The document summarizes the key findings of a study conducted by The Gilbane Group on book publishing transformation. The study identified seven essential processes to reinvent publishing and addressed pain points in developing digital programs. It found that digital printing, outsourcing, and XML workflow are important currently. There is confusion around ebook formats and a lack of integration among publishing processes. Metadata practices vary and integration efforts are still needed industry-wide.
including areas such as royalties, digital format choices, and distribution problems
This slide is a preview of the topics we’ll be covering today.
Market Overview: 63% of book publishers responding currently make somewhere between 0 and 5% of their gross revenue from ebooks today.
In 5 years, the gross revenue from ebook publishing picture is much rosier… but we’ll see. Only 11% of book publishing respondents see 5% to no gross revenue by 2015. Almost 40% see 25% or more of their gross revenue coming from ebook publishing by then.
How big are today’s ebook title counts? 21% of respondents had none in 2009, and 32% had less than 50 titles. Over 8% of respondents reported having produced over 1000 ebook titles in 2009.
What are ebook titles? Many different forms. Only 22% of book publishers responding to the survey have published for Kindle and/or other dedicated ereaders. Computers—PC, laptops, netbooks—remain a bigger ebook platform at almost 40%, if online portals are added in. Digital print-oriented efforts fall into “digital publishing” at 13%
Exhanced Ebooks? Not today, with a whopping 86% of book publishers saying that they use either only modeat or no rich media in their titles. Only about 12% claim significant use of rich media in titles today—and probably almost all from educational and STM publishing.
What a different a half-decade makes—at least to expectations. By 2015, 86% of book publishers expect to use modest or significant amounts of rich media in their digital publishing titles.
Digital workflow is well-understood and largely being practiced within book publishing. The use of XML for content format is emerging earlier in the digital workflow, and we expect this to become a regular practice across all book publishing segments (already wide-spread in STM).
“ What business benefits are gained at your book publishing company through the use of XML for title content?”
“ Publishing more flexible and efficient” “ Re-use and repurposing of content” “ Creating new products and revenue streams” “ Publish to multiple ebook formats”
Digital printing—whether POD, or USR, or for inventory management, or improved distribution, or reducing returns and spoilage—is very popular with book publishers already, and growing bigger and bigger.
The range of ebook formats and variants—including producing apps for emerging platforms and for enhanced titles—can be a barrier for book publishers. Some ebook publishing platform providers are attempting to address multiple format production, and the basic tactic of single-source/multiple output has market traction. The actual work to understand and produce ebook and apps and variants often is out of reach for book publishers’ staffs, and partner vendors are well-positioned and properly experienced to address the multi-format/apps needs of the marketplace.
Outsource partners play a big role in book publishing’s move to ebook publishing, across all segments. The main function is conversion (formats), but of significance, too, is the contribution in helping publishers move toward XML-Early. The next slide show how book publishers use outsource vendors.
“ What kinds of services does your book publishing company use from outside services for its ebook titles?” The next slide highlights the findings to this survey question.
Top 4 Uses: 30%: “Title/document conversion” 10%: “Copy-editing” 10%: “Project management” 10%: “Artwork and graphic design” Only 14% of book publishers participating in the survey use not outsource vendors!
Meta-data is where book publishing will be heading for success, but it is “early days” yet. A lot of the business models that make most sense for ebooks and digital publishing rely on high quality meta-data.
Just a little over 16% of book publishing respondents claim a “high degree” of interoperability among publishing processes. Further conversations we’ve had suggest that some of this really only means that the various departments work well together, not that the various platforms supporting the different publishing processes are tied together.
Along with meta-data improvements—and tied to this in significant ways—platform and process integration is another frontier for book publishers that remains, to date, largely unexplored. There is gold in them thar hills, however.
![A Blueprint for Book Publishing Transformation Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 1:30 - 2:30 ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/p1blueprintslides1130-1299006554476-phpapp01/85/P1-Blueprint-Slides-11-30-1-320.jpg)
![A Blueprint for Book Publishing Transformation: Seven Essential Processes to Re-Invent Publishing ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)