BOOKSHOTS! Brand new "reading revolution" by James Patterson!

[Dazrin]

Or something.

Back in March James Patterson and Hachette announced BOOKSHOTS by James PATTERSON"]BookShots[/URL]. (1) and it looks like in June they released the digital side (2). I am surprised I didn't see this around here already, I only noticed it because Penny Arcade mentioned it today.

BookShots is described as a "reading revolution", plot driven stories that are "under 150 pages" and "under $5." Basically, novellas. As the NYT says

...
Publishers and writers have tried to engage fickle readers with bite-size digital fiction in various ways, from unbundling short stories and selling them for 99 cents apiece, to serializing novels as short, plot driven e-books.

Still, no one has tried to apply the same bite-size commercial fiction model to print, at least not in a sustained way. It is tough to sell a single short story in print. And while some of the most beloved American literary classics are novella-length works — John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” and Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” — the format has largely fallen out of favor with publishers, who make much of their money from hardcover books, which have higher profit margins and tend to get better store placement.

Here is their Youtube introductory video:


There is an app (Android, iOS) to get new exclusive* stories.

Other features of the BookShots apps:

• Read Anywhere, 
 Anytime with the BookShots mobile
 app on iOS and Android.
• Customize your experience Choose your favorite text size, font and lighting for a perfect experience, day or night.
• Your books are synchronized 
between all your devices Switch between your devices and keep your books, 
bookmarks and reading activity synced.

So, they are not only inventing the novella (or at least trying to make it seem like a new concept), they are providing a completely new way to read (another app to have to deal with) that actually syncs where you are in the book across devices (just like a Kindle, and probably others). Isn't that exciting?!

On the other hand, JP books are certainly popular so maybe this will help people who don't normally read get into books. Maybe there will be books from other authors, completely separate from JP, available in this format too? Hopefully it does something other than prop up Hachette.

*

Spoiler:

*Per the Youtube video "New Alex Cross and Zoo 2 only available in BOOKSHOTS" making these sound exclusive. Of course these are also available at Amazon, Kobo, and elsewhere as ebooks and paper books, so they are apparently using a different definition of "only" than I am familiar with.

For people that aren't familiar with Penny Arcade, they also publish a short article about their comics, in this case it is fairly interesting.

Should I have put write in quotes when I said JP wants to write even more books a year? At least he acknowledges he has a team of writer's working on his books.

Also, if you view the closed captioning on the Youtube video there is an amusing transcription error around 8 seconds in.

[jgaiser]

"Reading Revolution" -- Well, except Amazon has had Amazon Singles for at least a year. Way to stay ahead JP and Hachette!!!

[Dr. Drib]

Here's a brief mention of it on Mobileread, within a different context:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ts#post3357694

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Here's a brief mention of it on Mobileread, within a different context:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ts#post3357694

Thanks! I don't normally check that forum but the comments there are about what I expected.

[LovesMacs]

I've seen these Bookshots in airport shops, prominently displayed next to the registers.

[tubemonkey]

BOOKSHOTS???

Horrible title for books at an airport. Toss one of those in the bucket at the security checkpoint and watch TSA go ballistic!
.

[Barbara1955]

Book Shots are Nothing more than SHORT Stories... They have been around since the Written Word. Patterson trying to change History... Since he cant write he changing to suit himself.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Book Shots are Nothing more than SHORT Stories... They have been around since the Written Word. Patterson trying to change History... Since he cant write he changing to suit himself.

Short stories is not good marketing words.
He is not trying to change history.
He is trying to sell a product. Nothing more, nothing less.
He is still writing and he is not changing to suit himself.
What exactly do you think he is changing?
He is doing nothing more than trying to make money.
He is trying to engage a different type of reader.

Just because one person doesn't like his writing does not mean he can't write.
I know dozens that say the same thing about various best selling authors.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

He is still writing and he is not changing to suit himself.

No, he really isn't writing.

Just because one person doesn't like his writing does not mean he can't write.
I know dozens that say the same thing about various best selling authors.

Various best selling authors at least have the decency to write their own books, even if specific groups of people do not like that writing.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

No, he really isn't writing.



Various best selling authors at least have the decency to write their own books, even if specific groups of people do not like that writing.

At least he gives credit to his co-authors. And his original books are good.
So the point is he can write. Whether he is now is irrelevant.

And several best sellers have co-authors or ghost writers.

[eschwartz]

Except you claimed he was still writing.


And for all we know, he might not be able to write anymore. Or never could to begin with. (How do you prove that he wrote the originals? We already have amazing reasons to suspect he doesn't write what he claims to write....)

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Except you claimed he was still writing.


And for all we know, he might not be able to write anymore. Or never could to begin with. (How do you prove that he wrote the originals? We already have amazing reasons to suspect he doesn't write what he claims to write....)

He is still writing. He is writing checks if nothing else.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

And for all we know, he might not be able to write anymore. Or never could to begin with. (How do you prove that he wrote the originals? We already have amazing reasons to suspect he doesn't write what he claims to write....)

...the Milli Vanilli of the book world???

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

He is still writing. He is writing checks if nothing else.

Well, okay. That makes it all better.

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

He is still writing. He is writing checks if nothing else.

Well, I guess he's signing checks.....
Eh, his books are ok. There is a reason they are usually labeled as beach reads. Something that you don't really have to pay attention to, and when you are done you don't really have to remember what you just read. It's just something to hold in your other hand while you are on the beach. Of course your other hand is busy holding an iced beverage of choice.
S