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Now, another author has stepped up and released a detailed explanation of her experience with traditional publishing deals. Having to still rely on educated speculation regarding sales figures, author HM Ward surmised that the top selling titles on Kindle at any given time are probably selling between 5,000 and 10,000 titles each day. According to her average of 7,000 titles at the fairly standard pricing of $2.99, Ward indicates that a bestselling author would net about $100,000 per week of top sales, making a traditional book deal a fairly poor financial choice. Of course, as Howey’s explanation points out, not every author will by a top grossing writer like he and Ward. This is the reason that authors need access to accurate sales data from across the industry, not just their own title sales. Without this type of information, it becomes impossible to determine which course is better by genre, reader demographic, and more. Ward takes it a step farther, explaining that transparency around sales data isn’t enough. Authors need to know highly detailed budgets and plans for marketing of any given book before agreeing to sign a contract, a fact that she stood her ground on despite the high-pressure sales pitches and ominous threats to her career that she experienced from some Big Five publishers. Without having clear information on how the publishing house intended to promote her book, Ward opted for the self-publishing and higher royalty route, a choice that has made her an incredibly high ranking author despite having turned down over $1.5 million in advances in the past year alone. Unfortunately, the withholding of information is at best a tired out model from an industry that steadfastly refuses to adapt to the changing industry, and at worst an intentional effort to keep authors ill-informed about their own careers. Whatever the root cause of the issue, authors like Ward and Howey are making it more possible for authors to make sound decisions based on data, not whims.
Transparency: Author HM Ward Discusses eBook Sales and Pricing is a post from: E-Reader News |
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Transparency: Author HM Ward Discusses eBook Sales and Pricing
Does the Publishing Industry Discriminate?
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An article by Judith Rosen for Publisher’s Weekly this week indicates that African American bookstores are suffering, even during this month that is so typically a high point for sales due to the attention given the Black History Month. According to the article, the number of black bookstores who were members of the American Booksellers Association has resulted in more than 200 store closings in the last twelve years alone, down to 100 member stores from over 300 in 2002. Rosen pointed to certain economic factors, such as the destruction of major metro neighborhoods that at one time played host to bookstores who stocked black literature. That has been compounded by the loss of platforms like key magazines that at one time promoted black authors’ titles. But while it is the physical bookstores that are suffering, what is the correlation between that and the unequally low number of titles available on Kindle? Are publishers and self-published authors simply not writing and releasing books that speak to a specific market of readers? And if not, why not? One source in the article quite openly stated that black consumers simply don’t read as much, but that is too easy a statement to oversimplify, one that could quite easily be the result of a chicken-and-egg situation. Do publishers not produce as many African American titles because they, too, believe this? Or is the lack of titles that speak to the consumer the reason for this generalization? Recent news from a number of successful authors has made it quite obvious that self-publishing is the great equalizer in the book industry, one that is presumably open to authors from all walks of life. During this month of historical awareness, hopefully more concerted efforts will be made to open the doors of self-publishing to a far underserved group of readers.
Does the Publishing Industry Discriminate? is a post from: E-Reader News |
Tablet Sales Trend Discussed, Phablets Emerge Strong Player
| Despite reports of tablet sales reaching a plateau, a report tabled by NPD Display Search claims demand for tablet devices is expected to scale new heights in the coming years. The report, titled “NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report,” claims there will be 315 million tablet devices sold in 2014, while the figure is projected to rise to 455 million by 2017. With that many tablet devices in use, it will translate to almost 75 percent of the mobile computing device segment. "Momentum for the tablet PC market is in full swing as it has become the dominant mobile PC form factor," said Richard Shim, senior analyst at NPD DisplaySearch. "Competition is expected to increase as traditional notebook PC brands, including Lenovo, HP, and Dell update their product portfolios to emphasize tablet PCs. Increased competition will mean more attention on, and development of, various segments of the market, which will ultimately lead to greater choice and devices that better fit the needs of consumers." The constant improvement in technology coupled with a general lowering of cost of tablet devices is being held as the prime factors stimulating growth of the segment. Tablet devices now offer not only enhanced processing power but also improved displays and better battery times to make for a thoroughly enhanced tablet computing experience over what it was even two years ago. Also, the next round of tablet growth is projected to be fueled in those regions where first time buyers will make up a significant proportion. Another interesting development witnessed in the tablet space is the rise in prominence of phablets, or big screen smartphones. These are typically less than 7 inches but have cast a doubt on the usefulness of the 7 inch tablet; possibly, all 7 inch tablets will offer voice calling capability in the future. This has led to the rise of the 8 inch tablet segment which is fast getting populated. Further, another size segment coming up is the one offering 12.2 inch or so of display which is targeted more at the professionals, academics, or artists. These will no doubt be priced more, and is yet in the early stages. The emergence of hybrid tablet/notebook devices will also be keenly watched over time, as these can turn out to be sizable players in the tablet segment, more so given the sharp decline that the notebook segment has witnessed over time.
