Which eReaders and tablets support multimedia and CSS3 features?

Vook has put together a list of some of the devices that support multimedia enhancements, along with the maximum eBook size on each device (which turns out to be dramatically affected by both the device and eRetailer), and a list of CSS elements that can be controlled in Vook's editor, with which devices they're supported on. Here's a summary:

• Only iOS devices running iBooks and the Kindle app, and the Nook Color and Nook tablet, support multimedia enhancements. The only desktop PC eReader that supports the enhancements is Vook's own Reader software. 
• Here are the maximum file sizes for various devices and eBookstores--conventional publishers (with "Vendor of Record" accounts) get far more file space than do self-publishers, which makes self-published multimedia-enabled eBooks impractical:
• Apple's iBookstore: 2GB 
• Barnes & Noble Pubit! (self-publishing): 20MB 
• Barnes & Noble via Vook distribution relationship: 600MB 
• Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing: 50MB 
• Amazon via Vook distribution relationship: 650MB
• The Vook source link has much more information, but in general: 
• iOS devices handle all the CSS3 attributes. 
• Nook devices (both eReaders and tablets) handle all the CSS3 attributes. 
• Kindle devices handle only a subset of the CSS3 attributes, with the Kindle Fire supporting a few more than Kindle eReaders. 

Vook launches HTML5 eReader and new pricing models

Vook just launched a new HTML5 eReader for its eBooks (to try it out, go to http://vook.com; http://www.vook.com will take you to their sign-up page for writers). The samples I've seen are similar to a conventional EPUB display with flowable, resizable text plus embedded rich media.  It can display one or two pages at a time. It also has three layout options with different typefaces. A nice feature is that Vook has anticipated that the eReader will be used on both PCs and tablets, so it supports a single-page vertical scrolling mode for smaller devices, as well as two-page mode for desktop and notebook PCs.

The company has dropped its monthly fees and now offers two options for self-publishers:

• Publish the eBook free of charge to Vook's own eBookstore; the author gets 85% of revenues.
• Create eBooks using Vook's tools and then pay the company $99 for the files, which can be uploaded and sold by the author through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple. 

Proof that thinking too much about sex makes you stupid

Michael Cavnar, the CEO of Vook, a self-publishing company, has posted the story of "The Diamond Club," a hoax erotic eBook that made it to #4 on the list of paid books in iTunes after just three days. Brian Brushwood and Justin Young, the hosts of TWiT's NSFW podcast, learned that all ten of the top eBooks on iTunes were erotic fiction, and came up with an idea similar to Mike McGrady's 1969 potboiler hoax "Naked Came the Stranger," which was credited to "Penelope Ashe" but was actually written (as badly as possible) by 24 journalists. Brushwood and Young invited their listeners to submit chapters for the book. The only thing they had to do was feature the main character--the chapters didn't have to connect to each other at all. Even though the eBook does deliver on the sex part, Young said “It’s a hoax in that we are not erotic fiction writers. We don’t genuinely think it’s any good. But I will stand behind our product that it delivers what we believe to be the most important component in this genre: sex.”

I fully expect a Big 6 publisher to offer Brushwood and Young a seven-figure advance and commit to a huge print run. Because it's "pre-sold."

Inkling and Vook: Is B-to-C to B-to-B really B-to D(isaster)?

Let me explain that title: If a company moves from selling to consumers (B-to-C) to selling to businesses (B-to-B), are they setting themselves up for failure? Recently, a couple of well-known electronic publishing names have changed their focuses from selling eBooks to consumers to selling eBook creation tools to writers and publishers. Vook had a highly-publicized launch in 2009 as a publisher of enhanced eBooks, which included audio and video along with text. In the second half of last year, the company changed direction ("pivoted", in the current vernacular), and focused on selling its enhanced eBook production tools to other publishers. Vook's toolset remains in beta, but the company is hinting about "major announcements soon", suggesting that they're getting close to general availability for their software.

Earlier this week, Inkling, an eTextbook publisher focusing on the iPad, announced a similar shift in strategy. Even though Inkling has been in business for about 18 months and has deals to reformat textbooks from a number of major publishers, it's only released about 200 titles so far, just a tiny fraction of the number needed to be truly competitive in the eTextbook market. In order to stimulate production of additional titles, Inkling announced that it would 1) Deliver its eTextbooks in HTML5 format that will work in many browsers, and 2) Release an eBook authoring and production service called Habitat. Habitat, which is in an early closed beta, will be licensed to publishers at no cost.

Like Apple's iBooks Author application for OS X, eBooks created with Habitat can be distributed anywhere for free. However, eBooks created with Habitat for sale must be offered through Inkling's own website and iPad app. In the case of sales through the website, Inkling takes a 30% commission. They also take a 30% commission from sales through their iPad app, but Apple takes another 30%, leaving only 40% for the publisher. Unlike Apple, which limits sales of titles created with iBooks Author to its own iBookstore, Inkling allows Habitat-based eBooks to be sold through other outlets. However, publishers have to plan for the probability that most of the sales will go through Inkling's own channel, with as little as 40% of the sales price coming back to the publisher.

