Ebook (DRM Free) Sales Lead to PBook Sales

At first J.K. Rowling refused to release an ebook version of the Harry Potter series.

But after publication, "In the first month alone, it appears that almost $5 million worth of Harry Potter ebooks were sold. But here's the interesting bit. Even with DRM-free books, and plenty of infringing copies being out there, not only did tons and tons of people pony up for the ebook, but it also increased physical book sales as well, even as some worried that it would cannibalize such sales:

The Harry Potter e-books are DRM-free. ”Obviously there were fears piracy would increase as a result of being DRM-free, and that sales of the e-books would cannibalize sales of the physical titles,” [Pottermore CEO Charlie] Redmayne told The Bookseller, “but we were delighted to see sales of the physical books go up, and piracy come down.” He also said that “though there had been an increase in piracy immediately after launch, the community had rejected these illegal versions because of how the e-books were brought to market.”

Indeed, it's good to see that Rowling's team figured out ways to add value to get people to buy, but it again highlights some points we've been making for a while. Just because things are available for free, it doesn't mean people will automatically go the infringing route. If you offer something better that people want, they'll buy it." - Mike Masnick, TechDirt

The key appears to be adding value to the free content. Of course being J.K. Rowling doesn't hurt!

Listen to Neil Gaiman talk about Piracy & the web.



"He then mentions that after a lot of persuading, he got his publisher to release a free digital copy of American Gods, and sales went up by 300%, even though it had already been selling quite well before that. And that was his epiphany moment that you're "not losing sales" by having stuff out there. And he explains how "piracy" is just a giant way of lending books, and points out that, when asked this question at talks, he asks how many people in the audience found their favorite author because someone lent them a book vs. going into a book store and buying it. And only 5 to 10% of people found their favorite authors first by buying the books." - Mike Masnick, TechDirt 

UsTwo Talks About Investing In Whale Trail (Their Own IP) + ROI

Penguin has acquired Ustwo's Whale Trail.

Watch 'How We made Whale Trail' here.

"This collaboration marks the first publishing deal behind a brand that has debuted as an app.

The partnership will enable us to work on narratives whilst evolving the Whale Trail brand, with a digital picture book planned for release in October 2012. This will be followed by further publishing opportunities both in digital and physical formats throughout 2013.

Whale Trail was all about creating something that brings joy to users throughout the world. Penguin genuinely and passionately share our enthusiasm for developing the brand further, and the coming together of the traditional publishing powerhouse and our first game IP, is a match made in heaven. The ingredients are now ready to be mixed together to make something truly mind-blowing and this is just the beginning.

Eric Huang, Publishing Director, Media & Entertainment Group, said, ‘I discovered Whale Trail from Gruff Rhys’ music video.  When I downloaded the app, I was hooked. There’s something so fresh and cool about the art direction." -The Ustwo BLOG


Listen to Ustwo/Studio interview Faber & Faber, Random House, Hachette UK about their vision of the future of publishing.



Read the Ustwo blog here.

Children's Ebook Trends

According to a report from IHS iSuppli, tablet shipments will grow 90% in 2012.

 The American Association of Publishers reported in January that sales of adult ebook titles rose 49.4% in January ($99.5M vs $66.6M) and ebook sales in the children's and young adult trade segment rose 475% over last year ($22.6M vs $3.9M).

Dominique Raccah of Sourcebooks cites the growing functionality of e-books as a new opportunity for growth in the children's market. Right now ebooks are 5-7% of U.S. children's book sales according to Bowker. This will only increase.

Take a look at her slides from TOC/Bologna.

Toc bologna childrens book keynote 2012 hd ratio

View more PowerPoint from SourcebooksInc 

Are you experimenting with ebooks?

