The next step in e-book evolution (part 1)

E-book sales posted a triple-digit percentage growth last year so publishers know they’re more than a fad or a niche. Now, they just have to figure out a way to make people start paying more by giving them reasons to want to pay more. In other words, the e-book has to become something more than it already is.

The way it stands now, publishers rip the text from a book and slap it onto a digital screen. Voila! Now pay. What they’re finding out is that readers don’t want to pay the same amount for an e-book as a hard-copy book. The reason being is that people believe it doesn’t cost as much to put together an e-book. There’s no actual publishing involved.

What they’ve come to realize is that the shape (digitally speaking) of books needs to change.

Right now the e-book is a boring reproduction of a hard-copy book.

Companies like Vook, Open Road and Enhanced Editions are betting on publishing consultant Michael Shatzkin’s prediction of multimedia books. According to the CEO and founder of Idea Logic, books will be more than just a story printed on the digital pages of a device, they’ll also include audio and video.

Right now, hard copy books still constitute the lion’s share of total book revenue. According to the Association of American Publishers, e-books make up less than 4 percent of the book business. Many in the industry aren’t thinking about them quite as seriously as they should, says Shatzkin. In two or three years, publishers should be thinking about e-books first and finding a better format.

One thing publishers can do is go all out with the technology offered to them. Tablets mean that you don’t just have an e-reader in your hands, you have all sorts of access to different software.

As Elizabeth Bennett enters Netherfield Hall for the ball at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice, the music of a waltz can drift over the reader. J.R.R Tolkien’s vision of Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings is so complete that interactive maps and timelines can untangle the history and interconnected genealogies of the characters – the reader can then easily see that Aragorn was a direct descendant from his wife Arwen’s uncle.

Many current companies that enhance books like to place author interviews at the front or end of a chapter, but what if the page of an e-book was more evolved than that. Chapters could be akin to insulated Web pages. A small bar on the far left or right could show when accompanying media is available. Readers have the choice to either ignore it and come back or interrupt the story to see what depths are uncovered.

However, there are few multimedia books currently available and so no one knows how much of a success or a failure they would be. There is no guaranteed market for a book that is accompanied by video and audio. Former HarperCollins publisher Marion Maneker believes enhanced editions would be so expensive that it wouldn’t be cost effective to produce them. But he’s not sure.

“It’s what you try and what works and what you try after that,” Maneker says. “[Publishers] try to make the best of the good stuff and minimize the bad stuff. The smart people know it’s guesswork: it’s an art, not a science,” he says. “People will know more when people start doing more.”

His own version of future e-books is more of a glimpse to the past.

Another vision of e-books will be discussed in “the next step in e-book evolution (part 2).”

The iPad effect showing already?

Based on the news that iPad sales were good, but no where near as crazy as people thought, I figured other laptops and netbooks should feel safe for at least a little while. However, BusinessWeek is reporting that iPad sales are causing netbooks sales to fall.

I found it hard to believe that the iPad has been available for pre-order for only two weeks and that it just came out yesterday and already the device has affected others. While an expected first-quarter sales growth of 33 percent isn’t bad, it isn’t great compared to last year’s first-quarter growth of 872 percent. The fact is, once the iPad was revealed, and other competitor’s versions were announced, people probably began to consider a tablet instead of a netbook if they want to get a new computer.

This, if nothing else, is an indicator of the future of tablets. People are willing to buy them. People are willing enough to buy them that they’ll buy them over netbooks.

Engadget captures the long line outside a 5th Ave. NY Apple store.

However, could something else be affecting netbook sales? In February consumer spending rose and the savings rate fell, just like it did in January. This means people are spending more. Perhaps with more money to spend, or at least a willingness to spend more of savings, people don’t feel the need to buy cheaper netbooks: they’d rather spend a little more on something unique and new.

So maybe the iPad sales aren’t just an indicator of the popularity of Apple and tablet computers, but an indicator of consumer confidence, which is a good sign for the economic recovery.

