Children's Ebook Trends

So, are you contemplating making ebooks for kids? Maybe you're thinking about converting a title from your backlist? It's probably a good time to start. The ereading habits of digital natives are fueling the digital book revolution.

Digital Book World is hosting a free webinar January 29th aptly named The ABC's of Kids & Ebooks: Understanding the E-Reading Habits of Children Aged 2-13. You can buy the book too, if you need more data.
The study, written & researched by PLAYSCIENCE sees the ebook trend as showing "no signs of slowing down."

"If children are the future then ebooks are the future of the publishing industry" the report says.
- Jeremy Greenfield, More Than half U.S. Kids Reading Ebooks, New Report Shows

The Kids & Family Reading Report, a biannual study from Scholastic & the Harrison Group, reports:

•  72 % of parents are interested in having their child read ebook
• Print books are seen by kids a setter fro sharing with friends and reading at bedtime
• kids say they are more likely to finish a book they choose themselves
• The percent of children who have read an ebook has almost doubled since 2010 (25% vs. 46%)
• Half of children 9-17 said they would read more books for fun if given access to ebooks- a 50% increase
• Half of parents (49%) feel their kids don't read enough for fun ( an increase in dissatisfaction)
• 1 in 4 boys who has read an ebook says he is now reading more books for fun
• 80% of kids who read ebooks still read books for fun in print
• 58% of kids 9-17 say they will always want to read books on paper (a decline from 66%) even if ebooks are available

You can read the report highlights from the Kids, Families and eBooks report here.

Change is Good

Hello there if you are reading this! Happy new year & all that. This blog has gone through many incarnations. It first started as an assignment for a NYU class called CREATING AUTHOR PLATFORMS given by the lovely Yen Cheong (BOOK PUBLICITY BLOG).

Next it was a place where I collected notes around what transmedia is and is not (transmediakids.com). That debate continues. My takeaway after reading & meeting folks at conferences is this: transmedia aka multi platform storytelling is a way to tell your story (the grand narrative as Jeff Gomez calls it) using many platforms (books, ebooks, games, apps etc).

I never promoted my content more than having it link to my beloved twitter account. Oh HOW I LOVE THEE TWITTER.
Okay. Enough.

Well now it's taken another form as THESTORYBOXPILOTS.com.
As I build my tiny ULTRA LEAN STARTUP, I need a place to let off steam and be silly. Hopefully connect with other authors and illustrators experimenting and sharing lessons learned.

I want to help others as I help myself by writing about my digital journey. Stuff I wish my editors could tell me. DOH! Did I just say that in public?
LOL. That's not a personal dig, just a reflection of the rate of growth & change in our industry.

But the biggest reason I changed my BLOG VIBE is because I want to tell an authentic story. Get the conversations going between authors, illustrators and publishers. Get off the one way street. Co-create, share our creativity and make something better & bigger than our individual selves & platforms.

So, WELCOME to my MONSTER TRANSMEDIA BLOG VIBE!

Enjoy! Come say hello on twitter @cynthiajabar, I've got someone you should meet.

Children's Publishers Develop Their Own Cross Platform/Transmedia IP

Great article from Kimberly Lew about children's publishers developing IP in house because "margins for print publishers are getting squeezed so much that opportunity and necessity have combined."

Publishers are beginning to take advantage of the IP they have and are beginning to develop new IP that can 'live' on different platforms.

Penguin UK's first picture book brand, Edmund & Cecile is being launched first as an app. Eric Huang says, "owning or representing commercial rights for IP is also more important in the kids market because of the potential for merchandise and licensing around kids brands."

"Owning their own IP allows publishers to react and experiment, moving forward without having to go back to authors to renegotiate contracts."

What impact will this have on contracts with authors & illustrators?
Interesting read.

article: DIY IP: How Publishers Develop, Exploit and deploy Their Own Intellectual Property
twitter: @publishigtrends

Notes from UX Week 2012

Interesting notes and slides from UX Week 2012.

Mapping Experiences and Orchestrating Touchpoints | Chris Risdon & Patrick Quattlebaum | UX Week 2012 from Adaptive Path

Design for Cross Channel - UX Week 2012 Workshop from Samantha Starmer

MX 2012 | Brandon Schauer | The MX Outlook from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Just some UX food for thought.

Hugh McGuire: The Blurring Line Between Books & The Internet

Hugh McGuire is the founder of PressBooks, a book publishing platform, LibriVox the largest library of free public domain audiobooks and iambic.com a commercial digital audiobook company.
He is also co-editor of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto-Essays From The Bleeding Edge of Publishing from O'Reilly which you can read here online.