GeekDad Dan Donohoo suggests that content creators consider 3 things (at least) when developing ebooks: 

1. create ebooks that allow children control over the narrative

2. create ebooks that support 21st century skills 

3. create ebooks that nurture exploration

I couldn't agree more. Building critical thinking and creativity skills into ebook experiences is great for teachers and kids. I'd also add:

4. create enriching offline activities that foster collaboration & empathy

5. create ebooks that can be easily shared and discussed

6. create ebooks that inspire kids to create content of their own (UGC-user generated content)

What would you add to this list? 

 RELATED ARTICLES

 How Can Parents and Children Best Interact Using E-Readers?

 Children Prefer eBooks: Study

 New Stats: Kids Find E-Books 'Fun and Cool,' But Teens Still Reluctant

5Across: Beyond the Ebook: Ebooks and Self Publishing 

Bowker Relaease Results of Global Ebook Research

GeekDad Opinion: The Furure of Children's Ebooks
GeekDad: Can Children's E-Books Provide 'A Quiet Bedtime Read'?

Apple, publishers to settle ebooks price fixing suit: Report

User Experience, Reader Experience (Brett Sandusky)

  

Share your ideas with us on twitter: #tkids, @cynthiajabar, @transmediakids.

Creating Apps for Kids: Educate Yourself & Collaborate

There has been so much speculation about kids publishing and apps this past year.

Nosy Crow's first game app with Axel Scheffler

"According to a survey conducted among publishing professionals, representing 74% of all U.S. trade publishing revenues, 15% of publishers think that apps represent a significant revenue opportunity, down from 34% a year ago." Jeremy Greenfield, Digital Book World

I've heard people who work in publishing say: they cost too much, we don't have the technology skills to produce them, there are too many discoverability issues, we are book people, we do books.
I see their fear.
This is an evolutionary shift for publishing. As kids content creators we have to educate ourselves. (my rant) I don't see publishers working to educate their authors let alone illustrators. Maybe if you are lucky to be a bestseller, you might be assigned a savvy editor to help you develop your story across platforms using transmedia storytelling methods.
Maybe.
But that's if you are a bestseller. How many are there? Is this a viable business model? Hope for bestsellers?
This approach just doesn't work anymore.

I just read Mike Shatzkin's notes from The London Book Fair:

"I have trouble seeing a future for book publishers in the kids’ content world. Everybody seemed to agree about what the apps of the future required (interactivity, game elements, animation) and that the parents of five years from now will be much more likely to hand their kids in the back seat an iPad than a book. So I asked them, as books diminish, what will publishers have to offer here? Wouldn’t this business belong to people who know gaming and animation, not books?

Kate seized the question from the stage and answered in a way that seemed to confirm my conjecture. “We don’t hire people with book experience,” she said. When I checked in with her later, she agreed that books were a revenue-generating convenience to get her company started. She sees the day when they won’t be part of her business anymore. What excited her (and well it should) was that they’d just made their fifth app and had created all the software tools they needed to build it while making the first four. The cost of creating their apps is plummeting because they’ve built the toolkit."

Nosy Crow's award winning Cinderella app illustrated by Ed Bryan

YES! I applaud Kate Wilson of Nosy Crow fame for investing the time and energy it took to create the toolkit to decrease her P&L for delivery of some of finest apps out there like The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella.

But I disagree with Mike about kids publishing belonging to "people who know gaming and animation." I wonder if Kate could have delivered such a rich experience without her 25 years as a book editor? It's not an either or choice. Publishing needs to embrace ALL OF IT and collaborate. A good story has to be the cornerstone of the experience-that 25 years as a book editor pays off. An animation has to be narrative and a game experience immersive to deliver the emotional experience a great book can.

 

I still believe book people will deliver the most interesting app experiences for kids. But it will happen through collaboration and investing in educating kids content creators. New kinds of editors (like Kate) are needed.

But don't wait for editors, agents or publishers.

Educate yourself. Build your platform. Check out what other kid's content creators are doing.

Think of yourself as a tiny publisher building an agile platform for your book experiences.

