Comments for Arthur Attwell

Comment on On making money in publishing by Arthur

Arthur — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:20:07 +0000

Hi Siobhan. Well, indispensable was too strong a word, I guess. I’ve known so many writers (myself once upon a time) whose careers and financial lives are hamstrung by their naivety or ignorance about money. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a cheap and nasty way to get your head around the basics. I certainly wouldn’t call it a solid financial guide, but anyone who aspires to be self-sufficient from their creative work needs to know the difference between and importance of assets and liabilities, and to see the ego-drive it can take to make enough money to live comfortably as a writer. That said, there are better books no doubt. You have any favourites?

Comment on A sea-change in South African schoolbook publishing by alex weir

alex weir — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:10:30 +0000

Siyavula have 95 english language textbooks for ages 4 through 17. Put that together with my open source data-on-dvd-for-dvd-player technology and uou have something totally revolutionary – all primary and secomdary school books on one disk for $1 retail price, with no need to print anything!

Alexeir1949@gmail.com

Comment on On making money in publishing by Siobhan Blundell

Siobhan Blundell — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:42:31 +0000

Thanks Arthur for an interesting article. Am curious as to exactly why RIch Dad Poor Dad is indispensable for writers? It is an obnoxious book, and the financial advice a little dodgy –
Regards
Siobhan

Comment on Paperight 1.0: The world’s first instant-delivery rights marketplace for copy shops by David

David — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:28:57 +0000

Congrats, Arthur. I doubt I fully grasp the full implications of this, but it sounds like you’ve closed the ebook-paper cycle. Hope it goes from strength to strength!

Comment on A Paperight Pechua Kucha by Anthony Haynes

Anthony Haynes — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:57:23 +0000

Excellent presentation.

BTW, with many of the authors I mentor, I’ve been encouraging them to use problem-solution strings (problem leads to solution leads to further problem leads to further solution etc.). Often both authors and readers/listeners find this structure aids communication. I was fascinated to find that this narrative in effect adopts that structure.

Comment on What publishers can learn from publishing by On making money in publishing | Arthur Attwell

On making money in publishing | Arthur Attwell — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:11:11 +0000

[...] But big companies can afford to cross-subsidise books, allowing successful books to pay for losers. There are always losers, maybe as many as 8 of 10 books lose money for publishers. So that makes it possible for them to [...]

Comment on My Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship: 3 months in by My Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship: six months in | Arthur Attwell

My Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship: six months in | Arthur Attwell — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:52:48 +0000

[...] already halfway through my Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship. Only moments ago I was writing up highlights from the first three months. Those were largely backoffice-building and research [...]

Comment on Big-bookstore squabbles drive alternative distribution models by David

David — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:06:50 +0000

Good read, thanks. I’ve often heard it said that piracy is a supply problem, which I agree with.

I think the most effective model of digital distribution done right that I’ve ever seen is Valve’s Steam platform for gaming content. I really, really wish other media formats would adopt a similar approach.

Basically, you buy licenses for content. Once you own a license, you own it forever. They’re not tied to a device, they’re tied to your account – so the hardware you’re using to experience the content is irrelevant. Provided you have a license, you can use the content.

You don’t even have to get the content from Steam – you can copy it from a mate on a USB stick if that’s more convenient for you, put it on your device, and acquire a license later at your convenience. They make no attempt to prevent you copying stuff, but the platform will only let you use content you’ve acquired licenses for.

Acquired new hardware? No problem. The software runs on PC, Mac, Linux, and now also smartphones. Either copy your content library folder off your last device, or stream it back down from Steam’s servers.

Your preferences are account-based, so they follow you around from device to device. Visiting a friend and want to access your stuff? No problem. Log on using someone else’s hardware, and it configures like it knows you like it. And, provided you’ve opened content at least once while connected to the Internet, you can enjoy it offline henceforward – sustained connection to the net is not required.

This device-agnostic approach to content freaks out most of the big media companies, because it closes the door on a niche they’ve enjoyed for many years: selling you content you already own in newer formats. For example: Buy it on VHS. Now buy it on VCD. Now buy it on DVD. Now buy it on Bluray. This, IMHO, is the primary reason a platform like this doesn’t exist for anything other than gaming right now.

Comment on Quick, easy licences, and why they matter by Big-bookstore squabbles drive alternative distribution models | Arthur Attwell

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:11:03 +0000

[...] licensing is my keenest interest. To grow markets internationally, publishers must rely more and more on local expertise to sell to consumers over the last mile. Local experts might be municipal school boards on the [...]

Comment on New EPUB spec gives tech companies the edge by Arthur

Arthur — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:41:57 +0000

@Thad, you’re right that hiring and keeping web-savvy staff can be expensive – whether you hire them in or give existing staff opportunities to learn through training and experimentation. One way or another, these increased costs will go to editorial, design and composition. Even if the final coding is done off-shore, initial in-house product development could require UX/UI specialists, game-design experts, and authors and editors capable of integrating text with interactive elements, like geolocation and social networking. I’m talking about frontlist, of course. Backlist conversions will remain off-shored, $100–$500 once-offs.