Jane over at Dear Author has yet another interesting post up this morning reflecting many of my own thoughts on the current state of the traditional publishing industries misguided forays into eBook Publishing.
I myself think that my audience here tends to be those people already involved in the growth industry that is ePublishing and we could really give a rats ass if Simon & Schuster ever wakes the fuck up before their inevitable crash and burn. I have always thought that the best way to show an industry they are wrong is to make money doing it better yourself much like the banking website I work on. So that is what I would like to orient on today.
You know what part of eBook content I would like to see get better?
I would like to see the ePublisher Customers get more from their eBook purchase than just whatever the author happened to write. In other words I would like to see an ePublisher start making more of an effort at generating more sales from those eBooks they currently have in stock.
Think of this discussion today as reviewing how you the ePublisher package and format the eBook to generate sales besides what cover you use or the blurb you chose on your website.
So today I want to look at what DAW one of my favorite Sci-Fi Publishers, especially during the 70s, used to do for their mass market paperbacks. Let’s take a prolific author and someone we can all admire Marion Zimmer Bradley and see how DAW handled one of her books for the Darkover series to not only provide the customer with very pertinent information but to actually in the end sell more product.
So inside the front cover they have advertised several of her other Darkover series novels using front cover images indicating that you are in fact reading a book that is part of a major series. Now here you go, DAW is already advertising other books in the series before we even hit the Title Page and in this case using front cover images to attract the reader to buy more.
First page, oops still no Title Page. This is a paperback sitting on a shelf so the sales blurb for this book is right here. That makes sense right? If a potential customer wants an idea what is the story being told in this novel they are given the information in an exciting way front and center so that they can make the purchase. I think this for an ePublisher simply underlines how important that blurb on your webpage is but I do not think it hurts being included in an eBook but it becomes more important if you decide to take that eBook to print.
Next page… A Readers Guide To Darkover. Still no Title Page but this looks important to any customer in any book format. How does this book fit into the Darkover series? Answer the question clearly. Here DAW again is promoting not only this book but the whole series of books by this author that it is a part of so the customer can keep up to date on what has already been published and I have even seen them announce the future title of the next book in the series here. DAW is already proclaiming what will be “coming soon” from Marion Zimmer Bradley. That makes sense to me if you have a prolific house author and you want to keep reader’s interest.
Finally we get to the Title Page. So that was what? Five pages in all, right up front for promotion of this author and this series by DAW. That does not seem like too much work to me and it provided a lot of information and sales generating opportunity for a relatively small amount of effort.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!
This was DAW. The master of book promotion and Sci-fi salesmanship.
Let’s go to the end of the book and what do we see?
At the end of the story you see a short “join us next time” blurb giving the title of the next book to be published in the series and they give an idea when it will be available in book stores. Now right there is some serious management and planning but very effective to me as the customer in getting my money. Even if this information is old and the next book is already out on the shelves you just provided the customer with the information they needed to pick up the next book in the series and buy it.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!
Next page… A freaking check list showing every book by it’s series by this author published by DAW and their ISBN. I have even seen publishers doing this provide sales blurbs for each book in the series if the list happened to be short. Wow, would this be even better if each book listed was hyperlinked to it’s own webpage like this was an eBook by an ePublisher who knew what they were doing in making another sale?
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!
Next page… If you like Marion Zimmer Bradley try this list of books by our author Mercedes Lackey. Wow, another checklist for each of the author’s books and series published by DAW. Would this be even better if each book listed was hyperlinked to it’s own webpage like this was an eBook by an ePublisher who knew what they were doing in making another sale?
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!
Are you starting to see that DAW was the master of this type of book promotion in my opinion?
The very last page of this book contains a short list of books by an author they are obviously grooming and promoting, Kate Elliot. There are only three books by her so they provide blurbs but this is probably considered prime marketing space on the last page of a Marion Zimmer Bradley book that they know will sell sell sell.
So I guess what I am pointing out here is DAW was a publisher making the customer purchase and reading of this particular book an event to inform the customer and draw the customer’s attention to other books they may not have bought and even other similar authors they may not have read… EVIL GENIU$! The purchase and reading of this book is treated as a tasteful promotional event and they create that air of importance by their attention to details of interest to the reader and their obvious efforts to include all these bell$ and whistle$.