Agile Publishing Model - version 2012

View more PowerPoint from Dominique Raccah

Experiment with your kids content online. Collaborate. Build your community.

Believe in what you do.  

Build your toolkit.

This is only the beginning.

RELATED READING

Techno Toddler: A is for Apple , November 2011, The Guardian

Children's Ebooks + Education: An Evolution & Opportunity For Content Creators, March 2012, Transmediakids.com

The Book App is Dead. Again. FutureBook, January 2012

Publishers' Love Affair With Apps Is Over, Digital Book World, January 2012

How Publishers Like Us Pay Authors And Illustrators (for beginners), Nosy Crow Blog, April 2012 
PictureBook Lessons: The Art of Letting Readers Fill in The Blanks, A New Kind Of Book, Peter Meyers agile blog/book, March 2012

 

CLASS 62 & Heidi Siwak: The Ken Spencer Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

Shout out to Class 62 and Heidi Siwak for receiving The Ken Spencer Award! You can follow Heidi on twitter @heidisiwak and read her generous blog: The Amaryillis to see how she cocreates curriculum with her students and meets them 'where they live.'  It takes dedication and empathy to create a classroom of engaged learners. Having Collaborated with them along with Ian Chia and Esa Helttula continues to inspire me.  Even a small meaningful connection with kids can produce positive outcomes. I share this experience with kids I work with here in NYC. THANK YOU! You never know where your CONNECTIONS will lead you. I'm very proud of what you guys accomplished.

Here is an excerpt from THE KEN SPENCER AWARD FINALISTS BOOKLET:

In April 2011, the Grade 6 class began a collaborative inquiry with programmers from Australia and Finland and a digital media artist from New York City. Under their mentorship, students created content for their own iPhone application – an augmented-reality tourism app for Dundas, Ontario. As the project evolved, key elements distinguished this meaningful project-

based learning from other classroom learning experiences:

Real Work: From the outset, students recognized that the project was different and were engaged. They had a “real” audience with Apple, and recognized that their work could be rejected if it didn’t meet Apple’s standards. With this intrinsic motivation, students developed a professional work ethic, demonstrated willingness to engage in difficult decision making, and

were committed to high quality work. 

Uncertainty and Chaos: This was pioneering work that hadn’t previously been attempted in a school, so there were no models to follow. The students took ownership of developing processes and the project itself, and were involved in continuous problem solving, including

learning from failures. 

Web 2.0 Tools: The Internet gave students real-time access to experts. We transcended traditional ideas of “teacher” and “learner”. Students and experts shared ideas and problem- solved. They listened carefully when advice was offered, and asked meaningful questions. Blogging, Skype, Twitter, email, and a wiki were used. Global interest in the project grew and transparency was part of the process. Students recognized their responsibility to work with a

sense of professionalism.

Trust, Respect, and Commitment: A genuine sense of teamwork developed. The nature of the project required students to listen to ideas and set egos aside. Social status became irrelevant

as a determinant. Decisions came down to: “would this be good for the app?” 

Disappearance of 20th Century Classroom Models: The nature of learning became dynamic. Work space was privileged based on requirements for the project; gone were traditional concepts of seating plans with the teacher as dominant figure. Free movement was constant, and students independently found their roles within the project. Natural talents and leadership

skills emerged and evolved. 

Students honed their skills in:

*Literacy/numeracy

*Geography, including a GPS-based mapping system

*Digital photography, photo editing and GPS augmented reality camera system

*Visual arts/interactive design to create user interface

*ICT technology for digital content management

*Project management using online resources (Wordpress, Google Sites)

Other schools have begun to use this project model to create their own apps and websites. Among them, a Grade 4-6 class in Canada, Grade 5 students in Ohio, and a high school Indonesian language class in Australia. The next phase of the project will integrate global classrooms into a shared platform where students around the world can collaborate. The aim is to build a global base of culturally relevant Creative-Commons licensed curriculum. With this platform and model, students will learn digital citizenship skills, develop global awareness and

experience firsthand the benefits of real audiences and meaningful work.

