Presentations
ePublishing Isn’t Free: The costs and requirements of professional ebook publishing
Developed by David Wilk, Booktrix
Presented by Mike Shatzkin, The Idea Logical Company
Whether you are a traditional book publisher, an agent looking at digital publishing as an opportunity, a start up publisher or entrepreneur, or an author faced with the choice and option of publishing your own books, it is critical to know what is involved in digital publishing. Not only the steps, as they are different from or the same as the steps in print publishing have been, but the overall ecosystem that surrounds and supports digital publishing.
Pathways to Market
Presented by Michael Cader, Publishers Lunch and PublishersMarketplace.com
The number of ebook distribution options is nearly unlimited. Independent publishers and authors may take on the work of distributing titles themselves directly through key channels like Amazon’s KDP and Barnes & Noble’s PubIt!. Or they may instead choose to go through an ebook aggregator that offers to handle placing ebooks into a much wider range of distribution channels. In this presentation, Michael Cader outlines the options available and the value proposition for each approach.
70 Percent Isn’t Always What It Seems: Understanding distribution deals and sales models
Presented by Eric Kettunen, Constellation/VP of Marketing, Publishers Group West
Some ebook deals are more complicated than they seem. A distributor’s payment to a publisher is a percentage of what is received from the channel partner, but then it is important to understand the underlying deal; there is no guarantee that all distributors get the same deal. In some cases it is possible for a new ebook publisher to do some channels directly and pay the distributor percentage only on the others. The nuances of these deals will be informed by the vast experience of Constellation, one of the most experienced digital distributors in this very new field.
Put Your Book on the Map with Book Country
Presented by Molly Barton, VP Digital Publishing, Business Development & Strategy, Penguin USA and President, Book Country
Molly Barton is President of Penguin’s new subsidiary Book Country, an online community for fiction writers. She explains Book Country’s model and philosophy, and shares where Penguin plans to take this new initiative in the months to come.
Making Simple eBooks and Making eBooks Simple
Presented by Mark Coker, Founder & CEO, Smashwords
There is a wide range of complexity to what an ebook or an app can be and there is an equally wide range of resources available to get the work done. Mark Coker of Smashwords really “invented” web-based simple ebook creation when he launched Smashwords. Using his online tools, any author can convert a Microsoft Word file into an ebook suitable for widespread distribution. (Smashwords’s system also includes attaching vital metadata to the book and putting it into distribution.) And it can be done for free.
Choosing Between Automation and Professional eBook Design
Presented by Joshua Tallent, eBook Architects
As an author or small publisher looking into the creation of ebooks, you will usually find more questions than answers. There is a lot of misinformation and marketing talk in the world of ebook production, but Joshua Tallent cuts through the clutter to clear up a few of the biggest misconceptions that authors and publishers have about automated ebook conversion, its limitations, and the mistakes that professional ebook designers can help you avoid.
App, Meet eBook: The ebook platform evolves
Presented by Ron Martinez, Founder, Aerbook
In this presentation, Ron Martinez tackles the complex world of illustrated and enhanced ebooks, apps, multimedia, and interactivity. He explains the difference between ebooks and apps — book-like apps and app-like ebooks — and examines the options and approaches to get them made (and whether to make them at all). and developing a toolkit to make it easier for people to create them themselves.
Understanding Metadata
Presented by Bill Newlin, Publisher, Avalon Travel
Metadata is simply information about your content, formatted in a way that makes it easy to share with your partners and users, and that fully enables the “magic” of search algorithms and search engine optimization strategies to work. In this presentation, Bill Newlin explains the metadata basics: what it is, why it’s important, and how to make sure the metadata on your ebook effectively enables both discovery and transaction.
Making the Connection: How to increase your discoverability
Presented by Patricia Payton, Senior Director of Publisher Relations & Content Development, R.R. Bowker
Patricia Payton of Bowker amplifies on a portion of the metadata conversation: search engine optimization. She helps new epublishers understand the tricks of anticipating how your content will be discovered and making sure that it is carrying the tagging that will make searches in Google and other search engines return your book as an option when they should.
Your eBook Marketing Punch List: Explore, Observe, Engage
Presented by Rich Fahle, Founder & CEO, Astral Road Media
Former Borders vp and experienced online marketer Rich Fahle explains the keys to effective ebook marketing. He provides tips for building online relationships with readers, bloggers, and book reviewers, and he describes how to optimize and control your online presence through your own website, email list management, and keyword search.
Social Media: Making the best use of the new tools
Presented by Iris Blasi, Coordinator of Digital Media, Hilsinger Mendelson East
Social media ignites when passion meets profession, and as an author, an agent, or a publisher, you already have something to talk about: books. “What are you reading?” is one of the most intimate questions one can ask in polite society, and you can use the magical things that are books to connect with other like-minded people. The big question is HOW? In this presentation, Iris Blasi describes the subtle art of social media engagment. She reviews the social networking sites and tools available, the key questions to ask yourself as you build your social media platform, and the best ways to meaningfully (and successfully) engage in online conversation.
Insights from an eBookseller: Pricing, DRM, self-publishing, enhanced ebooks, and more
Presented by Michael Tamblyn, EVP, Content, Sales and Merchandising, Kobo Inc.
Michael Tamblyn of Kobo has built a reputation as a great presenter at digital events partly because of his willingness to share information and insight that most other retailers will not. In this session, he tackles some of the knottier questions that ebook publishers face and offers real insight into maximizing your sales and delivering the right ebook package for your audience.
