Amazon Loves Stanza Too - The Fight for Dominance in Ebooks

Stanza (by Lexcycle) is an open platform ereader application, allowing users to read an ebook on their Apple device. Many booksellers sell their books through Stanza, and it is considered to be a functionally rich, easy to use solution. Stanza is one of the most popular download applications for the Apple iPhone/iTouch. More than 1 million copies of the application have been downloaded, meaning that it far outstrips the numbers of users of both the Sony eReader and Amazon's own Kindle ereaders - combined! Amazon haven't been slow to appreciate this and have purchased Lexcycle (operating for approximately 1 year). It means that Amazon are continuing to sew up the end to end business of publishing and this is another strike in their arsenal.

The community is busy speculating what it will mean for ebooks, their beloved Stanza application, and the wider Amazon world. It certainly seems to make sense for Amazon to have done this - they are now connecting with more than 1 million people who have already indicated a willingness to read ebooks. Not yet selling a million Kindles has already taken a lot longer than purchasing Lexcycle. When the Apple 3.0 upgrade becomes available later this year users will be able to purchase an ebook from within the Stanza application. This could have seriously impacted on the Amazon ebook market, so the timing is quite perfect too.

Here's a link to an article published on Tools of Change for Publishing (part of the O'Reilly Media site). http://is.gd/vqjR The comments make for interesting reading. The O'Reilly team are considered thought leaders in digital publishing. Their site provides excellent commentary if you're trying to familiarise yourself with digital publishing or gazing into the digital publishing crystal ball.

Testing the blog updates from email

The functionality to post straight from email is going to be useful when I’m out and about – and will likely mean I can post more frequently. The upgrade to the blog software means updating will possibly have a more Twitter-like feel. (www.twitter.com) You can also post from SMS (text from your phone as long as you are in the US).

 

Amazon's Pickle

An interesting story is unfolding over at Amazon. Numerous people on other websites are now clamoring for Amazon blood after Gay and Lesbian Content was no longer searchable on Amazon's site, and the sales rankings were removed from many similarly themed books. Users of social media sites are weighing in to demonstrate the power that can be unleashed when you upset your user community and wider community groups. Several big media outlets have also covered the story, this article from the Wall Street Journal http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/04/13/blogs-and-twitter-coin-amazonfail/ or search for further coverage.

Amazon have initially claimed it was a "glitch", others report that it was caused by an over-exuberant French engineer employed by Amazon, and Weev (an "online miscreant") has claimed he hacked the website due to his hate of reputation systems based on user rankings and outrage at San Francisco's Gay Community.

Whatever the real reason for over 57,000 books no longer being easily found, it is a powerful demonstration of the speed that the internet community can rally. It is one of the most popular topics on sites such as http://www.twitter.com/ and has been creating a noisy riot in the online world - all in the space of a couple of days. When customers are messed with, or people believe that censorship has gone too far, things can get ugly.

However, Internet riots can also be positive in terms of promotion of books or other things. That said, it's unlikely that Amazon, smart company that they generally are, would have been trying to generate some promotion by alienating a vocal and marginalized section of society.

We've never had any reason to censor any of the books that have appeared on Bookhabit.com and we thank our users for applying some common sense in terms of what they submit to the site. The only book I can recall us rejecting was 'Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone' by JK Rowling. No, this did not make us like the guy who rejected 'The Beatles', we were just convinced that it was a case of copyright abuse and emailed the "author" before posting it. We never got a reply.

Booksellers News Guest Editorial

This article was written for the April 2009 edition of Booksellers News, which is an industry magazine here in New Zealand. It also covers my view on how best to serve readers, and the future of the book.

Bookhabit.com launched on leap day, 29 February 2008. Online publishing had been in our minds as a solution to the inherent problems associated with print publishing for some time. Stefan Korn, the other founder, and I believed that the publishing industry was as close to becoming viable online as the music industry had been previously.

As with the music industry, the online revolution was being lead by individuals and indie start-up companies who saw the internet as the obvious home for everyone who wanted to write. Some of these writers were unable to get a break because they couldn’t convince the right people of a market for their book. The internet meant authors could now be in control of their own destiny and marketing – not always a good thing! Writers could connect with a worldwide audience and converse with them in a way that wasn’t possible before the internet. In turn, viral marketing options opened up: videos, podcasts, blogs, purchases were only a click away.
In scary contrast to the publishing establishment, there were low costs of entry with no printing or distribution costs (and no returns.) Other advantages were that free ebooks could increase the sales of the printed book, a never-say-die backlist and market information or a market segment in a particular country could be tested online.