Find the THE KEN SPENCER AWARD FINALISTS BOOKLET  here.
Find Heidi Siwak's BLOG here.
Find Heidi's slides from RSCON3 here. 
Find Ian Chia here.
Find Esa Helttula here.
Find one of my favorite NYC hang outs here. ; )

YOU GUYS ROCK!

Aligning Your Content with Academic Standards

We all know by now that the digital shift taking place in publishing is nothing short of revolutionary.

The iPad was only released April 2010 and there are already 600,000 apps for sale in the App Store and over 55 million ipads sold.

Now factor in the explosive intersection of children's content and digital literacy (education) and you have a perfect storm for children's IP creators.  Aligning your content with academic standards adds more value to your IP. By creating curriculum you can extend your story and create new revenue streams for your content.

Publishers large and small are looking toward education as a way to add value to their new digital products (ebooks + apps) and build an engaged audience.

Ruckus Reader "The Ruckus Reader is a breakthrough learning program, a unique series of digital storybooks designed to help your child practice important reading skills AND keep you up to date on your child's progress. All of the stories and interactive activities are developed by educational experts to adhere to national educational standards for preschool through second grade." - Ruckus reader Website

Scholastic / Storia, the "fun, interactive and educational eReading App for Children" that is "enriched with fun activities that build vocabulary."
Smart. Extending content they already own into the digital space.

Utales, a subscription based model that is "fun and educational."

TumbleBook Library, "an online collection of animated, talking picture books which teach young children the joys of reading in a format they'll love."

NookKIDS, "Play activities built right into amazing picture books and hear them read aloud. Find your favorite characters in this best-in-class collection."

Meegenius, "millions of parents are using this simple app to introduce a life of reading to their children." More than 700 kids' books to choose from, over 1,000,000 downloads in the App Store.

Ripple Reader, "A free ebook reader for kids. Parents and other adults purchase recordable ebooks that work on both a PC or MAC. The iPad Ripple Reader app is coming soon."

International Children's Digital Library, "A Library for The World's Children."
I enjoyed reading the classic & beautiful A Apple Pie by Kate Greenaway from the Rare Books Collection, Library Of Congress.

A Apple Pie by Kate Greenaway, published by F. Warne 1900

Are you extending your content with digital games and activities that are built around the K-12 common core standards or 21st Century Skills?

 In his doctoral thesis: What Is Digital Literacy, Doug Belshaw, now a researcher/analyst at JISC infoNet, defines the the 8 elements of digital literacy as: cultural, cognitive, constructive, communicative, confident, creative, critical and civic.

Slide from Doug Belshaw's presentation: How To Develop Digital Literacies In Yourself And Others.

How many of these can you build into your curriculum to enrich your IP?
Follow discussions around digital literacies by following the hashtags #digilit & #mlearning on twitter.

Digital Kids & Connected Digital Play

What is digital play? Are Moms and Dads looking for a more meaningful form of connected play to share with their kids?

Who is connecting analog and digital play using transmedia storytelling methods?

Talking Katsuma Moshi Monster

"More than half of children own a toy based on a virtual world." -Dubit Research

Kids registering to play in virtual worlds has increased from 179m in 2009 to 320m in Q2 2011. Virtual worlds engage kids in connected play through connected toys and community building which in turn fuels purchases of virtual goods and connected toys. That's quite a profitable transmedia loop.

KZero calls this the golden triangle.


“Today’s kids are platform agnostic and don’t care where their favourite stories and characters come from. It used to be the case that books or TV shows launched characters and toys, but now online entertainment is proving just as important.” 
-Peter Robinson, head of Dubit research


The Golden Triangle

View more presentations from KZero Worldswide
You can find more KZero information here. 

