3 Ways Pottermore Could Change Book Publishing

[Shopaholic]

Really interesting artilce on how JKR and Harry Potter could change the publishing world....again!

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-t...ok-publishing/

1 - could force Kindle to adopt new formats. (epub) "if any author could get Amazon to change its policy, it’s J. K. Rowling." "The Kindle has the largest market share of any e-reader in the U.S.—it’s believed to be between 60 and 65 percent—and it would be an incredibly dumb move for Amazon not to allow the Harry Potter e-books to be read on its device."

2 - pricing experiments (bundles, limited time offer sales, special editions, individual chapters)

3 - Most importantly, this could be a major tipping point for e-books.

"The first book Harry Potter book was published in 1997—over a decade ago. Kids who were too young for the books when they were first published—who were, say, four or five in 2007 when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the series, was released—are just the right age for the e-book editions in 2011.

And, of course, the series has always exhibited massive crossover appeal between kids and adults. Adults who never read the books the first time around might try them as e-books, and audiences who’ve read them already may still want to own the digital versions, particularly since Rowling is writing new material for the e-books. A new generation of kids ready for Harry Potter, a group of adults who’ve never read the series before, and all the people who are fans already and want to read the books again in a new format—that is potentially a group of millions of buyers for the e-books on Pottermore.com. Combine that massive audience with falling e-reader prices and the release of the books near the holiday season and Pottermore.com could absolutely move the needle toward widespread e-reader adoption in a way that no other series possibly could."

Awesome!!

[afv011]

Interesting article, but doesn't this quote suggest that it will be available for the Kindle as well?

We want to make sure anyone who buys it can read it on any device. We are talking to the Kindles, the Apples, the Googles, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) to make sure they are compatible.

[Ditchleyportrait]

i think pottermore and ebooks compares with the beatles and itunes. a lot of hype mixed in the bag. i also don't like the pottermore logo (looks like an old hp logo circa jay-z spot), and knowing sony has its hand in the bag gives an ominous feeling, like an ill portent.

who knows, though. perhaps i am not gauging the cultural relevance and reach of influence harry potter books have. i'm surprised amazon only has 60-65% of the market, if that stipulation is correct.

[Shopaholic]

Originally Posted by afv011

Interesting article, but doesn't this quote suggest that it will be available for the Kindle as well?

No. Read further down. It's going to be open source epub and that's one of the ways the writer of this article feels it'll change the industry again by forcing Amazon to adopt another format, the epub.

[GA Russell]

I think it will encourage other popular authors to do likewise.

[carld]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic

No. Read further down. It's going to be open source epub and that's one of the ways the writer of this article feels it'll change the industry again by forcing Amazon to adopt another format, the epub.

Where does it say that it's only going to be ePub? I didn't see that anywhere. There's speculation that it might be ePub only, and speculation that they'll offer Kindle compatible files also.

Honestly how can they say that they're going to make sure everyone can read them and then not offer them in Kindle format? People actually think that they're going to force Amazon to support ePub to fulfill that claim? That's simply crazy talk.

[Shopaholic]

Originally Posted by carld

Where does it say that it's only going to be ePub? I didn't see that anywhere. There's speculation that it might be ePub only, and speculation that they'll offer Kindle compatible files also.

No it's not speculation. It's been widely addressed that it's going to be open source epub.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/23/tech...book/index.htm

"Rowling's site will be the exclusive sales channel for the Potter e-books, bypassing traditional e-book stores like Amazon's Kindle store, Barnes and Noble's Nook store and Apple's iBookstore. The Harry Potter series will be published in the open-source e-Pub format, which is compatible with any electronic reading device, including the iPad."

There are multiple articles on the subject online in various news agencies and reposted by bloggers as well as posters on MR.

[carld]

Then they're not available for the Kindle as they claim.

[Shopaholic]

Originally Posted by carld

Then they're not available for the Kindle as they claim.

Reread it. They did not claim it was available for Kindle. It's going to come out in one format. One format that can be read across devices. She wants to get away from the Kindle & B&N & Apple model of specific formats for specific devices only.

