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Posts from the ‘Publishing’ Category

Jan 22

Non-US & UK Publishers Take Note | All publishers and book retailers are global now – The Shatzkin Files

I’ve written on this issue a few times before. I call it differential rates of digital change. I see it as being the biggest issue for non-US and UK publishers in 2011 and 2012.

The massive shift to digital is already leaking sales from smaller markets to those large markets. We just don’t see them. Frankly, how else can we explain the modest growth in those markets driven as they are by digital sales?

Mike Shatzkin looks at this phenomenon on his blog:

The topic of digital change outside the English-speaking world was placed on my radar in 2008 when I was invited to speak in Copenhagen to Danish booksellers and publishers. It was already the case that a large percentage of the books sold in Denmark were in English. (I have recently heard it said anecdotally that sales of English-language books in Denmark have climbed to 25% of the total!) I observed at the time that digital disruption, which would make books more ubiquitously available outside their home territories, would result in increased intrusion by books in English. It seemed to me, at first, that booksellers would be better able to adapt to this change than publishers because booksellers are not nearly as tethered to their language as publishers are.

via All publishers and book retailers are global now – The Shatzkin Files.

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Jan 22

Digital Change | Brave New World: Sony eBooks Finally Make the Platform Party

If you don’t read Martyn, you really, really should:

The challenge for Sony is not extending the service for existing users of the Sony Reader Store to allow them to synchronize their bookmarks, highlights, and reading between mobiles and Sony readers, but getting new users to use their platform and buy ebooks from them and also buy their ereaders. However, there appears to be little compelling reason, or differentiator for people to buy ebooks from Sony’s relatively small selection of titles we dismiss the Public domain fillers that they even charge for and their devices are just the same old eink ‘lookie likies’.

via Brave New World: Sony eBooks Finally Make the Platform Party.

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Jan 18

The Future Of Publishing | Why Online Retailers Will Squeeze Out Publishers In The Book Business | paidContent

Too fatalistic by far in my view, but there is some truth in this piece. Publishers need to change, to adapt and to look for new ways to employ their content if they are to win out.

Publishers have been taking steps in this direction by shifting their ad spending to online, and having staff get up to speed on Facebook and Twitter as promotional outlets. But for the most part, this effort has been limited to a few relatively junior people working on a campaign-by-campaign basis and trying small-scale experiments.

In short, I don’t think publishers will figure all this out in time, which is why retailers will dominate the customer relationships in the future. They can amass enough of a consumer base that they can market a book to hundreds of millions of consumers and, more importantly, get enough of those consumers to buy the book. With those 100 million billing and messaging relationships, Apple and Amazon would only need to achieve a reasonable 1 percent conversion rate to help an author sell 1 million books, a level few authors today reach.

via Why Online Retailers Will Squeeze Out Publishers In The Book Business | paidContent.

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Jan 17

Digital Change | MediaPost Publications iDiots Guide To Publishing On The iPad 01/13/2011

Print publishers are screwing up what could be their biggest opportunity. Many continue to botch their Web strategy, and are now doubling down by getting their iPad strategy completely wrong.The core of the problem lies in how publishers think about the iPad. Just look at the headlines: “Will the iPad save print?” asks one; “Savior crucified” proclaims another.

via MediaPost Publications iDiots Guide To Publishing On The iPad 01/13/2011.

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Jan 14

Interesting Links | FT.com / Media – Bloomsbury book sales driven by Booker win

Bloomsbury have been making very savvy acquisitions on the back of their Harry Potter bounty. I’d expect to see trade publishing become a smaller part of their business over time as academic and professional elements grow more significant!

Within the past two years, Bloomsbury has focused on diversifying into academic and professional publishing. The company said its investments in that area, including Methuen Drama and the Arden Shakespeare, were “progressing well”.

via FT.com / Media – Bloomsbury book sales driven by Booker win.

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