of mostly global
players– Amazon, Apple, Google Editions (Jul), Kobo (NZ)
• High barriers to entry compared to bookstores– Will ebooks be dominated by a few big players?– cf Music: Apple has 70% share of paid downloads
• What are the barriers today for booksellers?– High technology costs and expertise – Difficulty acquiring ebooks and managing metadata– Scale needed to compete with large global players– High security and trust requirements from publishers
• Google Editions might reduce entry barriers
What sells?
Source: O’Reilly Research, iBooks downloads during April 2010
How much should the ebook edition of a $30 paper book
cost?More than $30
$30
$25
$20
$15
$10
$5
Less than $5
Free
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
% respondents (n=78)
Source: Digital Publishing Forum: digitalpublishing.org.nz – online poll conducted February-March 2009
What’s driving ebook pricing?
• Major publishers typically set ebook price today equal to cheapest p-book edition– But with Amazon’s discounting, US$9.99 was becoming the de
facto retail price• April 3, 2010 it all changed: the agency model
– Catalyst was Apple’s iPad launch– Means publisher sets selling price, no discounting allowed,
all sites will have same retail price, retailer gets a commission
– Could create a more diverse market with more retail channels– Will it help to keep prices up? Consumers will decide.
• Rental or subscriptions might also work– “Owning” books will become less important– Need for multiple price points in a market– How will libraries fit into this new world?
• About 60%+ of a print book’s cost is distribution
Average selling price in iBooks (US$)
Source: O’Reilly Research, iBooks downloads during April 2010
Royalties: Print vs ebook• In general, ebook
royalties are a higher %
• Unclear how close ‘e’ price will stay to ‘p’– But volumes might rise,
eg more ‘pass along’ readers might pay
• Consumers expect lower prices – Most publisher and
author costs are similar– Industry must remove
costs from distribution, not author/publisher, to finance this
Print Ebook
RRP $100 $100
Retailer 43% 30%
Net $57 $70
Royalties
10% RRP $10.00
$10.00
17.5% net
9.98
15% net 10.50
20% net 14.00
25% net 17.50
Digital Contracts
• “Wait and see” is a bad approach for both authors and the industry
• Better to limit term than to do nothing – eg three years then a review
• Typical royalties 15-25% of net receipts• Licensed editions vs publisher editions
– Higher rate should apply to licensed editions
Contracts (cont.d)
• Should you separate digital from print rights?– Useful negotiating tactic, perhaps … but most
publishers will shun this and difficult to manage– Who does promotion? Could reduce incentives at a
critical time for a new book– Coordination: You should probably aim for
simultaneous release of p & ebook– Potential for duplicated editing and production costs– More likely to work for older backlist
• Revised NZSA contract with digital update is due shortly
Should I insist on Digital Rights Management?
Probably, but:• DRM reduces copying by encrypting an ebook
– Special software needed at reader end to decrypt• There are many incompatible DRM systems
– Same format can be incompatible if different DRM system used
– Adobe DRM is ‘open’ option (open for anyone to buy)
• Publisher will almost certainly propose DRM• Limits e-reader devices and sales channels
– Makes it harder to build audience for new author– Do sales lost to piracy outweigh sales lost from
DRM?
Is it time to fire your publisher?
What publishers do … for print
.. and digital?
Selection and endorsement ↑
Provide finance ↓
Editing and production ↔
Sales to booksellers ↓
Distribution ↓
Marketing to booksellers ↓
Collect and distribute royalties ↔
Sell other rights ↔
Marketing to readers ↑ ↑
KEY: ↑ More important to author ↓ Less important ↔ Same
So you’ve fired your publisher. What next?
• The good news: Self-publishing is easier than ever (but success probably isn’t)
• Amazon’s Digital Text Platform– Receive 30-70%, Kindle format (DRM)
• Smashwords.com– Receive 85%, ePub format (no DRM)– Also has Publisher option for multi-author list
• Lulu.com– US$4-5 per download, ePub, Adobe DRM
optional
Self publishers selling well in Apple’s iBooks store
Source: O’Reilly Research, iBooks downloads during April 2010
Making an ebook, made easy
Options1. Conversion from print PDF via conversion
service (work usually done in India)2. Upload Word file to an automated system
• eg Amazon, Smashwords, Lulu. Aimed at self-publishers.
• Fine while production expectations are low
3. D-I-Y, eg using Adobe InDesign, or Calibre• Technical skills needed (InDesign, HTML, CSS)
Making an ebook, made easy
• For books, recommended formats today are ePub and PDF
• PDF is a poor choice for new mobile devices– Useful for print including print on demand (POD)– ‘Legacy’ format for complex layouts and PC-based
access
• ePub is a variation of web technology (HTML)
– Best suited today for long form narrative works– Next ePub version 2.1 (due 2012) will be better
for highly illustrated/complex layout works
Will writing change?
• More social, less solo. Wisdom? of the crowd– More critics Internet brings opinions to the world– Shared annotations and marginalia will be an
increasing trend– Public writing process: creating new works, in real
time, with their readers contributing, eg O’Reilly
• Continuous updates: ‘Literature as a service’• Usability will be important• The ‘vook’: a multimedia extravaganza
– There should always be a place for works conceived and executed solo
– Multimedia is inevitable (and good) for some genres
Will the printed book die?
• Probably, over a generation or so– Hard to see how print will compete as reading
devices improve– Economics and usability will cement digital’s place– Preservation issues still to be solved
• ‘Beautiful books’ might remain a thriving niche
• Print on demand will extend print’s life• Will long form narrative works survive?
– Absolutely, perhaps stronger than ever
• More opportunities to read = more reading
A crash course in internet marketing
What you need to do (but, alas, not how to do it)
The Toolset
• Website or blog• Search
– Organic and paid
• Email (‘old’ but still good)• Social media• Metadata
– The unglamorous but high payback foundation
Getting found, getting bought
• Metadata (‘data about data’) describes your book to both machines and people
• It contains bibliographic information, rights and usage data, and sales information – It’s key to being discovered by search
engines (Google or a site’s own search)– And it contains your primary sales pitch for
humans
• So make it accurate, complete and rich
Search
• Paid Search – ‘Pay Per Click’ advertising – Google adwords, YouTube etc
• Organic search– Getting high up in the search results
• A big subject but for the most important thing – fresh, relevant content - writers will be better at than most
• Start with list of key words and key phrases searchers will use to find you
SEO Top 5: Tune Your Website
1. Use keywords in Title (<title> tag)– Title shows on the top bar of visitor’s browser
2. Useful, unique and fresh content– Keywords in first 50-100 words of HTML page
3. Use keywords in Heading 1 (<h1> tag)– Heading 2-6 (<h2> to <h6> tags) also useful
4. Keyword use in page links– both internal links and external (in-bound) links
5. Site design: useful hierarchy, text-based links, breadcrumbs, sitemap (and XML Sitemap), keywords in domain name and directory structure
Ranking based loosely on data from: http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors
Social Media
• Connects people to friends, business colleagues and interest groups– Marketing power is in the potential to
dramatically increase ‘Word of Mouth’• Facebook and Twitter (LinkedIn for
business) are the best to focus on today– A Facebook Page or Group is an alternative
to a blog or website– Twitter is a great way to share updates and
interesting links about your field of interest
Social media (cont.d)
• First principle of social media: “Give and you shall receive”– People will follow you, spread the word, if you
offer good information, opinion, etc– Be very respectful: hard sell is a turn-off
• Social networks need to be maintained regularly (but don’t overdo it)– Automation helps you update multiple media– But don’t get an ‘automated feel’: let people
know there’s a human behind it. Personality matters.
Instant website
A free website in 5 steps
A free website in 5 steps
1. Go to WordPress.com2. Sign Up for a free account then Login3. Go to Appearances | Themes
– Choose a theme (site design) and Activate it
4. Go to Settings | General– Add your site’s Title and Tagline
5. Go to Posts | Add New – Write your first story and Publish!
Add PAGES for static information
Instant website (cont.d)
6. (Optional) Go to Pages | Add New– Write pages for static info (eg Home, About
Us, Contact Us)
7. Go to Settings | Reading– For Front Page Display select A static page– Choose a Page for the Front page and for
the Posts page (ie your news/blog articles)
8. Save Changes. You’re done!
Internet Marketing Summary
• The internet puts more marketing and selling tools in authors’ hands
• You still need time and ongoing commitment to use it (after the day job)
• Authors committing to use these tools should expect strong support from their publishers– Driving traffic, creating digital resources to use on
their sites, etc
• This will become an increasingly important part of assessing which publisher is best for you
Thanks!
Martin Taylor
web: digitalpublishing.org.nz
email: [email protected]
blog: activitypress.com/ereport