Preparing for the Industry’s Future

Shatzkin kicked off the discussion by noting a shift in the consumer media landscape— from the horizontal, format-specifi c coverage of the 20th century to the new, 21st-century content-delivery models in which “communities rule,” content is organized vertically and formats are rendered insignifi cant online. He touched on some of the implications of this shift for book publishers, including reduced opportunities for horizontal promotional media, such as shrinking book review sections, and the concern that a younger generation weaned on the Internet may be steering away from the book’s long form, citing the popularity of text messaging and the manga genre among adolescents and young adults.

Shatzkin urged publishers to rethink their business models. “Get beyond the book,” he advised, “… and get comfortable with audio and video.” He also stressed the importance of building community relations with customers and creating an online marketing infrastructure.

Peter Osnos discussed The Caravan Project, which he created two-and-a-half years ago. The grant-funded project, which focuses on nonfi ction books, has a two-fold mission, explained Osnos: to enable publishers to produce books “in all the ways technology now permits,” including audio and electronic formats, and to give booksellers the capacity to make these multiformat books available to consumers.

Seven nonprofi t publishers, including several university presses, and a number of independent booksellers are participating in The Caravan Project, which has produced 65 titles in two seasons.

Carolyn Pittis of HarperCollins stressed the importance of providing readers with a unique experience, not just content. She highlighted several of the publisher’s recent digital initiatives that help to create that unique experience— many of which were “fi rsts” in the book publishing world—including its digital content warehouse, “Browse Inside” feature and author portal, Author Assistant.

While Pittis noted the benefi t of authors building communities online, which the Author Assistant portal helps to facilitate, she also urged publishers and their staffs to interact with their communities. “It’s very important for publishers to remain in the conversation,” she said.