Slide deck from Digital Book World's July 13 2013 webcast, "The Search for Excellence: Creating Prizeworthy Digital Books", in support of the Digital Book Awards, with Joshua Tallent of Firebrand Technologies and Anne Kostick, Foxpath IND, also Program Director for the Digital Book Awards. We were asked for these highly informative slides so many times--finally, they're here.

1. THE SEARCH FOR
EXCELLENCE
Creating Prizeworthy Digital Books
Joshua Tallent, Chief Ebook Architect, Firebrand Technologies
@jtallent | @ebookarchitects | @askburnie
Anne Kostick, Program Director, The Digital Book Awards
anne@foxpath.com | @bklynanne
A Digital Book World Webcast: July 17, 2013
www.digitalbookworld.com | @digibookworld | #dbw

2. The Search for
Excellence
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.
Joshua Tallent
Chief eBook Architect
@jtallent / @ebookarchitects / @askburnie

3. Eight Steps to
Amazing eBooks
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

4. 1. Make sure everything
works.
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

5. PDF

6. Kindle

7. PDF Kindle

8. 2. More than that, make
sure it works across ALL
platforms well.
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

9. 3. Make it intuitive and
accessible.
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

10. 4. Give it functionality
beyond what the print
book does, and beyond
what a print book can do.
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

11. Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

12. Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

13. 5. Include thoughtful
enhancements.
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

14. Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

15. Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

16. 6. Interact with the Web.
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

17. 7. Include connections to
the print book when
appropriate.
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

18. 8. Don't just think about
the eBook, think about
how you will market this
content.
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

19. Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.
eBookNinjas.com
#eprdctn
eprdctn.org

20. Q & A
Joshua Tallent
Chief eBook Architect
joshua@firebrandtech.com
978-225-2757
www.firebrandtech.com
www.ebookarchitects.com
@jtallent // @ebookarchitects // @askburnie
Copyright © 2013 Firebrand Technologies. All rights Reserved.

21. STILL SEARCHING …
Apps and Platforms | Features and Extras
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

22. Digital from the Start
• Ask yourself:
• How many varieties beside print will be published?
• What features are available for development on the selected
platforms?
• What content assets can be developed? What resources can be
tapped?
• Make a wish list
• Must have
• Good to have
• Great to have
• Starfleet Officers have!
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

23. Digital from the Start
Where to learn: Who knows what you need to know
 Interaction designers
 User experience professionals (UXers)
 Educational publishing/ EdTech
 Children’s publishing
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

24. Atavist
Text options | Audio narration
Navigation | Multiple-platform viewing
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

25. Atavist

26. Atavist

27. Atavist

28. Atavist

29. Inkling

30. Inkling

31. Citia

32. Make an Autonomous Product
• Treat the digital version as its own species, not just an
automated export of the print edition.
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

33. Custom Front (and Back) Matter
• Make it specific to the platform.
• Think of front matter as
advertising and marketing
for the book, author and publisher.
• Think of front and back matter spatially, not so much chronologically, when
redesigning from print.
• Imagine new ways to design and use a traditional index.
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

34. Apps/ Features
• Now
• Front/rear camera
• Microphone
• Speakers
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Beautiful 7-10 inch screens
• Lots of data storage
• Speedy processors
• Wifi/Cellular
• Compass
• Future
• Near Field Communication
• Haptic feedback
• Voice recognition
• Body/gesture recognition
• Projectors
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

35. Apps
One great feature …
… can make a big difference.
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

36. Apps/Touch Press
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

37. