Arthur Attwell
Electric Book Works
Print and ebook
production, distribution,
and research

a list and a digital sandbox

self-managed learning:
reduced cost of training,
proven as or more effective
than traditional methods

focus: paediatrics and hiv

in-house resources:
one staff member,
20% of their time

money spent on digital:
probably < R1000

ebwhealthcare.com

moderated comments

simplified mobile version

free pdf-ebooks (95% of book)

network-based content sites

over 11 000 free pdfs
downloaded in 2.5 years

over 3700 copies sold

conventional workflow:
Word MSS—InDesign—
PDF/HTML

distribution:
Ingram Digital to retailers
and libraries, website
HTML for PC & mobile,
Scribd, Kindle,
local and international
print-on-demand

two models
print—conventional sales
digital—sell the course
and the convenience,
not the content

lessons

we learn more from
doing something small
than from planning big

(disclosure: wake littered
with failed experiments)

content updated every few
months, no big print runs:
version control is critical

culture of being organised:
human systems are more
important than software

small team, small budget,
but with impatience and
authority to experiment

next step: get books
into XML earlier

from what we’ve learned
working manually, title by
title, we’re better placed to
start working en masse
and in XML

experiment now while it
doesn’t count on your
income statement
(enterprise solutions are an
expensive way to learn)

electricbookworks.com

twitter.com/electricbook