He has some interesting insights around the process of making & disseminating new kinds of "books".

"The future of what we do....is totally open" 


"The distinction between books & the internet is arbitrary.."

"Start adjusting now."- Hugh McGuire



Links
twitter: @hughmcquire
web: Hughmcquire.net
article: Shifting: The Book, an Interview With Hugh McGuire on Contentsmagazine.com
twitter: @pressbooks
web: Pressbooks.com

Twitter Hashtag Chats For Librarians

Via the Online Education Database: oedb.org
Recommended twitter chats for librarians and those who would like to engage with them.

1. #uklibchat:

   UK librarians and librarians around the world come together to discuss LIS topics each month in #uklib chat.

2. #libchat:

   Librarians, library students, booksellers, and book lovers alike participate in this library chat on Twitter. Favorite topics on #libchat include digital rights management, advocacy, budget negotiations, and the MLS job market.

3. #yalitchat:

   Find out what the kids are into these days through the #yalit chat on Twitter, held at 9 p.m. EST Wednesdays.

4. #tlchat:

   Teacher-librarians can check in and find great resources through the #tlchat, an always-on gathering for reading educators.

5. #scifichat:

   The popular science fiction literature genre is discussed each Friday at noon CST. Just check in on #scifichat to join the group.

6. #litchat:

   Join in this chat to become a part of a fast and friendly discussion among book lovers on Twitter. This frequent chat happens Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 4 p.m. EST.

7. #fridayreads:

   Want to find out what is really hot in the reading community? Tune into #fridayreads on, naturally, Fridays, as readers share what's on their nightstand.

8. #titletalk:

   On #titletalk, librarians can chat about titles and how to promote reading among students. This chat is held at 8 p.m. EST on the last Sunday of the month.

9. #ePubChat:

   Librarians who are interested in the latest developments in ebooks will enjoy this popular Twitter chat. Check in on #ePubChat Fridays at 3 p.m. PST to get in on the discussion.

10. #poetry:

    Novels get a lot of love on Twitter, but poetry isn't forgotten by librarians and the book crowd, thanks to the #poetry chat. Discuss poetry with other librarians and book lovers at 8 p.m. CST on Thursdays.

11. #BookProChat:

    This Twitter chat is a great spot to check out for book industry professionals, including librarians. Check in on Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m. EST.

12. #engchat:

    Librarians, check in with this network of English teachers to share ideas and inspiration for reading. Join in each Monday at 7 p.m. EST.

13. #followreader:

    Celebrate reading on Twitter with other librarians, authors, readers, and more on Friday afternoons at 4 p.m. EST.

14. #1book140:

    For librarians interested in the phenomenon of Twitter book chats, the wildly popular #1book140 is an interesting one to tune into. To find the chat schedule, check out The Atlantic.

15. #gayYA:

    Join the #gayYA chat to talk about LGBTQ YA fiction characters in a community full of other librarians, teachers, writers, and teens, every Wednesday at 4 p.m. EST.

16. #pblitchat:

    Picture books aren't always a hot topic, but this picture book chat offers a lively discussion for librarians and more. Check it out on Monday evenings at 9 p.m. CST.

17. #kidlitchat:

    Librarians who are into #pblitchat will also enjoy #kidlitchat, a gathering for librarians and other parties interested in books for children. Visit this chat on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. CST.

18. #langchat:

    Language enthusiasts take part in this weekly chat, including language teachers, librarians, and even writers. Become a part of the conversation Thursday nights at 8 p.m. EST.

19. #storyappchat:

    Librarians who like to make the most of iPads will love this chat about writers who are creating storybook apps on the iPad. Visit this chat on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. EST.

Discoverability: Connecting Books & Readers

Connecting readers to books was the focus of the DISCOVERABILITY & MARKETING, Digital Book World event held in new York  September 24 & 25, 2012.

hashtag: #DBWDM
Interesting tweets & links from the #DBWDM stream:

Matt Mullin ‏@mrmullin

This is a really interesting dashboard of publisher social media presences. Kudos to the #DBWDM team for making it:https://social.digitalbookworld.com/

Porter Anderson ‏@Porter_Anderson

#DBWDM Here is the interview from #Writing on the #Ether with our current speaker, @DennisYu, FYI: http://ow.ly/dZ1ST 

 Retweeted by Digital Book World

Colleen Lindsay ‏@ColleenLindsay

Great presentation about forming habits, and breaking habits by@cduhigg. (His book is amazing, by the way.) #dbwdm

Sparksheet ‏@Sparksheet

#DBWDM @cduhigg talking about how to harness the power of habit to sell books. Here's our Q&A with him:http://sparksheet.com/harnessing-the-power-of-habit-qa-with-charles-duhigg/

Porter Anderson ‏@Porter_Anderson

#DBWDM @ColleenLindsay says community managers are mistaken to allow the conversation to be ghetto-ized in a corner of the home page.

