How Social Sharing, E-samples, And Mobile Can Revitalize Book Publishing

Strategic Decisions
Larger publishers -- with ample IT resources -- are generally better equipped to create and distribute HTML5-formatted ebook samples than their smaller counterparts. If the publisher also has a centralized, XML-based content workflow, then the task is even more straightforward. However, even among larger publishers, such systems are not yet widespread. "Clearly, it makes sense for publishers to employ a centralized, XML-based approach to content," says industry consultant Steve Paxhia of Beacon Digital Strategies. "That way, they can output multiple formats, including EPUB, HTML, and PDF, from a single source. Unfortunately, the market isn't there yet. Some publishers are headed in that direction, but others are still doing things piecemeal."

For publishers (and even authors) that do not have the IT resources or an XML-based workflow to handle an additional output channel, third-party services like Aerbook, ReadBox, and TextCafe are attractive alternatives. Regardless of the method used to create them, however, socially sharable, e-commerce-friendly HTML ebook samples are vital pieces of content for any publisher's social marketing strategy.