In late 2006 we searched the internet and couldn’t find anyone else offering the kind of solution we were talking about – no doubt they were around, but Google wasn’t finding them, and if Google couldn’t find the websites easily, then neither would the readers or the writers.
For us, it has been the kind of journey that no matter how much time we spent planning, the trip was always going to offer unpredictable delights and dramas. We have met wonderful people and been inspired by them. We have been surprised too. The older generation are keen readers and writers, and they have demonstrated a willingness to adopt an online writing or reading habit, that in some cases, out guns those aged under 25.

We have run an unpublished novel competition, a written and performance poetry competition (using YouTube videos), and seen a competitive spirit amongst the writers that would have Olympians in awe.

Bookhabit.com was also named as one of the Top 10 Startup Companies for 2008 by Start Up Magazine, an exciting high five from the technical community in NZ.
What’s next? At Bookhabit.com we spend a lot of time prophesying where the industry is going, and what reading and writing will look like in the future. Currently, the majority of ebooks are an onscreen version of the printed book, but this is already starting to change. I am predicting the future of books will centre around four things: immediacy; connections; enhanced reading experience and a different payment model.

We have become foot-stamping consumers. If we can’t get what we want now, we go elsewhere and it is a short number of clicks away. Reading is becoming something we do anywhere, any time, because the reading device (possibly a phone) is always in our hands.

A rich multimedia “book” will enable the reader to go to depths the two dimensional book cannot by use of sound and video, hyperlinks, connected dictionaries and more. Technology for an enhanced reading experience already exists, waiting for its opportunity to provide a whole new way to read.

The pricing model will change. There will be options from free, to subscription models, through to a price based on exclusivity. Advertising will likely have a role in digital books as authors and publishers look for new ways to monetise their “books”.

The publishing industry’s survival, in my opinion, is dependent on the participants embracing the online world, connecting people to each other and books, and enhancing the reading experience. This is not to say that offline or print is dead, but that they will need to change and define new niches. The industry in New Zealand has the scope to approach the new frontier with a similar boldness that we have taken on the world with in many other areas. There won’t be a single silver bullet, but staying connected to customers will mean we at least know what they want.

The Expresso Book Machine

I have just returned from a wonderful visit to Melbourne where I was Bridesmaid at my best friend's wedding. In between all the beautification and errands, I managed to visit the Angus & Robertson Bookstore (A&R) in Bourke Street, where the first Storymaker Book Machine in Australasia is installed.

The machine is being touted as the "Expresso Book Machine". The machine prints out a book from a catalogue and binds it, right in front of you. I looked at the example of the out-of-print books that had been produced by this over-sized photocopier/binder and the quality was impressive given the production time and specification of the machines (lower than those that would be used by printers). A&R say it takes between 5-20 minutes to print a book depending on the number of pages. It currently only prints in black and white, except for the cover.

The contraption (the word that sprung to mind) made me giggle as it looks like something a mad engineer would throw together in their garage. A future reincarnation of the Expresso Machine might make this iteration look like the one of the gigantic computers from last century that would chug away for hours on a calculation that a desktop PC now completes in mere seconds.

In 2007 Time Magazine named this one of the "Best Inventions of the Year", but I'm skeptical that this is the answer for Booksellers -when customers are moving towards ebooks, or the reading public.

Currently, there are fewer than 300 titles available for printing. While this will obviously increase, I think the ability to print a book in store solves a problem that barely exists, especially when their is not a massive catalogue. When I considered who might be wanting an out-of-print book, I thought that it was more likely that most people would research where the book could be located on the Internet, and then instantly obtain a digital copy (ebook) or be prepared to order a print copy from the comfort of their own home or office, and wait a couple of days for it to arrive in the post. If the customer did bother going into the local bookstore to ask for help in locating a book, the bookseller would be better, in my opinion, to help them through the process of finding it on the Internet and ordering it that way. I suggest this as a solution because most booksellers, already worrying about a shrinking market, won't be able to find the US$400,000 to purchase a machine that will sit idle for a good percentage of the time because most people will search the Internet when trying to find an out-of-print book. (In the approximately 20 minutes that I was in the store I was the only person showing the slightest bit of interest in the machine - including the staff.)

A massive Borders or Barnes & Noble in New York, with a large floor space, may be able to afford an Expresso machine, but as any printer will tell you, the economics of that printer means it needs to be in production for a good part of the day to justify the investment.

I was also speaking to a Print On Demand publisher about this. They do their own printing on site, and his views further strengthened the case against a bookseller investing in the machines when he asked me to imagine how often a photocopier breaks down. He then asked me to look at how many pieces make up the contraption pictured above, and imagine how easily and often any one of those pieces will break down.

The idea that people will go into a bookstore, head to a kiosk, and browse through the books for something to ignite their interest doesn't seem to align with the reasons why people come into a bookstore in the first place. People don't visit a bookstore to replicate what they can do in their own home or office.