Do publishers have a transmedia strategy for connecting their merchandise to paper & digital books?
You don't have to be Stardoll, Moshi Monsters or Legos to enhance the user experience & increase immersion through great connected storytelling.

Some companies are creating connected play through apps or what is known as "AppCessories."

Mattel will broaden "the appeal of its classic brands such as Fisher-Price and Barbie as well as Monster High through its APPTIVITY line."
You can read "Toymakers Gear Up For A Year Of The Appcessory" by Dhanya Skariachan/Reuters here.

So tell me again, why are publishers disillusioned with apps?
Have you read "The Book App Is Dead. Again." by Sam Missingham? Find it here.

Jeff Gomez On Transmedia and Publishing from StoryWorld 2011

I'm looking back at the conferences I attended last year and compiling notes about the
presentations and comments that made me think or inspired me.

My #1 takeaway from the Storyworld Conference & Expo held in San Francisco, November 1, 2011 was from Jeff Gomez, CEO Starlight Runner Entertainment. 
No surprise there.
The first time I listened to Jeff talk about transmedia I was mesmerized by his personal honesty and generosity.

His presentation at Storyworld was equally inspiring for the same reasons.
This dude rocks.

I've worked in children's publishing for over 20 years so I was particularly interested in what he had to say about transmedia and publishing.

Excerpt from the Jeff Gomez Keynote: "World Building and Mythology".

"One of the problems that I’m seeing, especially in publishing endeavors as publishing moves towards the multi-platform or transmedia model, is that it’s decided somehow that the author is gonna go off and write a book, and then everybody else is gonna do the transmedia, and they don’t talk to each other much. There’s this disparity: “Well what does this have to do with that? How’s this laying the foundation for that?” Some projects are doing this well, but a lot of them unfold as if they’re two completely different experiences. The author, I believe, needs to be a participant in the grand design. Authors need to join with good producers, or editors with transmedia training, and a great support team on both the production and marketing sides in order to make it all gel.

Finally, we need an architecture for dialog. If you are doing something on multiple platforms that does not include a basis for communication back and forth, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Believe me, I’ve worked with the big studios, and this scares some of them. They don’t want to talk to people and it’s really frustrating. A lot of dollars, and a lot of good will, and a lot of franchise longevity is sacrificed, because they’re not looking into the eyes of the people experiencing their story. We need to do this, we need to go where they are, and reach out and dialog with them.

The age of broadcasting, these past hundred to one hundred-fifty years, is coming to an end. It’s no longer about be me saying, shut up and listen to my story for a half hour or hour or two hours in a movie theater or the length of a song or CD. That’s over…it’s over. Now, if you don’t give them at least a way to “like” you, you’re done for, because you’re refusing to give your audience validation. You’re not including them, and we are seeing a generation coming to power very shortly that won’t live without that feeling of being included, of being given the option to participate. As much as some broadcasters want to, as much as they’re hoping to be able to, they’ll never put that genie back in the bottle. So you’ve got to build that architecture into or around your narrative, and be open to it.

It could be as simple as a Facebook page, but I’m promoting richer and more complex ways for us to interact with one another in communal storytelling. I think this is going to be one of the next great frontiers in the conception and generation of our mythologies: the technique of taking from our audience, and in subtle or overt ways, weaving their will and their desire and their creativity into the narrative, weave them into the mythology." -Jeff Gomez, CEO, Starlight Runner Entertainment
The full speech is published here on Simon Pulman's blog, Transmythology.