Those guys, Kindle & B&N & Apple, will have to get with the program and make sure their devices can read what their users will want in the format it's going to be in - epub. I think it's a great option myself. And JK Rowling certainly has the clout & power behind her to be able to do it.

That's my primary reason for not going with a Kindle for example. I don't want to be told the only place I can get a book from is here. I want choices and I can get that with my Sony because it accepts multiple formats without manipulation and DRM removal to do so.

[thafrogggg]

My take on this is that they are not claiming to compatible with Kindle at all. Excerpt from the article:

Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) will be cut out as the middleman and could be forced to open up the Kindle to new book-publishing formats. we know that the site will be the only place to buy Harry Potter e-books and that they will be compatible with a range of devices. Rowling stressed that selling the books directly “means we can guarantee people everywhere are getting the same experience and at the same time,” and Pottermore CEO Rod Henwood told The Bookseller, “We want to make sure anyone who buys it can read it on any device. We are talking to the Kindles, the Apples, the Googles, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) to make sure they are compatible. We set the pricing, we maintain the policy of making them available to as many readers as possible.” We don’t know if that means that Pottermore.com will be selling multiple editions of the Harry Potter books—in the Kindle format, say, alongside formats like EPUB—but it seems more likely that the site would sell e-books in just one format, probably EPUB.

My view on the areas in bold :

1. Taking Amazon out of the loop frees up the publisher to make their product available any reader they choose. The entire HP series being the cash cow it is, Amazon would be crazy to not do everything they can INCLUDING finally allowing the Epub standard on Kindles if it comes to that.

2. "They will be compatible with a range of devices." No one is saying exactly what devices they will be compatible with at this point, but when you combine this with the statement that they are probably only going to publish it in the Epub format, you can pretty much guess what devices it is going to work with; the ones that currently support Epub. Again Amazon has an important business decision to make, or a lot of pressure to throw on Rowling & company.

3. "We want to make sure anyone who buys it can read it on any device." This is a broad, but somewhat unclear statement. Some people will take it to mean "I can read my HP books on any device on the planet." I personally think it means they are considering allowing you to read your books on any device you have registered with them as an "authorized device" kind of like how you have to register your Kindle, Sony, Nook, and get a device ID with those sellers. Here again, the reading device will have to support their publishing format which at this point looks to be Epub.

All in all, this is going to make for some pretty interesting conversations on our part until they come out and state exactly what is going to happen. You folks keep up the conversations. I enjoy the reading and every now and then I might even add my own

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic

.

Those guys, Kindle & B&N & Apple, will have to get with the program and make sure their devices can read what their users will want in the format it's going to be in - epub. I think it's a great option myself. And JK Rowling certainly has the clout & power behind her to be able to do it.

B&N's readers and Apple devices (through apps) can read epub.

[Ryvyan]

There was a Financial Times article posted by someone on the "Sony Reader lives on with Rowling" thread (under 'News' section) that it would be available on the Kindle.

Regardless of whether Rowling's e-books would be available only on ePub, maybe the scare would force all major e-readers' companies to be finally consistent with the types of formats that can be accessed on their e-readers.

On the original post, I think it's interesting of note that this would be the tipping point for e-books. They will definitely be showered in love by Harry Potter fans, who would take it further by purchasing an e-reader and buy more e-books. They range from the really young to around my age and more, most of whom would have the power of disposable income to be a force to be reckoned with in e-books sales.

[HarryT]

One might look at it the other way around and say that, given the Kindle's domination of the market, Ms Rowling would be crazy not to sell Mobi versions of the books. She needs Amazon more than amazon need her, to my mind.

[carld]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic

Reread it. They did not claim it was available for Kindle.

Yes they did. Unless every article and quote I've read has been completely wrong they did in-fact specifically say that the books would be available for the Kindle.

[carld]

Originally Posted by HarryT

One might look at it the other way around and say that, given the Kindle's domination of the market, Ms Rowling would be crazy not to sell Mobi versions of the books. She needs Amazon more than amazon need her, to my mind.

That was my thought as well.