Tablo is a book publishing platform and online reading community that is beginning to make its mark on the industry. Like Wattpad, Tablo allows authors to share their in-progress works with readers and gather feedback to improve those works. The big difference, says founder Ash Davies, is that Tablo can help authors design, monetize, and distribute their work. Below Davies describes how Tablo intends to put publishing power in authors' hands.
One of the worst kept secrets in recent history was finally unveiled last Friday when Amazon announced their Kindle Unlimited program. It has the potential to become yet another terrific service for consumers but many publishers and authors are less than enthusiastic about it.
Last week I wrote about why I believe e-content prices will continue to drop in the future. The feedback I got in a couple of LinkedIn groups and via email was mixed. Some readers agreed and others seemed to think it was the craziest thing they ever heard.
Regardless of where you stand on this, there are a number of things you can do to prepare...just in case I'm right. Here are a few strategies to consider:
If you think e-content prices are too low today, well, in the immortal words of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, you ain't seen nothing yet. In fact, "nothing" is precisely where more and more e-content prices are heading. Here are a few reasons why:
Ebook platform Lithomobilus provides rich reading experiences through multi-threaded narratives (which can be read through one or more characters' perspectives) and embedded commentary. Here founder Lise Quintana describes the platform's recent app launch and why she thinks there's nothing quite like it on the market.
Bookmate is an ebook subscription platform that is bringing paid access to heavily pirated ebook markets such as Russia and the Ukraine. The subscription platform is available on all devices and operating platforms, allowing users to access books for roughly $4 a month.
Google is terrific but it doesn't help me answer the question, "where did I read about topic xyz?" I'm running into that question more frequently these days, partly because I'm reading so many short bursts of content from so many sources.
The Quadricycle doesn't get much attention these days. Sure, it has a page in the Wikipedia and lives on at The Henry Ford museum, but that's pretty much the extent of it. When we think of the first commercially successful automobile we think of the Model T, not the Quadricycle.
I'd argue that we're in the midst of our own "Quadricycle" era in the digital content world. We might think we've come a long way with the latest formats and devices but we're still in the very early stages of digital content transformation.
How does Rooster work?
We try to bring immersive reading back into peoples' lives in three ways. First, we offer a highly curated selection of books to cut down on paralysis of choice. Right now, in fact, we offer only two titles a month -- one carefully chosen contemporary book paired with a classic work that we think offers an interesting counterpoint.
Time to brush the dust off of this blog and share my first ever experience of BookExpo America. Not only are my feet sore from traipsing across the massive conference, but my mind is bursting with new ideas and insights about this constantly changing book landscape.