Let the tablet wars begin

As first out of the gate Apple’s iPad has a distinct advantage over comparative tablet computers with release dates in the future or to be announced. Already the iPad has sold millions and by the time HP’s Slate comes out (supposedly in June), the iPad will have probably sold almost 3 million units.

iSuppli Corp. is forecasting that iPad sales will double next year and then 2012 the number of iPad’s sold will triple from this year’s, but the number at roughly 21 million sold. This year there will be a lot of buyers because of early adopter fever. The numbers for next year really depend on one thing: what the second generation iPad is like. Also, what the price does will really affect how many are bought. If the price drops, then yes, I do believe iSuppli’s numbers will be accurate. If the number stays or only dips an insignificant amount, then people might start to look in other places.

Of course I mean the tablets I mentioned earlier. There are going to be so many competing tablet computers soon, that the iPad’s numbers might be seriously affected.

The HP Slate is the obvious competitor with the price supposedly at $500. The advantages the Slate has are Flash and a front-facing Web cam, something many were surprised the iPad didn’t have.

Then there’s the adorable Dell Streak. It’s sleek, has front- and rear-facing cameras, runs on Android, and, like the iPad, doesn’t run Flash. It seems to be a real competitor in my opinion, except for one thing. It’s tiny. Like almost the size of the iPhone, tiny. The Dell Streak is only 5 inches. The HP Slate is double that at 10 inches and the iPad is just under 10 inches.

The Dell Streak might have an advantage because people might enjoy something slightly larger than a smartphone, but not quite as big as a laptop screen. There’s no known price yet, but I’d have to imagine that the Streak will be a lot less and therefore might capture the market of people not sure how they feel about tablet computers. Then, the Streak will come out in a slightly larger model. It would be a nice stepping stone up to that more expensive model for those who know they like smartphones but don’t know if they need something else.

Brave New Books

All these e-readers and tablet computers are great for avid readers, aren’t they? Not only are you able to download a lot of e-books for low prices, but now these e-books have all sorts of added features. There are extra apps to accompany them, there are extra notes and there are ways of buying books per chapter.

Imagine if the Lord of the Rings trilogy was originally published in the age of the e-reader. There would be all sorts of added bells and whistles. The e-books would be like buying the extended DVDs. There would be interactive maps following the journey to Mordor. There would be documents, like the ones Gandalf finds in Gondor detailing the Ring. There would probably be character sketches and photos of what gave J.R.R. Tolkien his inspiration.

These are some of the things that David Baldacci’s new book Deliver Us From Evil is going to come equipped with. The book experience is not just about reading a book any more. It’s become a more in-depth experience and journey. The nerd in me loves this.

The iPad's not out yet, but enriched e-books will be right at home on its screen.

The other side of the fence doesn’t like the way our grass looks though. For the people who make contracts and try to figure out rights, things are getting a little sketchy. Imagine trying to make a movie like Deliver Us From Evil into a movie. Who gets rights to certain aspects? Undoubtedly the publisher’s will say anything part of the original book package is the book. The studio will say that those extra bells and whistles are media rights that the movie company should have rights to.

Are research photo or text cut from the final product really a part of a book? Do these things belong with the studio that makes the movie? After all, the studio might choose to include some of the cut text. Oftentimes a movie based on a book will have extra scenes that help move the plot or are visually more appealing or whatever the reason is.

Kindle, Nook useful for how long?

E-readers are sort of amazing. Hundreds of books are at a user’s fingertips making long trips or vacations. However, much like other devices I don’t think e-readers are long for this world.

Kindle, Amazon’s widely popular e-reader, and Nook, Barnes and Noble’s new and highly sought after one, both cost $259. That’s a lot of cash to drop for a digital book. The e-reader is enjoying popularity now because of its size and weight. They are incredibly thin and about twice the size of your hand. Sure you could download books onto your laptop or your smartphone but this is just like the story of Goldilocks. A laptop or netbook can be too big and a smartphone too small. The e-reader is just about perfect.

This is a device that can easily slip into your briefcase or purse. However, this is also a device that lacks the ability to do multiple things. You buy one of these and all you can do is read books. You buy a tablet and you’ll also be able to surf the Web, watch movies and send e-mails. I’ve mentioned tablets before. Slate tablets are essentially an e-reader crossed with a netbook and since some e-readers (like the Kindle DX) can cost you up to $489, perhaps that money would be better spent getting you access to more than just books.