Porter Anderson ‏@Porter_Anderson

#DBWDM @ColleenLindsay notes that too many companies put their least experienced people in charge of social media -- big mistake.

Porter Anderson ‏@Porter_Anderson

#DBWDM @ColleenLindsay says she found it interesting when@JuntaJoe noted today that #publishers don't platform (but ask#authors to).

Porter Anderson ‏@Porter_Anderson

#DBWDM @MrsL_Double_A says @RandomHouse is working to build and deploy verticals to construct thematically framed communities.

Janice Hussein ‏@DocumentDriven

@WritersDigest: RT @dreamyeyed: RT @ColleenLindsay: Photos get 60% of all user engagement on Facebook, across all users. #dbwdm

nicole_miller ‏@nicole_miller

Publishers should remember that their most powerful resources are their characters via @R_Nash ...how can we monetize that?#DBWDM

Kate Rados ‏@KateRados

Social is NOT 'one size fits all'. Learn the social currency of your community. #DBWDM

Sparksheet ‏@Sparksheet

Visual e-books are getting more popular - graphic novels, cookbooks - covers still important in #pinterest age - @bnbuzz @sashan#DBWDM

Meaghan Finnerty ‏@megfinn

Comics are getting very popular on Nook -- highly visual stuff seeing big growth on the tablets. via @sashan #DBWDM

Porter Anderson ‏@Porter_Anderson

#DBWDM @Girlfriendology "@Pinterest is a wonderful way to generate traffic." Haupert also uses a weekly newsletter (using@FeedBlitz).

Porter Anderson ‏@Porter_Anderson

#DBWDM @Girlriendology on @Twitter has some 26,800 followers. Haupert likes @Pinterest because entries persist, unlike tweets.

Tom Isbell ‏@TCIsbell

RT @colleenlindsay: THIS: "Sure, authors need platforms but why aren't *publishers* building their own platforms?" - Joe Pulizzi#dbwdm

Colleen Lindsay ‏@ColleenLindsay

Me too! RT @RedheadWriting: What I'm loving as an author at#DBWDM? @togatherinc http://ow.ly/dYPAq  Success = Desire - Risk.#sweet

Colleen Lindsay ‏@ColleenLindsay

Really love this email marketing preso from @bestofjess - she has great presentation style and integrates humor well into examples.#dbwdm

Sparksheet ‏@Sparksheet

.@juntajoe: Forget #channels (even books)- publishers need to build own #platform to serve niche audiences with #content #DBWDM

 Retweeted by Colleen Lindsay

Colleen Lindsay ‏@ColleenLindsay

Truth: at the end of the day, your Amazon book page becomes your book's homepage online, no matter where else you are online.#dbwdm

Colleen Lindsay ‏@ColleenLindsay

Every time you search for a book on Amazon that has Search Inside the Book enabled, the ENTIRE TEXT OF THE BOOK is searched.#dbwdm

Colleen Lindsay ‏@ColleenLindsay

Smart advice: "Treat your publishing advance like a marketing budget." - @RedheadWriting #dbwdm

ON DATA

Did you know:
- In 2011, nearly half of consumers changed their book-buying behavior
- 39% of book are sold online, 26% in stores, and the rest in nearly a dozen other ways
- People discover new books in up to 44 different ways" -Jeremy Greenfield, Digital Book World

As reaching readers becomes more fragmented, telling your story across platforms will only become more important. This is why some publishers & content creators are experimenting with transmedia (cross platform) storytelling. Giving your audience different ways to enter the story can't hinder discoverability right? (I'm looking for data now-please share if you have any)

Kelly Gallagher from Bowker Market Research released this book buying data
(available on the Digital Book World website)

related articles
Book Discovery Landscape Becomes More Complicated as Reader behavior Fractures, by Jeremy Greenfield, Digital Book World

Digital Book World Discoverability and Marketing Conference Day One Recap, by Bob Mayer, Digital Book World

Under The Radar-Digital Book World's Marketing & Discoverability Day One Recap, by Jen Talty, Write It Forward

Discoverability & marketing Conference: A Diversity of Challenges, by Porter Anderson, Digital Book World

Top Book Publishers Social media Dashboard, powered by BLIZMETRICS. 
Really interesting track of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube footprint for the major book publishers.

