2010 Publishing Business Conference on the Future of Books

By Noelle Skodzinski and Thorin McGee (contributor)

Five Reasons to  Reinvent Your Publishing Company

For those who missed this year's Publishing Business Conference, one highlight was Tuesday's special event featuring Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines, and Jane Friedman, former president and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide and now CEO and co-founder of Open Road Integrated Media, which launched in 2009.

Friedman's Open Road Integrated Media is an e-book publishing company that has drawn significant attention for acquiring exclusive digital rights to the works of top-selling authors and marketing those through a proprietary online platform that reaches into video, augmented reality and social media. "Physical books represent civilization," said Friedman, during the session "Reinventing Today's Publishing Company." "What's changing dramatically is how people read when they want to read."

Friedman and Open Road are embracing what she sees as a digital revolution in the publishing industry, and here are five reasons why she thinks you should, too:

"The book business is in a revolution." "This is the golden age of marketing," Friedman said. "The Internet is an absolute boon to marketing. It really allows a marketer to reach an audience in a way I don't think any of us ever dreamed was possible."

"The publishing business [of the past] ... had no data, no statistics, nothing," Friedman said. "We never knew who our ultimate customer … was." She calls the old approach the "spaghetti theory": Throw a bunch of ideas at the market and see what sticks. That's not good enough today, according to Friedman: Publishers have to know who their customers are, publish for them and provide the content they want, when they want, on any device they want.

E-books will represent 40 percent of revenue. "Having books in digital format is absolutely key," said Friedman. She believes, "within the next five years, we're going to see 40 percent of revenue come from the 'e' side." That will contribute to the need to consolidate among traditional publishers that will have to lower overhead. 'E'—because it's easier, faster and cheaper to produce—said Friedman, will become larger and larger.

Backlists will be key. Acquiring entire author-branded backlists is a pillar of Open Road's strategy because the company has found that, "If you read a book online, and you like it, you immediately want to read another book by the same author." One purchase will lead to another.

The Kindle won't occupy the dramatic market-share it does today. "I have a feeling, in the next year, [the Kindle] will look like a dinosaur because of what's coming," Friedman said. But she warns against embracing the iPad for every book, because not everyone will have the resources to leverage the platform for display or marketing. Instead, she looks to a cheaper future, and rumors that the next generation will have an e-reader for $99. "If that is true," she said, it would be like the $9.99 Walkman, which "completely blew out the audio business because everybody could listen on a $9.99 device."

E-books may carry advertising. "Advertisers are coming to [Open Road] because they're looking for other ways to spend their money promotionally," such as putting ads into e-books, Friedman said, and she's listening. "Books have never used an advertising model, but I see an opportunity for advertising and books in this digital space."

With a trying 2008 and 2009 behind us, most publishers who attended the 2010 Publishing Business Conference & Expo (PublishingBusiness.com), March 8-10, seemed, at the very least, less worried about the future than they were last year, and, in fact, most were quite optimistic. The conference theme, "Publishing at a Tipping Point," was the unifying force behind more than 60 educational sessions presented by 150 speakers from all walks of the publishing industry. The presentations and discussions focused on industry shifts and practical information to help publishers adapt and thrive.

The show, held at the New York Marriott Marquis, Times Square, drew more than 2,000 registrants, and registrations to the conference program were the highest in the show's history. The exhibit hall was filled with leading technology, solutions and services providers serving the publishing industry.

"I think that this year, publishers realized that they really needed to come together to address the major issues we're all facing and to develop concrete plans for moving forward successfully," said Noelle Skodzinski, editorial director of Book Business and Publishing Business Conference director.

Skodzinski also commented on the generous support from the industry in pulling off an event that exceeded expectations. "The support we received from industry thought-leaders, our conference chairs, our advisory board, our exhibitors and sponsors, and our attendees was amazing," she said. "It proved that there is a strong need for this type of strategic, hands-on programming, integrated with the industry's largest trade show showcasing vendors who can help publishers not only to save time and money, but also to move into the next wave of publishing technologies and media. People (including me) were excited to be a part of it."

The conference was chaired by Clint Greenleaf, president and CEO, Greenleaf Book Group, and Evan Schnittman, vice president, global business development, Oxford University Press. Speakers hailed from companies such as Scholastic, Springer Science + Business Media, Chronicle Books, Chelsea Green, Hachette Book Group, Daily Lit, Melville House Publishing, Baker & Taylor, ScrollMotion, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Macmillan and many others.