I have long thought that a bookstore should have a couple of dedicated computers that allow you to search for reviews and information about the books in their store, and the cost of these would be far more in line with their budgets. If they also linked to places where you could purchase out-of-print books then they could claim a slice of revenue as an affiliate seller. That, to me at least, would make more sense.

What do you think? Are these Expresso machines in the category of "Best Invention" or will they be like a one hit wonder band?

How to: Write A Sex Scene

I recently attended the New Zealand Society of Authors Wellington Branch AGM. The committee decided that a panel discussing "How to and how not to write a sex scene" would ensure a good turn out and further strengthen their aims of hosting stimulating and informative speakers. The panel was chaired by Don Long made up of Kate de Goldi, Elizabeth Knox, and Leda Swann - a married couple who write erotic romances as a duo. (It was fascinating to hear how they collaborate and split their duties on their writing projects - see their website for more details.)

Here's a few notes I captured from the discussion:

 

Leda Swann 

Almost every genre contains sex scenes. A sex scene needs to be a plot driver and aid character development.  

Language can change a sex scene; it can make it romantic; it can be flowery or lyrical, arousing or icky (which you might want to avoid).

Sex must be integral to the story - not gratuitous. It should increase the tension, develop the characters, and push the plot along. The scene needs to be there; if you can remove the scene and the story doesn't change, leave it out. Sex is a complication, not a cure. The sex the characters are having should be in character. 

Sex is not about gymnastics, it's about emotion.  An emotional connection needs to be captured and parts of their character should be revealed. What kind of feelings does it evoke in both? Get inside the heads of both characters. 

Sex at the beginning is different from the end. You shouldn't be able to substitute one scene for any of the others if you have followed the above.

Interestingly for the audience, their American publisher dictates that if there is an emotional attachment between the characters, the characters are not allowed to stray. There can't be underage sex, no dead people or violence; anal, oral, and bondage type sex are all OK.

Kate de Goldi

Kate writes a lot of Young Adult fiction (YA) and in writing for that age group you need to be mindful of how far to go, and where you shouldn't go. 

Sex often propels characters in YA because the characters are in the chrysalis stage of discovering sex: romance, white hot, moving away from family, and making of self on a larger canvas, all form part of the journey the characters are embarking on. 

For Kate, deferment is the most important part.

Kate also mentioned Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach honeymoon hotel scene as being one of the best examples of deferment in a sex scene. We both heard it read by Ian at last year's International Festival of the Arts here in Wellington, and I can vividly recall both the reading and the captivation of the entire theatre.

Elizabeth Knox

Sex involves stripping the characters down and letting the reader see them being stripped down. Show the reader how much the character loves or doesn't love themselves. Don't change the register: if the rest of your prose is honest, intimate and exact, then the sex scene should also be like that. The same level of exactitude should be used throughout. 

My favourite quote of the night came from Elizabeth, "Sex is the end game of desire. Desire doesn't always end up exactly where you think it will."

Writing Space, Writing Place

Creating a great space as your writing place can make all the difference to how you're feeling about your writing and what you produce. Having other writers close enough to inspire and motivate you could be exactly what helps you create a bestseller!  Doug Wilkins, a recent immigrant to Wellington, is setting up just such a space that writers can tap into. He has created a space in the arts quarter of our city based on the very successful Sanchez Grotto Annex in San Francisco. If you're interested in getting in touch with Doug his contact details are below. Congratulations on getting this off the ground and continuing to support writing talent....

The Cuba Street Garret 

Here comes The Cuba Street Garret, a combination of solitude and community for the toner-stained wretches we know as writers. We have purchased a flat on Cuba Street, and are outfitting it with offices so that writers can move in and get to work. Heat, Internet, and cleaning services will be provided, of course. This workspace will be called The Cuba Street Garret because Cuba Street is where it's located, and 'Garret' since there are few writers who can even afford a garret these days, but this would perhaps make that dream possible for several of them.

Costs are, naturally, a primary concern for everyone, so the rent will be only $80 per week; it could well be less than that once the fourteen (14) offices are filled.

The Cuba Street Garret will be up and running as early as, no fooling, April 1^st.

And there will be no lengthy leases. Writers will never be asked to commit to more than one month at a time. The success of The Cuba Street Garret will come from the positive atmosphere therein.

Further Information:

Members of The Garret will meet for lunch once a month.

They will have an open house celebration, 'The Welcome Interruption I,' from 5.30 until 8.30 on Friday evening, 17^th April.  

Located in the Watkins Building (corner of Cuba and Vivian Streets).

The Cuba Street Garret has a progenitor of a sort back in San Francisco, The Sanchez Grotto Annex http://www.sanchezannex.com , if anyone wants to see how a writers' workspace works. Those offices now have a waiting list, and we expect to have the same level of participation in Wellington.

Writers who wish to learn more or visit The Garret should contact Doug Wilkins:

dbwilkins@gmail.com and/or 021-138-5050