I'll continue to update this post.

Presentations:
Kate Rados ‏@KateRados

Downloads of each presentation will be available this week onhttp://marketing.digitalbookworld.com  #dbwdm #PassItOn

 Retweeted by Colleen Lindsay

World MakerFaire NYC

Last year I went to my first MakerFaire in New York.
WOW.
Silly & smart and all matter of things #STEM & DIY for kids, one giant Makerspace.

What is a Makerspace?
Dale Dougherty of O'Reilly Media and founder of MAKE Magazine in partnership with Dr. Saul Griffith of Otherlab are creating informal participatory learning spaces where "students may access educational support to gain practical hands-on experience with new technologies and innovative processes to design and build projects."
And have fun doing it!

Makerspaces are popping up all over the country. You can check the Makerspace Directory here to find one near you-or start your own.

Teachers are flipping classrooms and librarians are creating informal learning spaces where teens can come to create, explore and share.
 
Informal Learning Spaces:
DreamYard, located in the Bronx, "uses project-based arts learning to ignite the transformative spirit in youth, public schools and communities.
Techbridge, "inspires girls to discover a passion for technology, science and engineering, empowering our future innovators and leaders."
YOUMEDIA, a "21st century teen learning space" at the Chicago Public Library
 I Street Press at the Sacramento Public Library, a library "re-inventing library service to their community with an Espresso Book Machine designed to print books on demand."

I Street Press: A Community Writing & Publishing Center

  

article: Learning By Making by Dale Dougherty
article: Library as Makerspace: Creating and Nurturing Communities of teen Writers by Buffy Hamilton
article: DIY Learning: How MakerFaire Is Innovating Learning
article: Makerspaces, participatory learning, and Libraries by The Unquiet Librarian
article: User Generated Education, The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture for Tinkering and Maker Education by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.
slideshare: Crafting Ne wNarratives of Community, Connecting, Creating and participatory Learning at The Unquiet Library: A Makerspace Culture of Learning
twitter: @MakerFaire
MakerFaire App: Download 

HaPpY MaKiNG!

Transmedia Storytelling Aggregators on Scoop.it!

I LOVE sharing my research.
Here's is a list of people aggregating and sharing transmedia content.

Tracking Transmedia
"Tracking Transmedia, Crossmedia, interactive & digital storytelling"
curated by Siobhan O'Flynn, PhD

The Digital Rocking Chair
Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age
curated by Fiona Milburn

Pervasive Entertainment Times
"Augmented locative stories, experiential transmedia games collaborative social TV"
curated by Gary Hayes

#Transmediascoop
"The art of telling stories over multiple platforms in a common storyworld"
curated by Simon Staffans

Transmedia 4 Kids
"Transmedia Storytelling in children's publishing and digital literacy as social action"
curated by Cynthia Jabar

ENJOY the read!

Pinterest & Publishers

A few months ago I took a look at what publishers were doing on Pinterest. You can read my notes here. Since then the social media site has continued to explode in popularity. It's now third right behind Facebook & Twitter.

"Pinterest keeps and engages members better than Twitter, data shows." - Jennifer Van Grove, Venture Beat

Here are a few more interesting links and articles:
PINBOARD: Publishing Trends
PINBOARD: e-readers, e-books and libraries
SCOOP.it: Pinterest Watch
ARTICLE: Pinterest Marketing Ideas from the Pros
ARTICLE: 4 Book Publishers Who Can teach Your Business How To Use Pinterest
ARTICLE: The Pinterest Experiment
ARTICLE: Should Publishers care About Pinterest (Even If It's Annoying)?

Have you used Pinterest?

Tiff Kids Panel 2012: Developing Transmedia properties for Children

The Tiff Kids International Film Festival presents "outstanding Canadian and international films and popular workshops geared for families and school groups." -Tiff.net

Here are are some highlights from the 2012 festival.
twitter: @TIFF_NET

Panel: Developing Transmedia Properties for Children-From Concept to Finished Product

Event: digiPLAYSPACE / Tiff Kids 2012

Panel: "You Know For Kids!" - How to Finance Produce and Sell Children's Films in a Global Market Place

Master Class: Peter Lord, "the heart of Aardman Studios," gives a master class

web: Aardman Studios

twitter: Peter Lord

For more information about TIFF Kids International Film Festival April 9-21. 2013 click here.