Both Vook and Inkling are moving from B-to-C to B-to-B. In Inkling's case, it's using Habitat in part to increase the number of titles available in its format, but Vook is now out of the B-to-C business. Both companies are hoping to find a successful business model, but history suggests that this kind of pivot is rarely successful. In the early days of online video, many companies launched advertising-supported streaming video sites. Other than YouTube, only a handful of those sites have been successful, and a good number of the unsuccessful ones pivoted to sell the technology they had developed for running their sites to other businesses. In some cases, they sold what's now termed  "white-label online video platforms" for uploading, compressing, storing and displaying video content, while other startups sold technology for video ads. Most of the companies that pivoted to B-to-B were no more successful than they were when they were focusing on consumers. One of the few that pivoted successfully was Brightcove, which just went public today. However, even though they launched in 2004, the company has never been profitable.

Selling to businesses is very different than selling to consumers:

• You actually have to collect revenue from your customers when you sell to businesses, which means that your product or service has to have real value and be positively differentiated from competitors.
• You need a sales force, whether in-house or reps, to call on potential customers.
• The sales cycle (the amount of time needed to close a sale) can be very long, and many people are likely to have input into the purchasing decision. It may take six months or more for the customer to evaluate your solution and decide whether or not to purchase.
• Business customers demand a high level of customer and technical support. You may need to have support engineers available on call 24/7.

I've seen startups use this pivot enough times that it often seems more like a desperation move than a successful strategy. If a company wasn't successful using its tools, why is it likely that anyone else is going to be more successful using those same tools? The tools might solve a problem that doesn't exist, or provide features that the vast majority of customers don't want or need. They might be too difficult to use or too slow, which will lead businesses to try and then abandon them. Or, they might not be differentiated from other products and services already in the market.

I'm not saying that Vook's or Inkling's tools are bad, or that the companies' efforts to pivot will fail. (I've not been able to test either Vook's or Inkling's software.) However, both companies have a steep uphill climb, as does any company that tries a B-to-C to B-to-B pivot.

The publisher bypass operation

I just read an article in the latest issue of Wired about the new breed of subscription music services--companies like Spotify, MOG and turntable.fm. The problem with these services (and for that matter, conventional purchase services like iTunes) is that artists get a very small share of the revenue. Most artists are now getting the majority of their income from live performances, not music sales. Where concerts once served to promote album sales, now digital music promotes live performances.

Online video distribution has had a similar impact on movies, television and original video. Most of the revenues from movies and television shows sold or rented by Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, etc., goes to the studios and distributors, not to the original producers. Original video produced for YouTube and other services is incredibly hard to monetize; only a few series, like "The Guild" and "Easy to Assemble", have sponsorship or distribution deals that directly compensate the producers. Most original video has to make do with a trickle of advertising revenue, modest sales from iTunes, or nothing at all.

That brings us to books, where the situation for independent authors is very different. Amazon will pay as much as 70% of the revenue from sales of eBooks to self-publishing authors, and other resellers will typically pay 35%. Compare that with the typical 10% to 12% royalty on wholesale price paid by publishers, and self-publishing starts to look very appealing. Yes, the self-publisher has to pay upfront for editing and design, but many publishers recoup those costs before they start paying royalties. In addition, unless you're a top author, publishers will do little or nothing to promote your title, so you'll have to hire a publicist or do the work yourself.

It's true that print still represents the majority of book sales, but the market is quickly shifting to eBooks. Some of the most popular titles are already selling almost as many copies of eBooks as print, and heavy book readers are adopting eBooks faster than any other group. The majority of book sales are likely to come from eBooks by the middle of this decade.

So, where does that leave publishers? Penguin, for one, is getting into the self-publishing business through its Book Country online service. In addition to charging upfront fees for formatting and designing eBooks, Book Country demands a hefty fee for distributing self-published eBooks to online bookstores--which self-publishers can do themselves. Other publishers are experimenting with "augmented" eBooks--containing audio, video and animations--which they believe are beyond the ability of self-publishers to create. There are two problems with that approach:

1. Companies such as Vook are launching eBook creation tools that will allow self-publishers to make augmented eBooks, and
2. Sales figures to date suggest that there's not a big market for augmented eBooks. For example, Vook's original strategy was to publish augmented eBooks itself, but the company couldn't sell enough to sustain its business, so it's now focusing on licensing its platform to others.

To be sure, publishers still provide valuable services, especially for top-tier authors--but book publishing is the first industry where creators (writers) can compete effectively with distributors (publishers). In the near future, the big publishers will likely find themselves focusing on two categories:

1. New releases from "A-list" authors that can command high prices and sell tens of thousands of copies in print, and
2. Milking their existing backlist for eBook reissues, bundles, and other ways of delivering "old wine in new bottles".

Some mid-tier authors may find a home with smaller specialty publishers, but almost everyone below the "A-list" will have to self-publish. We're likely to see some self-publishing authors join together in "United Artists"-like organizations to create "quasi-publishers" that perform some of the functions of existing publishers, such as design, publicity and promotion. The participating authors could serve as editors for each other.

By mid-decade, we're going to have far fewer and smaller "old-style" publishers. On the other hand, we'll have far more self-publishers and quasi-publishers that are performing most of the tasks previously done by publishers themselves. The industry power will reside with resellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the U.S., and their equivalents in other countries around the world.