Apple recently announced iBooks 2 for the iPad and its companion authoring tool, iBooks Author. In the days after the announcement, a co-worker pulled up an iBook he created from existing T3 work. It was an immersive experience that brought to life the potential of iBooks for me. It was quick and easy to put together. And it looked good.
The book has officially been democratized. I’m excited to see where we take it from here and how it ultimately disrupts long-form publishing.
Looking at how the democratization of short-form digital publishing has changed news can provide some guidance into what that future looks like for books. Channels like blogs and Twitter have transformed the type of information available and how we get news. Anyone can easily publish an article and share it. The mainstream media has adapted and drives a significant portion of the news conversation by kicking off the topic. The ripple effect of sharing and opinion pieces from individuals grows from there. The overall reach of the combined effect is apparent from the fact that I am hard pressed to find anyone who discovers historic breaking news through anything other than a social channel now.
Where will iBooks take us?
Textbooks are the quick win and are the heart of what Apple is promoting out of the gate. However, I see novels as being the more interesting part of the long-term change. Novels are already evolving. Moonbot’s “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” book app is a great example of interactive storytelling. You can see this type of experience and storytelling technique become easier and easier to produce. Then there is the storytelling of Jonathan Harris. Data visualization. Ways to customize an experience to get a unique view of the story. These are the storytelling techniques that are pushing the boundaries.
Big publishers will persist, but they will need to adapt. There is still value in the curation publishers provide. I want high-quality books, and they will continue to deliver on that. Publishers will also continue to win by providing the marketing engine behind their books. The democratization of publishing gives great ideas and stories the chance to break through without the need for a publishing system. Referral will filter the best options to the top.
Regardless of how books evolve, one thing is true: Great stories that are well told will get noticed. It’s just that it has now gotten easier for anyone to be creative, tell their story and push the boundaries.