Tablet Sales Trend Discussed, Phablets Emerge Strong Player is a post from: E-Reader News |
Aquafadas Announces the Launch of its New Cloud Authoring Tool
| Aquafadas has come up with a new cloud based digital publishing platform dubbed Aquafadas Cloud Authoring. This, Aquafadas claims will make it easy for publishers to convert PDF, JPEG, PNG and TIFF files into apps, ePUBs and Web Reader files. The new platform also offers several convenient features and simple production tools like crop and reorder, as well as unique enrichment features like Aquafadas Guided Reading that allows users to have “perfect content flow and optimize reader experience.” The cloud authoring platform also offers a one-click export option that makes for an easy means to distribute the final file output, which can be eBooks, magazines, and newspapers across various hardware platforms which can be tablets, smartphones or the web. “With the massive print-to-digital undertaking happening in the publishing industry, there is an urgent need for a digital publishing solution that automates tedious file conversions as well as simplifies the distribution processes. This is the essence of Aquafadas Cloud Authoring,” comments Thomas Ribreau, technical director at Aquafadas. “Automation, ease of use and speed are the three main ingredients in Cloud Authoring and they serve just about every digital publisher's needs. With Aquafadas Cloud Authoring, you can quickly and easily repurpose your existing content into an app or eBook regardless of your digital publishing technical knowledge. No additional resources or training needed. Aquafadas Cloud Authoring is the perfect solution for monetizing your existing content with high-quality results.” What makes the Aquafadas Cloud Authoring tool really simple to use is that it can be accessed from any web browser, which negates the need for Adobe InDesign or other applications. All that the publishers will be required to do is upload files into Aquafadas Cloud Authoring, “fill out the metadata, organize page layout and add enrichments…before purchasing the final product license, users can preview five pages of the document for free.” As Ribreau puts it, the Aquafadas Cloud Authoring tool can also prove handy for complex digital publishing projects as well. “With a bit of help from Aquafadas, publishers can to tap into Cloud Authoring's workflow engine to facilitate complex jobs such as batch-converting thousands of files or constructing template-driven publications in a matter of minutes, sometimes even seconds,” explained Ribreau. As for pricing, the Aquafadas Cloud Authoring can be had for a starting price of $130 for every file export. The pricing though is based on the type of licenses purchased. Catch up with the official PR below:
Aquafadas Announces the Launch of its New Cloud Authoring Tool is a post from: E-Reader News |
National Book Trust to Enter Digital Publishing, Start eBook Store
| National Book Trust, the premier organization in India that oversees promotion and publication of affordable books, has announced it will be making the transition to digital publishing soon. NBT further revealed it will also be launching an ebook store, details of which will be made available during the upcoming New Delhi World Book Fair. The first ebook that the National Book Trust will launch will be Swami Vivekananda- The Eternal Inspiration for the Youth. The book, penned by Professor Sandipan Sen, will be launched on February 17. NBT also stated it will have 500 titles available for download and can be read on iOS, Android, and Kindle devices or other computing platforms such as desktop PCs. The books will be in English, Hindi, and several other Indian regional languages. The latter bit is important considering the multilingual county that India is and it is imperative that ebooks be published in the popular languages for them to succeed.
National Book Trust to Enter Digital Publishing, Start eBook Store is a post from: E-Reader News |
Amazon on a Hiring Spree for Liquavista Engineers
| Amazon purchased Liquavista from Samsung in 2013 and the intention behind the deal was to offer a new breed of color e-readers.There is active development at Amazon right now that will give us a six inch screen, with the same resolution as the existing Kindles, but with a full color screen. One of the big benefits of this screen technology is that it doesn’t draw much power. We might see a new Kindle by the end of the year with a Liquavista screen, according to recent job postings by Amazon. Currently, Amazon is hiring for; Operations Program Manager (Asia based), Process Quality Engineer, Product Test Engineer, Process Development Engineer, Product Development Manager. These are obviously all senior level positions and the job descriptions mention working on multiple products at once. This leads me to believe that we will not likely see just one new Kindle this year adopting this technology, but a few. One interesting note is some of the positions entail working directly with the boys over at Lab126. This is the research and development arm of the company, who basically designed every single Kindle ever made. It will be interesting to see what Amazon does with the e-reader space with this screen technology. Obviously, color e-ink did not live up to the hype, because it could only display about a thousand colors, which made everything look washed out. If you look at the prototype Kindle screen below, you can get a sense of how content would look on a six inch e-reader.
Amazon on a Hiring Spree for Liquavista Engineers is a post from: E-Reader News |
iPad 2 Likely Headed to the Chopping Block
| It is time we bid adieu to the iPad 2. The second gen iPad that was launched in March 2011 was kept alive to tempt those who preferred a cheaper alternative to the more current models. However, with it being priced the same as the iPad Mini, Apple it seems is finally contemplating giving the ageing model a final bow. The iPad 2 was available only in the base 16 GB Wi-Fi only version and is priced $399, the same as the starting iPad Mini version. However, with sales diminishing – only 5 percent iPad buyers opted for the iPad 2 during the last holiday season – it perhaps is the right time to retire the model once and for ever. Nevertheless, it was really surprising the iPad 2 survived this long, three years since first launched which is quite a long when devices get antiquated in just a year. It has a user base of 38 percent even in the face of its more illustrious stable mates such as the iPad Air and iPad Mini. Also, the fact that it offered a low res display and an A5 chip did not deter buyers to opt for this model. Also, it was the first iPad model to come with a magnetic Smart Cover and was significantly lighter and thinner than the first gen iPad. Another first that can be associated with the iPad 2 is its incorporation of the face time camera that allowed users to make video calls with the device while also coming in the while color option on top of the traditional black. However, now that users can have the iPad Mini with retina display for the same price as the iPad 2, there has been a marked decrease in demand for the latter, something that should be weighing heavily in the decision to brings the curtains down on the second gen iPad. Or maybe Apple could price it even lower and position it to take on the huge army of low cost Android tablets.
iPad 2 Likely Headed to the Chopping Block is a post from: E-Reader News |
Jayme Gisbourne’s Porta-Pi
| Last Friday night I spotted a tweet with a picture of a Raspberry Pi running on a screen and mini keyboard concealed within a small hinged enclosure: I thought it was great! Then the next morning I spotted the very same box while wandering around the Cambridge Raspberry Jam – and was pleased to be able to see it for real – especially impressed when I discovered the maker behind the project was a 14 year old school boy. Jayme Gisbourne is a very bright and forward thinking fourteen year old. Over to Jayme… My name is Jayme Gisbourne. I first got into the Raspberry Pi world by not knowing what I was doing. I wanted to change one of my GCSE options to computer science (I want to be a Physics Engineer so I thought this would help with the engineering side of the job). It was too late to change options as a year had already passed since everyone started the GCSE and they thought I wouldn’t be able to catch up. In order to prove my self I wanted to start from extra curricular activities, e.g. coding clubs. My mum’s work friend is wedded to David Whale (A STEM ambassador, software engineer and a extreme coder) he managed to get me tickets into the Raspberry Jam convention in May 2013. I entered a competition, it was a quiz about the Raspberry Pi. I have had been picking up information all day about the Pi so I could show the computer science teacher what I had learnt and maybe he would allow me to join the class. With that information I won the quiz and a Maplin Raspberry Pi starter kit containing everything that I would need to use the Pi. Later that week I was accepted in to the GCSE computer science course and within weeks I caught up with the rest of the class. During the Raspberry Jam convention I met Sukkin Pang from SK pang Electronics which was also an old friend of my mum’s. He was presenting his Portable Pi and I was intrigued with the engineering side of the design. He used a laser cut base instead of a foldable case like mine. I would recommend that you check out SK Pang Electronics - they have a wide range of stock at reasonable prices (and no, he is not paying me to advertise him!). Since my introduction to the Raspberry Pi, it has taken my STEM interests so much further. I have been coding games like Space Invaders, a flashing LED game, etc… The Raspberry Pi has opened so many doors for me, I went on school trips to STEM meetings to show off my Pi, met so many STEM ambassadors and Raspberry Pi enthusiasts. The Raspberry Pi has made it easy for me to promote our schools Raspberry Pi club to other schools and Raspberry Pi clubs. The Raspberry Pi has also brought me into the STEM world. Without the Pi I wouldn’t know what I would be doing, the Pi has really improved my life educationally and throughout the STEM world. My biggest wish is to own and use a 3D printer, but they are way out of my ‘pocket money budget’. I could make so many more Raspberry Pi projects with one! Parts list:
Tools/Equipment list: If you are 3D printing obviously a 3D printer is needed, if you are using acrylic use a laser cutter or hack saw (make sure the hack saw blade has fine teeth, at least 18 teeth per inch).