Another favorite Jeff Gomez presentation from Tools Of Change 2010: "Storyworlds: The New Transmedia Business Paradigm"

LOOKING AHEAD

From the Ten Bold Predictions for Book Publishing in 2012, by Jeremy Greenfield, Editorial Director, Digital Book World

10. More publishing companies will form in-house transmedia groups.
In April 2011, Random House launched Random House Worlds, a transmedia partnership with Los Angeles-based gaming software company THQ. Increasingly, publishing companies are looking at the intellectual property they own as extendable across more media platforms.
“All publishing companies will either have a transmedia group in-house or build that type of partnership with experts in the transmedia field,” said Reilly. - Jeremy Greenfield, @JDGsaid 

From the Ten Bold Predictions for Book Publishing in 2012, by Jeremy Greenfield, Editorial Director, Digital Book World

RELATED LINKS: TRANSMEDIA + PUBLISHING
Book Country, Penguin
Molly Barton, president of Book Country: How The Crowd Is Shaping The Future Of Storytelling
My Artist's Way ToolKit & App, based on Julia Cameron's book, THE ARTISIT'S WAY, Penguin Group
Random House & transmedia via Publishers Lunch
Tricia Pasternak, Senior Editor and Transmedia Producer, Random House 
A New Transmedia Initiative For Kids with Ruckus Media & Simon & Schuster
Ruckus Media and Scholastic Launch Transmedia Imprint
 Infinity Ring, A New Multi-Platform Series from Scholastic
Transmedia: A New World Of Opportunity For Authors and Publishers via Publishing Perspectives 
A New Breed Of Transmedia Companies-And 6 Factors For Success via Publishing Technology
Transmedia Talk #32: GoBZRK and The Future Of Publishing via WorkBook Project (gr8! "media deals not book deals")

What are you doing to optimize your IP using transmedia storytelling methods? 
Are you connected?

Got Mobile Strategy?

Mobile appears to be exploding (again).

 "There is still an obvious need for a traditional website but the shifting habits of consumption mean you can’t make mobile an afterthought." - Ryan Kim, Gigaom

What does this mean for traditional publishers & content creators?  Do you have a mobile strategy? 

GOOGLE says "the best consumer experiences on mobile happen on websites that are designed for mobile."

They even have a webinar that highlights best practices for mobile sites here.

"61% of users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing from their phone." -Google Mobile Ads Blog

Ryan Lee writes: "It's Becoming a Mobile-First World"

FROM GIGAOM
*30% of Fab.com traffic is from mobile 3 months after launching a mobile app
*350 million of 800 million Facebook users access via mobile channels
*54% of My Yearbook traffic comes form mobile
*79% of  smartphone users currently utilize phones to help with price comparison, product searches and locating a retailer

Neilson says US teens are among the biggest consumers of mobile content.
FROM NEILSON
*teenagers ages 12-17 consume nearly twice as much mobile video content as other viewers in different age groups
*mobile subscribers 12-17 watch 7 hours 21 minutes  of mobile video a month 
*58% look at mobile ads


Kids Today: How the Class of 2011 Engages with Media"

How does this impact the future of mobile learning? 
How do educators take advantage of this trend and reach kids "where they live." 


How does the explosion of mobile square with the trend to "appify" the web?
Read: IGNITION: Future of Media Preview: Will Startups HTML5 "Appify" The Web -- And Save Publishers?

Interesting stuff.

Any thoughts?

Henry Jenkins interviewed by Simon Pulman About His forthcoming Book Spreadable Media

Simon Pulman of Starlight Runner Entertainment interviews media scholar Henry Jenkins about his forthcoming book Speadable Media, co-authored with Sam Ford and Joshua Green.

 Interesting comments about the participatory divide and how kids can engage with media in a "meaningful way."



follow: Henry Jenkins @henryjenkins
blog:  Confessions of An Aca-Fan
serialized white paper on blog: If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead (part one): Media Viruses and Memes

follow: @simonpulman
blog: Transmythology

related articles:
Spreadable Media: Creating Meaning and Value in A Networked Culture

FOE5 Panel-Spreadable Media

"Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green–co-authors of the forthcoming book Spreadable Media–share recent experiments from independent filmmakers, video game designers, comic book creators, and artists and discuss the promises and challenges of models for deeper audience participation with the media industries, setting the stage for the issues covered by the conference." - Annenberg Innovation Lab

Digital Skills & The Wired Economy