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Sunday, 07 March 2010 18:10 |
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During last year at Electric Book Works, I received more and more calls from publishers (of all sizes) wondering how they should start making ebooks. While I point a lot of people towards outsourcing conversion, I actually don't believe that's a long-term solution for a frontlist. Making ebooks should be a zero-cost by-product of a production workflow, whether it's print- or digital-centric. In real terms, this means that designers and typesetters, and their project managers too, need some new skills.
Some of those skills are pretty straightforward, and some are tricky to learn. And each designer or typesetter will need to develop their own toolkit around these skills, depending on the kinds of books they work on. That may take years to perfect, just as it takes years to get really good at, say, designing magazines or book covers. But at the heart of that toolkit will be a few fundamentals – some conceptual, some practical – that I thought I could offer.
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Read more: Designing for digital: get the course notes
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Tuesday, 23 February 2010 00:00 |
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This morning at Tools of Change, I gave this presentation. In short, I argue that in order to sell content into Africa, publishers can't rely on print distribution, or even ebook distribution as we know it. They are going to need to let people on the ground repackage and distribute their content in unpredictable ways.
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Read more: Quick, easy licences, and why they matter
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Thursday, 11 February 2010 11:11 |
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The Harvard Business Review November magazine includes an article on clean tech that opens with a story about Thomas Edison. It explains how technology does not replace technology – systems replace systems.
realized that the technology he envisioned—no matter how innovative—couldn’t by itself sweep aside the kerosene-based lighting industry. Instead of asking how he could solve the technical problem of inventing a lightbulb, Edison asked how he could get consumers to switch from kerosene to electricity. He understood that despite the many advantages of electric light, it would replace kerosene only if it had its own, economically competitive network.
So, while scores of people worldwide worked on inventing a lightbulb, Edison conceived a fully operational system. His technical platform included generators, meters, transmission lines, and substations, and he mapped out both how they would interact technically and how they would combine in a profitable business.
Edison … realized that the technology he envisioned—no matter how innovative—couldn’t by itself sweep aside the kerosene-based lighting industry. Instead of asking how he could solve the technical problem of inventing a lightbulb, Edison asked how he could get consumers to switch from kerosene to electricity. He understood that despite the many advantages of electric light, it would replace kerosene only if it had its own, economically competitive network.
So, while scores of people worldwide worked on inventing a lightbulb, Edison conceived a fully operational system. His technical platform included generators, meters, transmission lines, and substations, and he mapped out both how they would interact technically and how they would combine in a profitable business.
That is, of course, exactly what the publishing industry needs for ebooks. And many large companies are certainly trying to get such systems right. In its own monopoly-ridden way, Amazon has done this well, setting high standards for a simple, integrated acquisition-to-reading system.
Edison first rolled out his system in Lower Manhattan, where buildings were close together and potential investors lived and worked. If it was going to work anywhere, it was going to work there, and be a model for expansion elsewhere.
The Kindle, and its US market, is that Lower Manhattan to the rest of the world, where digital publishing in many forms will enable massive leaps forward for the sharing and selling of information. iBooks may be another. They are precursors to a much greater revolution, perhaps as fundamental as electrification itself; and for all our grumbling about their flaws, we're lucky to have them.
(Thanks to Michelle for the HBR article.) |
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Wednesday, 17 February 2010 09:46 |
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A few times now, I've had that conversation with wary publishers: how do I make my epub (or other reflowable) ebooks look the same as my paper editions? I usually explain that, technically, you can't and don't want to. I've learned (at some cost) to make it very clear from the start that epub ebooks are not supposed to look like their paper editions. The medium (the screen) is an entirely different way of presenting and distributing content. The design must suit the new medium, not match the old one.
That's all very well, but what I really need is a good analogy that makes it clear to non-technical people why this is the case.
This is my best attempt so far: Paper and epub is like paint and stained glass: if you wanted to do a stained-glass version of the Mona Lisa, you wouldn't expect it to look exactly the same as the original. The stained glass allows for different tricks with light and tone, so while the finished window may look something like the original Mona Lisa, in many ways it will look very different, and beautiful in its own way -- the new medium (glass, not canvas) must be treated differently to make the most of its own features.
Do you think that would help? If you have other useful analogies, let me know. |
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Thursday, 04 February 2010 15:10 |
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 Last weekend I treated myself to four new albums on my favourite music site (for its business model as much as its catalogue), Amie Street. All four are great, but the one I can't stop listening to is Transmitter Failure by Jenny Owen Youngs. I betray here again my penchant (pointed out by Michelle after only a few weeks knowing me) for pop-folk-rock by deep-thinking women with enchanting lyrics and plucky guitar. Anyway, I think Jenny Owen Youngs has taken things to a new level with this album. Miss it, miss out.
If you're curious about the others, check out Vandaveer (Dave Matthews' separated twin, I'm sure), People Eating People and Lisa Donnelly. |
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