It is advised that you have at least a basic knowledge of circuits and engineering, the wrong connection of wires could break your LCD screen or Pi also acrylic/Perspex is extremely brittle and it scratches easily so be careful. In the instructions I will show you how to make it out of acrylic/Perspex. Instructions: 1) First shorten the USB to mini USB cable so the overall length is approximately 3 inches. Solder the wire back together, leave the solder exposed, you will need this in the next step. 2) Get the LCD screen and follow the power cable past the fuse, past the power connector and solder the positive wire to the positive wire on the USB to mini USB power cable do the same with the negative wire to the negative wire on the USB to mini USB power cable: If you have correctly followed the instructions you have now completed the USB to mini USB power cable. Now cover the exposed solder joints with electrical tape, be sure that the negative and positives do not touch! Now we need to make the LCD screen with a 12 volt input run off a 5 volt input by bypassing the voltage regulator. 3) Remove the back plate from the LCD screen be careful not to damage the circuit board. Cut the positive wire (near the power connector) leaving some space to strip the wire, connect the now striped positive wire to the second terminal on the first capacitor. The next steps are really important! 4) BEFORE SOLDERING CHECK THE CIRCUIT IS CORRECT AND THE CURRENT PASSES THROUGH. TO CHECK IT USE A CONTINUITY TESTER TO SEE IF IT PASSES A CURRENT, IF IT DOES – TURN ON THE BATTERY AND CONNECT THE WIRE WE JUST MADE TO THE BATTERY, TOUCH THE POSITIVE WIRE (THE WIRE YOU JUST STRIPED) TO THE TERMINAL THAT PASSED THE CURRENT AND CHECK THE LCD SCREEN WORKS WITH A 5 VOLT INPUT. IMG_0002 It should look like this picture above. Now you have a portable Raspberry Pi! 5) For the case I transferred the now portable Pi (with out the screen, that’s something different, we will come to that later) on to a piece of paper. I found the most compact configuration and drew a box around it. Do this to all three dimensions. Use scissors to cut out the box that you have just drew on. Now you can use this as a template to cut all of the sides. Each dimension (height, width, length) you will need to cut out two of each except for the bottom panel (length) you will need four of them (we will need the other two later for step 9). 6) If you are using a hacksaw- create square angles with the engineers square mark the acrylic/Perspex with a scribe/scriber, if you want you could rub permanent marker ink into the scribed line so it is easier to see. 7) Now take one of the four bottom panels and using the Dremel cut off wheels, sanding drums and milling bits cut a hole for the mini wireless keyboard to fit in. Once in use the epoxy resin to keep the keyboard in place. *BEFORE ASSEMBLING ALWAYS FILE THE ACRYLIC/PERSPEX. USE THE DRAW FILING TECHNIQUE FOR THE SIDES OF THE ACRYLIC/PERSPEX!!!* 9) Now to make the top half follow step 5) you don’t need to make the top and bottom panels because you cut two extra for this step. To cut out the hole for the screen follow step 7). Use the protective 1mm thick plastic screen from the original LCD housing and push it off from the back. Place the screen over the now installed LCD screen in the case. 10) Now assemble the Pi using the correct adhesives. 11) Using paint, paint the hinges to match the case and Pi. Using epoxy resin to stick on the hinges to the case connecting the upper part to the lower part.        So there you have it – Porta-Pi! Stories like this make us very proud of the opportunities made for young people to become makers and engineers through Pi projects, as well as a gateway to STEM activity and career forming. Thanks to Jayme for providing instructions for us to share (we love sharing!), and thanks to David Whale and all others involved in guiding Jayme through his new passion. Here’s a picture I took at the Jam:  Jayme holds his Porta-Pi – and there’s Alex from RasPi.TV for scale |
Tales2Go Launches Netflix for Audiobooks Service, Aimed At Kids
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As if this is something that we have been missing, there is now a Netflix type all-you-can-eat sort of service for audiobooks as well. Tales2Go, as the app is named however caters to only kids and has thousands of kid specific titles to choose from, all for a monthly subscription of $9.99 or $99.99 annually. The app, which started out in 2010 (with just 900 titles then) also allows the books to be downloaded so that these can be listed in offline mode. No wonder such a service has already proved to be extremely popular in schools where an annual license allows unlimited downloads on devices owned by the schools. A similar take-home license for the faculty and students will allow them to download the audiobooks on their respective devices as well. The app is currently available on both iOS and Android though the iOS version has recently been provided with an update. The Tale2Go version 4.0 now boasts of some additional features which includes a design makeover that suits the recently released iOS 7 version. Plus, the update also offers 'improved menus, multivariable search options, more book covers and information on each book, and shared bookmarks if the app is being used with a school'. Overall, a nice option for parents to keep their kids engaged to storybooks while also stoking their interest in books; all this while being kind to the pocket as well.
Tales2Go Launches Netflix for Audiobooks Service, Aimed At Kids is a post from: E-Reader News |
Friday, February 14, 2014
Microsoft Office to be Released on iPad Soon
| Of Microsoft's Office productivity suite and its integration with the iOS platform, this perhaps has been a topic of discussion ever since the iPad had burst into the scene. However, we seem to be heading to something concrete on this finally, what with the latest on this coming from ZDNet claiming such a thing is being actively deliberated and it could be expected very soon. The issue though is tricky for Microsoft considering the cash cow that the Office software suite has been for the Redmond based company over the years. Unleashing the same on competing platforms carries the risk of undermining Microsoft's own Windows platform; that too at a time when the latter is having to re-position itself in a fast changing computing scenario. But then, having Microsoft Office suite on the iPad tablet range will also open up a huge market segment, which can also translate to another steady source of income. “You’ll see us be thoughtful about how and when we bring what applications to what platforms,” said Tami Reller, vice president of marketing at Microsoft while speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. “We come at it from that angle, which is, ‘What businesses do we need to drive forward?’ That’s how we will make the decision.” However, what is not known is how Microsoft is going to charge for using the Office suite though the Office 365 subscription model that Microsoft has introduced off late seems to be the best bet. Right now there is a free MS Office app that is available for the iPhone which allows for limited editing opportunity but none for the iPad. Also, what cannot be denied is that using MS Excel can be chore on the smaller display of the iPhone but can be much better when viewed on the larger displays of the iPad or even the proposed iPad Pro or the new crop of Samsung Pro series of tablets.
Microsoft Office to be Released on iPad Soon is a post from: E-Reader News |
Video: Sony Smartwatch 2 Review
| The Sony Smartwatch 2 is the second attempt of the Japanese company to try and cornerstone the industry. Conservative research states that the entire smartwatch industry will be worth $62 billion by 2018. This is prompting an entire cadre of startups to get into this space. Sony is one of the few with a second generation device, next to Pebble. How does this stack up against the competition? The Sony SmartWatch 2 has a new 1.6-inch transflective LCD touchscreen and soft keys that mimic Android's back, home, and menu functions. The resolution is only 220 x 176, this is fairly poor, as pixels tend to be jagged. You can tell there is not much memory in this device, because they are not really using anti-aliasing. Most of the core functionality is built around interacting with the touchscreen and pairing it with your phone. The Smartwatch 2 is not very smart, sadly. The built in functionality on it can tell the time, be used as a stopwatch, and be used as an alarm. But that's about it. You can reject incoming calls from the SmartWatch and automatically send a SMS text. You really need to have an Android Smartphone to take advantage of this watch. In order to even set it up, you need to download the Sony Android software to control it and load in firmware. There also is not a dedicated Sony Android App Market. This is something Pebble did right in their iOS app, you can install faces, gps, productivity and fitness apps. Heck, there is even games like Asteroids! The Sony App, is basically a portal to other apps listed on Google Play. So, if you have a phone that is not compatible with Google Play, or does not have the G Services, you are doomed. Wrap Up In the end, the Sony Smartwatch 2 is not very smart. You can think of it as a dumb terminal that is reliant on your phone for most of the apps. Really, this is meant to pair to your phone via bluetooth and give you notifications. It is meant to ping you when you get text messages, Whatsapp messages and let you know when someone is calling. It might save time to glance at your wrist, rather than take your phone out, get it out of standby and open the notification. Check out our unboxing and review to get a sense on our thoughts.
Video: Sony Smartwatch 2 Review is a post from: E-Reader News |
ePaperWorld 2014 Conference to Be Held in Montreal
| Tab ePaperWorld has been holding events in Montreal since 2009, where the emphasis used to be on e-readers. The company is branching out for the first time and putting a priority on tablets and education. They still have not lost their e-reader roots, as many luminaries of the display world will be attending February 20th & 21th at the Palais Des Congrès of Montreal. There will be various speakers at the event, including; Benjamin H Paletsky, Product Manager – Global Marketing, E ink Holding, Samuel Parent, Vice President, IAB Canada, and Ric Wright, Director of Engineering, Readium Foundation. This conference should have a few high level discussions on what Canadian companies are doing to embrace eBook formats, such as EPUB 2 and EPUB 3. For the most part, there is basic level talks that discuss digital content in the entertainment, finance, real estate and video game industry. Looking at the floor plan, there only seems to be roughly 40 exhibitors, nothing especially compelling. I do not think any of the titans of the eBook or e-reader industry will be at this conference. For the most part, it seems more of a primer for companies wanting to adopt tablets into their business and are unsure of the merits involved. There is going to be talks about warehouses and supply chains, ergo some businesses might find this conference useful. ePaperWorld 2014 Conference to Be Held in Montreal is a post from: E-Reader News |
US Bookstores Decline by 1.5% in 2013
| The bookselling industry in the United States declined by 1.5% in 2013 and fell 0.5% in December alone. This is primarily due to the Hunger Games and 50 Shades of Grey trilogy breaking sales records in 2012. 2013 did not have any breakout success stories. Over the entire course of 2013 bookstore sales fell 1.6% and this equates bookstores earning $13.2 billion. The bright spots were January, March and September over 2012, but were down every other month. via Shelf Awareness US Bookstores Decline by 1.5% in 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Digital Bookmobile is back on the road!
| The Digital Bookmobile, the high-tech update of the traditional bookmobile that has served communities for decades, has started its 2014 national tour. The tour started on February 4 at Paso Robles Public Library in Paso Robles, Calif. Following more stops in Southern California, the Digital Bookmobile will visit libraries and schools in Arizona and Nevada next as it tours across the country. Aboard the 74-foot, 18-wheel tractor-trailer, readers of all ages can learn how to borrow eBooks and audiobooks from their local library or school on a variety of devices. Our OverDrive team works with representatives from the host library or school to show community members how to search, sample, borrow and return titles either on their own devices or on a number of tablets, computers and smartphones available to demo on the Digital Bookmobile.
The full Digital Bookmobile schedule can be found here. For more information about how you can host the Digital Bookmobile at your library or school, contact events@digitalbookmobile.com.
Heather Tunstall is the Public Relations Specialist at OverDrive.
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Encouraging teachers to use OverDrive
| You may have seen our recent marketing post about simple and easy ideas for marketing your school's digital collection. Another idea is to get your teachers on board. This, without a doubt, will be one of the most beneficial things you can do to promote your digital collection. Our own Sarah Halko, Collection Development Specialist, used to be a high school teacher and gives the following advice for encouraging teachers to incorporate the digital collection into their curriculum: "Using the digital collection in the classroom is simple; better yet, it does not require all students in a classroom to have a device. Remind teachers that they can display a title on their interactive white boards, play an audiobook aloud while students follow along in their print texts, and encourage students to download a title for independent reading." With that in mind, here's a sample three step process for introducing your digital collection to teachers and their busy schedules:
By just introducing your teachers to these help resources and giving them ideas for how to use in the classroom, you will see your circulation rise!
Cassie is a Marketing Specialist with OverDrive.
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Remembering your single patrons on Valentine’s Day
| With February 14th upon us, I wanted to take the time to reach out to the librarians spending time building special Valentine's Day collections in their libraries. Valentine's Day is celebrated by many countries around the world; but most popularly celebrated by couples as a day to be romantic and publicly display their affection… in front of the whole world, including single people. As I entered into my early twenties, it became more apparent each year that there is a large demographic of people who hate Valentine's Day, and would rather celebrate S.A.D. or Singles Awareness Day (which, incidentally, sounds a whole lot more FUN than SAD). So while you’re decorating your whole library with pink and red hearts, take a second to remember your single patrons by browsing a list of titles geared towards the single demographic. Whatever your February holiday of preference, have a happy one!
*Please note: geographic and other restrictions may apply to some titles.
Laura Guldeman is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.
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Thursday, February 13, 2014
Digital Publishing Industry in China Expected To Earn $57.74 billion in 2014
| Digitization process is on the upswing in China where digital publishing is being accorded far greater emphasis than any time before. The rapid emergence of internet and digital technologies has only acted as a catalyst to the digital transformation process. If the above trend is put in financial terms, the figures are astounding to say the least. For instance, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) from digital publishing over the period of 2002 – 2012 stands at an impressive 61.6 percent. Further, the total revenue generated by the Chinese digital publishing industry stands at an astounding $42.89 billion for 2013. The same is predicted to reach even more astounding $57.74 billion in 2014. To further add impetus to the digitization process, China has set up the first batch of what it calls as the digital publishing transformation demonstration institutions. There are 70 such institutions set up so far though more of these will come in place this year. The first digital publishing industry base – the Shanghai Zhangjiang National Digital Publishing Base was set up in 2008 followed by more such bases in Chongqing, Hangzhou, Hubei and Hunan. The country already boasts of a dozen such national digital publishing industry bases.
Digital Publishing Industry in China Expected To Earn $57.74 billion in 2014 is a post from: E-Reader News |
iPad Dominates Business Tablet Usage
| Contrary to the oft held belief that the iPad suits more for entertainment than anything else, the Apple tablet has topped the charts among tablets used in the enterprise scene. To put that in figures, the iPad has made up for 91.4 percent of all enterprise tablet activations in Q4, 2013, reveals enterprise software vendor Good Technology. Delving further into the pattern of iPad usage in the business scene, it is the financial sector that has emerged the single largest user of iPads, accounting for a comprehensive 46.8 percent of all activations. Next comes business and professional services sector that makes up 13.8 percent of iPad activations. In contrast, Android makes up for a far less share of the enterprise scene with smartphones and tablet devices running the Google OS making up 26 percent of the segment. Not surprisingly, it is Samsung here leading the charge, making up for 56 percent of device usage, as per a survey by Fiberlink Communications. The company that deals with mobile device management (MDM) was recent acquired by IBM last November. Meanwhile, the online ad and web analytics firm Chitika put forward that the Microsoft Surface tablets shone in the BYOD segment, drawn from the fact that the Surface tablets were used a lot during office hours. “Surface users generate a slightly greater share of their total Web traffic during working hours as compared to iPad or Android tablet users,” the Chitika report said. “However, in terms of raw traffic volume, iPad and Android tablet users lead the pack at all hours of the day, and usage patterns among all tablets remain relatively similar overall.” However, the report from Good Technology can be considered to be far from being comprehensive in that the company does not yet support Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 tablets. While the latter is known to have made some inroads in the enterprise sector, what is amply clear is that they are yet to make a big enough impact to unsettle the big two in the business, namely Google Android and Apple iOS. Further, the Good report is based on data from organizations that activated more than 5 devices during the fourth quarter. Further, the Chitika report too can't be considered to be comprehensive in that it is unable to differentiate between x86 based devices such as the Surface Pro or traditional desktops based on the same chip. Chitika report though can pick up Surface or Surface 2 devices running ARM chips. As such, the Chitika insight into Windows tablet usage can be considered to be fairly accurate in predicting the usage of Surface or Surface 2 devices. Overall, we do have a rough picture of the iPad being the most popular device used in business with Android making up a distant second. Microsoft has shown mixed results in that it offers both ARM and x86 based devices to be used in the business segment. Also, now that we have seen quite a few Windows 8.1 devices being launched mostly during Q4, 2013, things could be a bit different a few months from now.
