bookishness: a model of publishing
DESCRIPTION
A presentation made to the Book Manufacturers' Institute November 5, 2012TRANSCRIPT
Bookishness A Model of Publishing in
the Age of Ebooks
Thad McIlroy
November 5, 2012
A Bit About Thad
Started in trade publishing in 1977
Consulting for 25 years on publishing and technology.
18 books; 300+ articles.
Our Session
Banish the bad news People have rediscovered the joy of
reading! A great time to forge partnerships
between print & digital I call it “Bookishness” – what makes a
book a book?
Banish the Bad News Bears
Shrinking markets Both chain and independent bookstores
in trouble Ebooks replacing printed books Premium production & printing moving
offshore
Banish the Bad News
Steady print markets; digital exploding Chain bookstores holding steady; solidly
profitable (except for digital) Ebooks augmenting printed books Premium production & printing moving
offshore. OK, that’s true: but let’s focus on what we do best...
There’s Gobs of Good News More readers than ever Book readers cheerfully pay for books! 293 new publishing startups since 2008
Smart people working on innovative ideas An explosion of new ereaders and tablets
hungry for good content Printing companies already have presses
in place
People have rediscovered the joy of reading
The Sales Report
July 2012: It doesn’t get much better than this! Trade sales of $523 million were up 12% Ebook sales at $138 million, up 62 percent
YTY Ebooks are 25% of trade sales
Yet Just a Fraction of the Total
Higher Ed Won By Best-Managed
Environmentalism You’ve lost the battle when you hear
people saying “well at least I didn’t kill a tree to read that book.”
Trees are just another cash crop like corn or carrots
No one ever says “Do you realize how many carrots were killed to make that carrot cake?”
Cory Doctorow Innovates
The Goon Squad
The Goon Squad + PowerPoint
Old Mr. Smiley
Mr. Smiley Reborn
Celebrating Book Covers
Reading at the Leading Edge
Craig Mod
Designing Books in the Digital Age
A Short History of Production
Magenta Stencil duplicator, 1880
Cyan Spirit duplicator, 1923
Black Laser printer, 1969
Yellow Inkjet printer, 1976
The Emphatic Bookshelf
Jonathan Safran Foer
The Concise Book of Visa Application Forms
Textbooks are Troubled
Look at tablet adoption rate both in K-12 and higher ed
Take a look at both Inkling Habitat and Apple’s iBooks Author and see what you think the future of textbook publishing is
Also delve into open courseware, MOOCs, state licensing and more
But Other Opportunities Abound As of last night on Amazon.com, 25% of
the top 20 bestselling books have no print equivalent (5/20)
Too many new/novice self-published authors have lost sight of how important the print version of their book can be 75% of sales Cataloging in publication Library sales
Many Motivations
Start Partnering
Writers’ associations Designers (AIGA) Independent publishers International publishers International retailers Paper and ink companies
Recommendations
Two-pronged: 1. Spur innovation 2. Teach book appreciation
Embrace digitally fully Awards, and cash Support independent bookstores
The chains may have to look after themselves
This is a great time for innovative book printers because the market for readers and book buyers is growing.
Thank you [email protected]