There is nothing here that may seem that earth shattering in the overall creation of this particular book but I am sure over the years this same customer service oriented format used over and over again created a lot of sales for DAW.
Just something to think about.
Tags: ePublisher, Web Design
AnneD wrote,
Some of the above are great for those reading on a computer – not so useful if you’re using a reader (in it’s various forms), so there does have to be a middle ground of info right there, and info available through links.
I’m for blurbs at the back end of a story, not so much on the multiple pages of excerpts. Although I think that stems from thinking I’m reading a 200pg book and then finding it’s only 175 because the rest of it is excerpts.
If there are going to be excerpts, please make them for the author I’m reading other books, before someone elses.
And yes! A page up front telling me what other books in the series/order of the series. Although, unlike NY, many of the ePubs sign one book at a time, not a series on proposal, so putting a ‘next episode’ section in might prove to be difficult as some people (like me, for instance), haven’t written the next in the story.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 8:15 am
TeddyPig wrote,
I understand that but since this is eBooks not print there is no reason the eBook formatting cannot be evolved after the fact through some scheduled update and template changes.
This is not about editing the actual writing but what is around it in the information areas of the eBook Template. This is where eBooks can have a leg up on print books.
I am also not a huge fan of gigantic excerpts from another book included.
That can work if the author is new to the Publisher and does not have that many books by the Publisher but series information and other eBooks to read by the author becomes more and more important as time goes on.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 8:23 am
TeddyPig wrote,
Oh and Anne!
You make a great point.
If the eReader cannot do standard web links then it becomes more important that the static series or author based information is included in that eBook and not dependent on hyperlinks. If you cannot hyperlink to the ePublisher’s webpage information then you have to depend on the content information there included in the eBook sold to provide the motivation to research more and thus buy more.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Erastes wrote,
I completely agree that some epubs need to take this onboard, a lot of the stuff I read (although it’s in the small genre that I prefer, mainly) in ebook form already has some of this advertising in (linden bay were good at this) but many don’t. However I wouldn’t like to see pages and pages of it, in the same way it would annoy me (does annoy me) in a printed book too. It’s like having one of those glossy magazines where you have to flip through 20 pages just to find the editorial introduction column of what’s on this week. A magazine can be a bit more blatant about it.
I’d definitely appreciate “Other works by this author” (with active links, after all, this is technology) (if that’s possible, what do I know, I’m a cavewoman) at the front – “books in this series in reading order” as you find with O’Brian, Cornwell and the like, but not pages and pages of promotional stuff. I remember that many of my children’s books would have a section at the back, often stretching to 10 pages or more showcasing “if you liked this, then you’ll love these” and that’s a great idea, but at the back, please. Otherwise it all becomes like the famous song from Danny Kaye’s Up In Arms where he talks about all the gubbins that happens before you FINALLY get to see the movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG5KImGATL4
Authors such as George Martin have a teaser chapter for the next book, and that would certainly be great..”coming soon with a teaser” would certainly have me making notes in the TBB pile.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 9:18 am
AnneD wrote,
“I understand that but since this is eBooks not print there is no reason the eBook formatting cannot be evolved after the fact through some scheduled update and template changes.”
In my limited experience, they seem very reluctant to do that.
I can see both sides on this point though. There is a certain amount of time that goes into prepping a book to be ported to all its different formats, and it isn’t a wise use of man hours to do it twice. In theory, any mistakes in eBooks should be able to be corrected, too, but again, changing multiple file types every time someone points one out is not cost effective. But then, on the other side, I agree with you, it’s not that difficult to do.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 9:25 am
TeddyPig wrote,
There is a certain amount of time that goes into prepping a book to be ported to all its different formats, and it isn’t a wise use of man hours to do it twice.
I think eBooks and their cost in creation make keeping old content up to date, relative to new content available, not a bad investment. Updating Information Templates is simply an administrative task unlike updating cover art when I see them take an eBook to print that I think would also pay off in the long run especially if implemented across the board in an orderly fashion.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 9:33 am
AnneD wrote,
I don’t disagree with you. There is no reason epublishers shouldn’t innovate, they have the perfect format to do so.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Erastes wrote,
ARgh. My comment got eaten. That’ll learn me not to copy it before pressing submit.
