Future Think: What Will Shape Publishing in 2014?
"The most significant publishing trend I expect to see in 2014 is the widespread adoption of Retina iPad Mini devices, which will further accelerate the growth of ebooks. This growth, coupled with the App Store-style demand for instant gratification, will help the notion of buying an in-progress ebook go from a niche idea to an idea which will start to gain traction in the broader non-fiction and fiction spaces."
– Peter Armstrong, Co-founder of Leanpub
"Things are moving so quickly in the area in which our outfit operates—the intersection of technology and publishing—that it's generally a fool's errand to make trend predictions. Either they are so obvious as to already be happening, or revolutionary enough that almost no one will see them coming."
– Evan Ratliff Co-founder, CEO, Editor of Atavist
"I think we have an obligation, as an industry, to continue to provide quality content to our customers even as their preferred media and consumption patterns change. As such, we will need to begin to explore APIs, robust database-backed systems and truly digital-native workflows."
– Brett Sandusky, Founder and Principal bdigitl Media Labs"
At Slicebooks we're betting on three corresponding trends for the coming year: mobile discoverability, niche content and instant mobile payments. Market research shows that consumers are increasingly relying on their mobile devices for consuming media, including e-content."
– Jill Tomich, Co-founder of Slicebooks
"This is going to sound a bit anachronistic, but the big trend in 2014 is going to be companies trying to find the best way to satisfy readers, figuring out how to put just the right book in front of a reader at the perfect moment. Whatever the methodology, though, the trend next year will be to move past typical search-and-shopping-cart experiences and toward products that get readers actually reading with as little friction as possible."
– John Tayman, Founder of Byliner
"The ebook is still in its infancy. It's really just pretending to be a book at this point. It will morph into something very different in the next few years. Ebooks will begin to utilize mobile technology (far more than they have been), augmented reality and geolocation. This is what I'm anticipating most. Immersive Digital Storytelling. That is what I want to be working on in 2014."
- Nicole Valentine, Writer and Tech Consultant
"The trend I'm watching most closely is the increasing share of online behavior being captured by mobile devices. Online time jumped from roughly 12% in 2011 to 25% 2012 (Monetate Q1 2013 Ecommerce Quarterly). I believe the behavioral shift toward mobile will have a big impact on how consumers relate to book content not just the ebooks, but things like author websites and online book communities. If 88% of online time is spent "in app," publishers and other related sites better have a good mobile strategy in place."
– Kristen McLean, Founder and CEO of Bookigee
"The death of the term 'ebook.' Other content mediums think of 'e' as simply digital distribution. Neither consumers nor marketers would ever say, "I just downloaded the latest eGame from X-Box Live!" As book publishing embraces the understanding that digital publishers already have in these other spaces, the floodgates of understanding and market disruption will open in a way that will benefit smart book publishers, giving them the opportunity to lead the market instead of follow the trends that most benefit Amazon, Google and Apple."
– Fred Chong Rutherford, Digital Product Consultant
"I foresee the closing of far more Barnes & Noble stores in 2014 than their official financial guidance has indicated. Ironically, large publishers and authors needing significant scale to cover their own overheads will become more dependent on Amazon for their survival, along with well-run, local independent bookstores."
– Caleb Mason, Founder and Publisher of Publerati
"I expect (hope?) we'll see a publisher (or some 3rd party entering publishing) present a design/code platform that will allow for true post-book authoring and reading experiences that includes just-in-time multimedia, shared marginalia and multiple content streams. This will initiate a new kind of authoring, an innovative form of expression. Or not."
– Corey Pressman, Founder of Exprima Media
"The most significant trend I expect to see in the publishing industry in 2014 is the development of publishing systems that treat the reader as a dual user of digital and print forms of books."
– Nic Esposito, Founder of The Head & the Hand Press
"Experimentation will be a common theme in 2014. We'll continue to see more experimentation around book subscription models, much more experimentation around eReaders and, in particular browser-based platforms. Next year, we'll also see a loosening of territorial rights restrictions, or at least more flexibility around simultaneous publication or availability in multiple markets."
– Kim Anderson, Founder and Managing Director of The Reading Room
"I think one of most significant trends for 2014 will be publishers continuing to push out and look for alternative revenue sources and publishing platforms beyond Amazon. Publishers are beginning to understand that building a digital publishing platform is a burden they shouldn't shoulder. As such we're seeing a stronger willingness in publishers to embrace alternatives that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago."
– Craig Mod, Co-founder and Writer at Hi