iPad Dominates Business Tablet Usage is a post from: E-Reader News |
Us vs Them Rears Its Head in Publishing Once More
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Then there was a literary agent’s harsh response to Konrath and Howey’s insight, once again claiming that traditional publishing is the way to go. Then there was the rebuttal to the rebuttal of the original post. Wait…what? Aren’t these arguments behind us yet? Hasn’t the industry come full circle and decided that self-published books aren’t all garbage and ebooks are here to stay? Why is there so much animosity still being levied from the legacy industry towards the self-published authors, and why are self-published authors still trying to uncover even approximate figures on books sold? Not so long ago, a peaceful feeling settled on the book industry, one that had decided that print books and ebooks both served purposes and were useful for different audiences; at the same time, names like Konrath’s and Howey’s along with a score of other highly successful authors became synonymous with creative control and outsmarting the gatekeepers. So why is this hostility creeping back into the news? Quite possibly some of the angst has been spurred by Howey’s first outspoken frustration with an industry that still insists on guarding book figures as if they were secret rocket formulas. Howey rightly points to the need for accurate data in order for authors to make informed decisions about which publishing route would be best for their books, and that data cannot come from author surveys alone. And while The Passive Voice shared a number of graphs on author earnings that were compiled by AuthorEarnings.com, it was the rebuttal post by Joshua Blimes of JABberwocky lit agency that trashes any concept behind Howey’s questioning post, calling out the author’s summation as a means to discredit the argument. “After a lot of fuzzy math and bad statistics that occasionally intersect with the truth, Howey comes up with this conclusion: ‘Our data suggests that even stellar manuscripts are better off self-published.’ “Sorry, Hugh. There is absolutely nothing in your blog post that justifies that conclusion. This is not the same as saying that your conclusion is wrong. Maybe it’s right. But if it’s right, it’s not because of anything — anything! — in your blog post.” Has it really come back to this level? Are legacy publishers and professionals so threatened by self-published authors that this level of effort goes into picking apart an argument in favor of indie authors? Even more importantly, in the era of taking ownership and control over the process, why are these financial secrets still so…secret? Sadly, there is one branch of the publishing industry who simply does not care how the book came into existence, and that branch cannot be ignored: the reader. Author, agents, and publishers can argue all they want while the industry watchers report on it, but at the end of the day, the reader simply does not care how the book was published. He wants a great read at a great price, and as ebook sales and retailers’ profits have demonstrated, he wants it relatively conveniently. The rest is just details, and it’s a complete time suck to argue over who can do it better.
Us vs Them Rears Its Head in Publishing Once More is a post from: E-Reader News |
Dell First to Offer 64 Bit Windows 8.1 Running Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro Tablet
| A good number of Windows 8.1 based tablet devices, all running the 32 bit version of the OS. That’s about to change now that Dell has announced the launch of Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro tablet devices running 64 bit Windows 8.1. Both tablet versions will be on display at the upcoming Mobile World Congress and will be the first to offer 64 bit computing with Windows 8.1. The 64 bit enabled Windows tablets will generally cost more than their 32 bit counterparts and will be targeted more at the enterprise segment. While the 32 bit Dell Venue 11 Pro starts at around $500, the same with 64 bit of computational power will be priced no less than $800. Further, the Venue 11 Pro in the 64 bit mode sports an Intel Haswell chip, which has made the tablet a tad thicker and heavier than one running 32 bit Windows based on the Intel Bay Trail chip. However, Intel has stated that would change as efforts are already underway to have Intel Bay Trail chips power 64 bit Windows tablets in the future. Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64 explained: “Sixty-four-bit connected standby drivers were prioritized toward the end of the list last year with other things that were going inside Intel and Microsoft. That was the main sticking point. A tablet without connected standby has some pretty awful consequences on battery life.” Brookwood also explained the reason for 64 bit, saying it allows more memory at one's disposal, thereby providing a performance boost to the device. "The pressure for 64-bit, even in tablets that might not have 4GB of DRAM, is pretty strong because IT organizations want to standardize on 64-bit images and 64-bit apps,” further added Brookwood. Also another strong reason for Microsoft to really push for 64 bit is that Apple has already taken the lead on this. All the current generation iPads, iPad Minis, and iPhone 5s now offer 64 bit computing, reason enough for Microsoft to offer a 64 bit option.
Dell First to Offer 64 Bit Windows 8.1 Running Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro Tablet is a post from: E-Reader News |
