July 2013 – Boom-Books

Multimedia, Transmedia, Mobile Media

Posted on July 30, 2013 by CJ Verburg

North Beach's main street transformed by a film crew — North Beach’s main street transformed by a film crew

Living in San Francisco has always had its Disneyland side, in that the border between reality and fantasy is fuzzier here than in most places. For anyone who smugly supposes this makes San Franciscans fluffy-headed and inconsequential — wake up! The rest of the world is not only hot on our trail, but moving here to position their own betas and start-ups at the epicenter of our latest revolution.

This time it’s not peaceniks and rock-&-rollers storming the barricades, but creative ambitious techies. At last night’s Transmedia meetup we were introduced to fiverun, which integrates online with bricks-&-mortar shopping; Ignite Video, which lets anyone with an iPhone shoot, edit, and storyboard a commercial video; and Mobzili, where a storyteller can build a visual and verbal presentation into an app sold on iTunes. Also mooted were Snapchat (for sharing short-lived photos), Vine (for sharing short videos), Madefire (animated graphic novels), TangoSource (software development), Global Film Ventures (good business practices for filmmakers), and of course Boom-Books (multimedia e-books and paperbacks, as well as Mystery, Romance, & International Intrigue).

If this revolution will not be televised, it’s because (Transmedia moderator Beth Rogozinski noted) TV is rapidly being plowed under by mobile, i.e. smartphones and tablets. As of 2012, there were 6,835,000,000 mobile subscribers on our planet. That’s 90% of the world’s population.

So, if you’re going to San Francisco, forget the flowers in your hair. Bring your mobile device and join the revolution!

The Cuckoo’s Calling: Put on Your Platform Shoes!

Posted on July 23, 2013July 23, 2013 by CJ Verburg

“JK Rowling Unmasked as Author of Acclaimed Detective Novel!” crowed the Daily Telegraph on July 22. “Writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, the Harry Potter creator wrote a 450-page crime novel called The Cuckoo’s Calling. The book is billed as a “classic crime novel”, written in the style of PD James and Ruth Rendell…”

So — instant hit, right?

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith sold a total of around 1500 copies between its publication in April and its unmasking in July. In contrast, The Cuckoo’s Calling by Galbraith AKA JK Rowling skyrocketed to #1 on Amazon and has more than 1500 reviews so far.

Agent and Author Nathan Bransford remarked (as I quoted previously) that this shows even Rowling can write a good book that sinks with hardly a ripple. Book Designer Joel Friedlander further noted that the takeaway lesson is: PLATFORM! An author without media visibility is like a tree falling in a forest with no one to hear it.

Some of us are bemused by the 21st-century trope that a book sells because its author is well known — reversing the longtime assumption that an author becomes well-known because her/his books appeal, i.e., sell, to readers. Platform evangelists go further: A website isn’t enough; your author platform must include a blog, posted regularly (weekly? daily?) to promote yourself and thereby your books. Your blog must include a way to recruit subscribers: a sign-up widget, plus some incentive to join, such as a free book. Next step: market your blog!

Peter Brantley remarked some time ago that what’s changed about publishing in this new century is that the big decisions are no longer made by literary people — authors and editors — but by techies, at mega-companies such as Amazon and Google. Put it all together and you have a publishing industry which undercuts writers whose greatest strength is writing, and boosts those whose greatest strength is marketing.

What kind of literary landscape does this shift in slant produce? Is the word “literary” even applicable to today’s book world? One author I know regards his book as his business card, handed out more often than sold (and shelved or tossed more often than read) — an upscale credential for his real work as a consultant.

A bright spot on the horizon from my POV is the fairly new, and burgeoning, alliance between Canadian online e-book/e-reader giant Kobo and the ABA (American Booksellers’ Association). A reader who creates an online account with Kobo by way of his or her favorite local bookstore’s website can then buy books from that store through Kobo. This program isn’t exactly the belated Good Fairy at Sleeping Beauty’s christening, but it may be a deus ex machina of sorts — life support for the long-time alliance among publishers, bookshops, readers, and writers.

I’m currently investigating how small independent publishers may be able to create a synergistic niche in this emerging ecosystem. Have you discovered one yet? Let me know!

Navigating the Thrilling and/or Treacherous Amazon

Posted on July 16, 2013 by CJ Verburg

Sometimes you have to wonder if existing laws are making justice impossible. Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which enabled (and arguably encouraged) George Zimmerman to murder Trayvon Martin without criminal penalty, is this week’s most dramatic example. In the book world, we have the DOJ’s successful prosecution of Apple for price-fixing.

What did Apple do? Conspired with the half-dozen largest book publishers (who reached separate out-of-court settlements) to stop Amazon from undercutting their e-book sales by setting its own prices under $10. Amazon currently holds a boa-constrictor monopoly in e-book publishing; but since it’s a single corporation (for purposes of this case), it can fix prices legally. No conspiracy involved, so no threat to consumers, right?

The publishing punditry has responded with a wide range of observations and predictions. One enterprising commentator already has a book out on the case’s implications:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/what-would-happen-if-apple-loses-the-ebook-case_b72736
New York Times blogger David Streitfield considers what the Amazon python has already devoured, and how that’s denuded the reading and publishing landscape:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/the-price-of-amazon/
Paul St John Mackintosh of TeleRead charts Amazon’s past acquisitions in detail, and speculates on what its next prey might be: Staples? Radio Shack? Netflix?
http://www.teleread.com/amazon/amazon-has-acquisition-hit-list-or-not/?et_mid=627595&rid=233803968

Meanwhile, in another part of the jungle, power is eroding out from under the Big 6. Looming smaller on the media radar, but larger and larger on sales-trend charts, are the independent publishers. Boutique or niche companies such as Heyday, Polis, and Carina, are a proliferating part of this picture. Perhaps even more significant are the myriad of authors who publish their own books (many through Amazon’s, Apple’s, Ingram’s, or some other large company’s subsidiaries). Here the prices are much lower: a reader typically pays less than half what Amazon charges for a Big-6 published title in the same genre, which might be a third of the publisher’s list price.

The financial pitfalls for an indie author-publisher are obvious: Most self-published books reportedly sell fewer than 150 copies, and with per-copy prices ranging from around $10 to free, the author may well lose money, given the cost of editing, design, manufacturing, and publicity. Like the lottery, self-publishing thrives because it’s a kick to enter, and every budding novelist secretly hopes to be one of the lucky few who hits big.

Possibly the hottest news on this front is another conspiracy of sorts. The Canadian e-book and e-reader company Kobo has partnered with U.S. independent bookstores to offer readers (and writers) an alternative to Amazon. More details on that next time; but if you don’t want to wait, check the e-books section on your favorite local bookshop’s website.