What Can Publishers Learn from Digital Comic Books?
What EPUB 3 can and should do is capture and normalize these new innovations—some of which we have not yet invented. It won't replace genius or innovation but it will make it less costly and more efficient to create both the message and its digital "container."
For publishers in general, CGM represents a real-world lab, both in terms of technology and standards and of changing business models. The over-used word, "engagement," is the ultimate goal of any storyteller, no matter what format or standard is employed. The practice of creating and selling these engaging media packages ("book" is too small a word) is an art and a business that requires mastery.
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.