OK - lets get something straight - books are NOT music.
Publishing industry pundits continue to try and divine how books (and publishing by extension) will survive the coming exponential shift in how readers consume them. And because we have had the opportunity to sit on the sidelines and watch the digital music revolution take over that industry it has been assumed that we now have a blueprint for book publishing going forward. That assumption could not be further from the truth!
Look, recorded music has always needed a device for the consumer/listener to enjoy an artist’ work. That fact has spawned a mega-industry like no other. Digital music players, most notably the iPod as well as stereos (home and mobile), headphones and speaker systems are incredibly popular consumable goods and they run the gamut in price and quality.
So what did the book industry do? Create devices. After all, devices are what drives the music industry, without a device for playback, we would all be limited to hearing music only in its live form. And, devices can enhance the listening experience. With the use of equalizers, playlists, and functions like shuffle, we can literally customize how and what we listen to on an individual level. Long gone are the days of trying to catch and record our favorite song on the radio!
On the other hand, books have been bound and printed the same way for hundreds of years. The book IS the delivery mechanism. However, with the use of content creation tools such as Microsoft Word by authors and editors the end of the creative process has now meant a book that no longer is bound by one format - paper and ink. Instead, a publisher can now easily convert a book to digital form. And so that means we must right? Take that book and slap it on a device. However, doing so doesn’t do for the book, what the iPod does for music. It doesn’t enhance the reading experience. Sure, it might make it more convenient, but it doesn’t make it better.
Thus the title of this post, it’s the content stupid! If you want to sell more digital content (read: books) then take the book out of the book and enhance it! Add in author video and audio. Create an audio track using the author’s voice so the reader can choose to close their eyes and listen if they want to hear the author read it instead of doing so themselves. Include interactive enhancements that give the reader a peak into the author’s research and back story. Add “Easter eggs” for superfans to find. The sky is the limit, and so will the price tag be.
Selling (and reading) a book in digital form is boring and adds no value (or profit). Digital content creation and delivery will allow publishers to think outside the book, to add more value to their content and to eventually allow the reader to customize their experience. And that is something that people will pay for!