Ok, can’t really remember exactly what I said but yes, I do think there’s more all epubs can do, and why they aren’t doing more, I can’t imagine. However I for one wouldn’t want pages and pages of promotional stuff before the title page, in exactly the same way I don’t want pages and pages of PS before the title page in a dead tree book (oops ;)) I would like to see:
1. Other works by this author (with active links if that’s possible, seeing as how some people like me read on a PC)
2. Other works in this series and the order you read them in.
Perhaps – like the pratchett books – pictures of covers, they are always nice to see too, but I’d prefer the blurbs and adverts to be after the book itself.
I remember that a lot of my childhood books had pages of promotional stuff at the end often as much as 20 or so pages-kind of a “if you liked this, then you’ll like these” which was hugely useful to me as a child, and some publishers do the same with paper books now, again, which I often take notice of, as I like to know more authors who are writing the same kind of style. I don’t want to search all over the internet to find another gay historical–and I can’t tell you what a boon it would be, if–for example, in the eversion of Alex Beecroft’s book–the publisher listed all the other gay historicals in their catalogue.
But I don’t want it all at the front or it becomes like that famous song from Danny Kaye’s Up in Arms where he talks about all the persiflage at the beginning of the movies and you get impatient. With the unrestricted media of ebooks, e.g. you could put 30 pages of promo or any amount, really, at the back and you aren’t killing any more trees, or costing the publisher much more to create these pages, it seems an ideal opportunity for publishers to do this.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Bree wrote,
This is really interesting to see for me as an author, because I have spent a lot of time lately experimenting with free reads and how I can make them both enjoyable and useful for promoting related titles in case a reader is interested in more. A reader’s guide is something I hadn’t considered, even though I have written them. Something to think about.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 9:43 am
TeddyPig wrote,
Erastes,
I think what they did with Marion Zimmer Bradley before the Title Page in this case was focused to selling this book by explaining how it fit into the series. Sort of like a recap. Not just promoting any random other works by the author. That type of promotion was done at the end of the book in a list format.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 10:01 am
kirsten saell wrote,
I so hear you on the blurb being included in the ebook–ebooks don’t have back covers, so once you buy them, no more blurb. It’s very frustrating when I go to my TBR folder and I see covers and titles I bought maybe a year ago (yeah, I’m slow), and I forget exactly what the story was about. Then I have to go to the publisher website to refresh my memory as to which one I’m in the mood to read. This is extremely important to me as it relates to sexual content. I mean, sometimes I have a hankering for something specific, and the cover doesn’t always provide enough clues as to what’s going to be in there. *ahem*
Samhain does put other available titles by the author and those coming soon–after the book in e-format, and right up front in the print version. It would be nice to see the covers under the titles, too. Any cross-promo excerpts are chosen very carefully to be ones that will likely appeal to readers who enjoyed the book–sometimes by genre, sometimes by sexual content.
I’ve read some print books where series titles were listed in alphabetical order. Very freaking annoying, since there was NO indication what order to read them in. I would hope epublishers are smarter than that. :)
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
shirley wrote,
“1. Other works by this author (with active links if that’s possible, seeing as how some people like me read on a PC)
2. Other works in this series and the order you read them in”
As a reader, I would love this! The excerpts and things, not so much, but I would LOVE to pick up an ebook with the list of other books available by the author right there at the front of the book. This is a fantastic idea!!! Someone, please do this!
And the link part would be even better. That way, when I’m done reading the book, if I really liked it, I could just click on those links and battabing, go buy the other books without going to a website, searching for the author, etc. No it doesn’t take much time, but it does slow my immediate gratification, and depending on how long it takes to get to the authors page and all that, I admit sometimes I don’t end up buying right then and sometimes not later either, life being what it is.
Link | January 25th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
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[...] have talked about eBook Content & Generating Sales before but when I read articles about Apple working with music publishers trying to make music [...]
Link | July 29th, 2009 at 7:26 am
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[...] I enjoyed seeing in eBooks before and resurrecting things like series pages and other thing DAW used to put into it’s paperbacks to sell more paperbacks. But I think the huge ass problems are like HarperCollins publishing major authors with mangled [...]
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