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.
John Parsons (john@intuideas.com), former Editorial Director of The Seybold Report, is an independent writer, ghostwriter, and editor. He is the co-author of the interactive printed textbook, Introduction to Graphic Communication, on the art, science and business of print, which has been adopted by Ryerson, Arizona State, the University of Houston, and many other schools and vocational training centers. Custom editions of the book are under consideration by major printing companies and franchises for internal training purposes.
