BookRiff keeps it simple
January 14, 2010
In a recent post on turner-riggs blogspace about the troubling task of creating a effective brand that every new start-up faces, Kiley Turner points to BookRiff as one example of a site that gracefully overcomes the challenge. BookRiff’s task, according to Turner: “Convey a very cool but rather complicated idea as simply as possible so visitors don’t lose interest/get confused/feel it’s too complicated and navigate away from the site.”
For BookRiff, one of our goals from the beginning has been to create a site that’s not only innovative but that’s also fun to use and accessible to everyone. Because we are introducing a new way of working with print media, this means we’ve had to be extra cautious in the way we introduce ourselves to the world. We want folks to be intrigued, but not afraid. Also, because BookRiff is meant to be an open platform whose community will help define it through their own uses of the tools, we’re careful not to be so directive as to hamper creativity. This creates an additional challenge for us because we want people to know how to use the basic tools; we just don’t want them to stop there.
In other ways, it is easy to talk about BookRiff simply, because while there’s a complex set of machinery beneath the user interface that makes book-building possible, the basic idea is just this: build your own book. Choose your own chapters, order them, and add anything else into your Riff to make it yours.
Likewise, from a content provider’s point of view, BookRiff introduces an entirely new publishing business model, along with a new way of thinking about the value of book (and other print media) content, but the process is easy. As a “Creator”, you choose how your content is split up and viewed, you choose its price, and we don’t touch your revenue.
Establishing a brand to present BookRiff as a simple, useful tool for both consumers and creators is really the icing on a larger effort to make those messages ring true through every aspect of BookRiff. From the business model, to the site navigation, to the printing and shipment of books…
It’s nice to hear that we’re doing an o.k. job so far, but we’ve got our work cut out for us in the coming months. Beta testers, send us your thoughts!
Julie Morris
June 18, 2010 at 7:35 AM
Hello BookRiff,
First, congratulations on your new endeavor! I wish you the very best in success.
I am an author concerned with book (especially ebook) piracy. I belong to a couple of anti-piracy groups and we’ve seen other sites similar to yours fall into the category of becoming an illegal file-sharing site. This is a big concern to many authors.
I applaud you for mentioning the copyright issue in your Terms of Service and Copyright Policy pages, but I believe you’re going to need more than that, as has been evidenced by other sites.
When I first read about your site, I never read anything about NOT publishing someone else’s work. I am worried about the people who do not understand copyright laws–and those who just don’t care.
I recommend you include a notice on all upload pages, perhaps even have the member click and “swear” that they OWN the copyright. Members need to be reminded of this constantly, especially young members who don’t understand copyright laws. Many people think that if they bought the book through legal channels, they own the right to distribute it and make copies.
One of my goals is to try to educate people about copyright laws and to discourage piracy. This is the goal of the groups I belong to as well.
My other suggestion is that you blog about this issue. Make sure your members understand they can submit their OWN writing, not someone else’s. Help them understand why it is illegal to use another author’s material without that author’s permission. In fact, this should be clearly stated on every page a member sees during the upload process.
Other authors against piracy and I will be monitoring websites like yours over the next few months. We’ll be issuing take-down notices where applicable and be calling for members’ accounts to be suspended. This is something else you could do to help prevent piracy; clearly state that suspension from the site and deletion of a member’s works is the result if they’re found to be in violation of copyright laws.
By you taking positive actions against piracy, you not only show your support against book piracy and support for the value of authors’ works, you will help us educate people and make their reading experience a pleasure and not one wrapped up in legalities or lawsuits.
All the best,
Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author
‘Support Authors, Buy a Book!’
June 18, 2010 at 8:01 AM
Thanks for your kind and thoughtful note, Cheryl. I believe your suggestions are good, and we have discussed adding the sort of language you suggested to the uploading process. BookRiff is especially tuned in to this type of thing, since we are a startup partially funded by D&M Publishers (an independent book publishing company in Vancouver: http://www.dmpibooks.com). I also work with D&M in the digital department, so upholding the copyright of content providers on BookRiff is my utmost concern for the site. I also believe this is the core value of BookRiff, which acts as a tool to separate content from its covers, make it more flexible, while preserving its value. It’s impossible to preserve that value, without preserving the rights of the copyright owners!
June 18, 2010 at 8:12 AM
Hi Julie,
Thank you for the quick and positive reply. I’m very happy with your response and I’ll share it with the other authors I know who are concerned about piracy.
I think what most concerns me is that people may be tempted to include copyright protected works here on BookRiff and then sell them, which would be outright theft. Sadly, many people just don’t get it.
If you ever write a post or article on piracy and want an author’s input, feel free to contact me. I am all for making my readers’ experiences with purchasing and reading my content as pleasurable as possible, without sacrificing my copyright rights.
By the way, I took a particular interest in your site and company ebcause 1) I’m Canadian, and 2) I’m originally from Vancouver.
I really do wish you the very best. If you ever want to brainstorm ideas with authors, let me know.
Cheers!
Cheryl Kaye Tardif