Fixed-layout epubs, apps and more!

There's a lot of info here, on complicated epubs like Children's books:

http://ebookarchitects.com/conversions/childrens.php#fixed

"In December 2010, Apple introduced a new format for ePub files in their iBooks app: “fixed-layout” ePubs. Unlike the standard eBook files described and shown above, these eBooks can keep the same layout and designs as their print book counterparts. These eBooks are not PDFs. They are fully-functional ePub files in every way, however, the specific styles and layouts used in these files will only work in iBooks."

There's also a tiny section on Standalone eBook Apps and about outsourcing them.

Oxygen XML editing.

http://www.oxygenxml.com/

This is the recommended software from ACP for editing epubs. I was just using text based programs like text edit. But what's nice about this is that it has validating built in. And it should be easier to edit metadata (the data that stores all the epub information).

epub sales from a report released April 2011

At the risk of quoting a blog, that quotes a study and another news article, the Data Conversion Library (DCL) has this to say about epub sales:

The latest report from the Association of American Publishers shows that February closed with eBooks sales capping out at $90.3M with paperbacks coming in at a mere $81.2M. For the first time, eBooks have become the best-selling medium in the US (a 202.3% increase in February!), and it seems that trend will continue. According to the Guardian, the record sales are likely due to the fantastic sales of eBook reading hardware during the holiday season. With so many more people having access to electronic reading devices, it’s only natural for the sale of digital content to increase accordingly. 

From http://www.dclab.com/blog/2011/04/ebooks-sales-take-center-stage/

Threepress shows the potential for e-cookbooks

This is a bit outdated now (only a few months old!) but the fine folks at Threepress shows some of the potential from a cookbook ebook on ibooks.

http://blog.threepress.org/2010/06/24/javascript-and-interactivity-in-ibooks/

I imagine something like this pop up image, working well for how to photos or foreign ingredient shots. It really shows the potential for epub cookbook to outperform a print cookbook, or at least offer something completely different.














You can also do the same thing with text.

This one shows a definition, but it could easily be a mini recipe that's mentioned or instructions that maybe a novice cook might need but a seasoned cook wouldn't. Does this mean we could design epubs in a totally new way, breaking them completely away from the print version? I'd like to think so.

Pira Releases Publishing Industry Technology Forecast

A recent study from PIRA, a company that purports to be "the worldwide authority on the packaging, paper, and print industry supply chains" gives the future of epubs as they see it.

http://workflowprepress.com/262626/pira-releases-publishing-industry-technology-forecast.php

The e-reader market is likely to split into several distinct parts according to Pira, from the high-end color touchscreen with many other capabilities, through smartphones, down to cheap monochrome versions with simple controls to load and read titles. As the technology advances there will be cheaper, higher quality, lighter devices that will help reading and interactivity.

In a way we already see these separate markets from the black and white readers that are perfect for novels to the iPad which is more suited to full color apps, and can handle more complex files.

Through its well-publicized negotiated settlement with publishers and authors, Google can sell the full text of books, many of which are out of print. It is trying to broaden the content and is working with some 30,000 publishers to provide increased access, while creating new revenue streams for content creators, and Google. Over the next 10 years, it is in pole position to redefine publishing business models, while earning revenue from the sale and distribution of content.

When it comes to publishing the backlist in epus format Google and Apple are big players. Apple agreements require that a company post their entire backlist to Apple. Some companies just aren't ready to do this and are declining to sell books through Apple for the current year. I suspect it won't be long before they get on board though. However, the Google Books Settlement means that older backlist titles are going up anyway, and google will be profiting from there. Pretty big competition for any company who is getting into digitizing or distributing books.