Traditional publishing, self-publishing, and BookRiff
August 26, 2009
BookRiff has recently received mention in several news articles about the rise of self-publishing websites, a trend Roberto Rocha in the Calgary Herald calls “Self-publishing 2.0.” True, much like sites such as Lulu.com, WeBook.com, and the new Book Oven, BookRiff does provide online tools anyone can use to instantly publish their writing in a book they can sell online or have printed, sidestepping traditional models of publishing. Yes, it is a site for building your own book, where individuals- rather than editors and publishers- decide the content and order of a book. It increases the role readers play in the books they purchase, and allows them to contribute to the material available to other readers. But calling BookRiff a website for self-publishing is like saying cell phones are tools for taking pictures: you can do it, but there’s a lot more you could do with that tool, and a camera might work just as well if you only want to snap a photo. More than a tool for unpublished writers to publish their own works, BookRiff is a way for readers to access more written content and consume it in the way they want. It isn’t a platform that sidesteps traditional publishing, but one that traditional publishers and authors can use to make book and other written content go further by offering it up in new ways.
Take author Michael Turner, for example. He’s planning to use BookRiff to remix his upcoming book, 8×10, which will be published as a trade paperback by Doubleday Canada in September. The book is a series of 64 loosely related fictional events that lack any defined time or place, and are ordered only by Michael’s own logic. His plan is two-fold: he’ll create a Riff of 8×10 by assigning a random order to the chapters, then work with Doubleday to make the book “open to interpretation by recomposition” by allowing readers to assign their own order. You can read more about the experiment from his blog. This is just one way BookRiff will be used by authors and publishers to engage readers in their books.
BookRiff is gearing up for Beta
August 19, 2009
Now in the final stages of a three-phase beta development plan, BookRiff is nearly complete and ready for more beta users. If you haven’t signed up for an invitation yet, now’s your chance: register here to request a beta code. We’ll only be dishing out a limited number of invites until we can ensure the site is stable and ready for the public, so hurry up and get on the list!
BookRiff on BookNet
August 14, 2009
In a nicely worded description of BookRiff on the BookNet Canada blog, Morgan Cowie calls the site an evolution of D&M Publishers’ core publishing platform: using new tools to continue making books that appeal to readers.
Self-Publishing: Harbinger of Doom or Puffy White Cloud of Hope?
I’ve recently done a spate of media interviews wherein the main topic was the ‘rise’ of self-publishing. It’s an interesting media trend, founded largely by the appearance and development of innovative new web communities that are focusing on bringing together those interested in creating great books – who may or may not already consider themselves book professionals.
There’s no doubt that it’s been an interesting summer for those interested in the evolution of book creation online. The alpha version of The Book Oven was released. The beta version of BookRiff is available to check out. WEbook, Protagonize, TextNovel and scores of other writer-based communities continue to work collaboratively to create, refine and display new talent from (mostly) unpublished authors.
So what does this all mean for traditional publishing?
Hugh McGuire, one of the founders of Book Oven, sees the role of his new site thusly (yep, I just wrote thusly. And I’m keeping it):
The key here is: cloud-publishing (and Book Oven) will provide the tools to allow groups of people to easily coalesce around the production, distribution and sale of a particular book or books. How those groups organize themselves will look different from book to book. But Book Oven’s tools will mean that book makers can focus on the important thing, the content, and not worry about the technical hurdles of making, printing & distributing books.
Hugh’s whole post is worth reading as it makes a compelling argument for the differences between ’self-publishing’ and the new tool and collaboration-based ‘cloud publishing’ that Book Oven, and arguably other sites like it, are developing.
For traditional publishing, this really invokes the spectre of what Neelan Choksi, CEO of Stanza, called a ‘flight to value’. As I’ve argued before, we as a professional industry exist because we can provide good books. Good service for authors who write those good books. Convenient access for readers who want those good books.
Is the blockbuster culture going to go away? I’m not sure. As much as we talk about Web 2.0 and the forces of collaborative culture, we’re also seeing the big head, rather than the long tail, stay big (or get bigger). But maybe that’s not the big question…maybe the question is where do projects like authoring communities, mash-up books and collaborative creation fit into the new publishing model? Where can partnerships be made to spur all to greater heights?
Instead of seeing self-publishing or cloud-publishing as a direct competitor to trade publishing, do as D&M is doing. BookRiff is not a threat to their publishing house but, rather, an evolution using new tools at hand to continue to do what they do best. Creating great books that are designed to make readers happy and keep them reading is what we all aspire to do. Working together seems like the best way to do that.
UBC Creative Writing Panel Discussion
August 5, 2009
In a July 10 panel at the University of British Columbia, students of UBC’s Creative Writing MFA Summer Residency Program discuss changing technologies in publishing, and how BookRiff will fit in the mix. Host Andrew Gray is accompanied by panel members Thad McIlroy, Jennica Harper, and myself.
Julie Morris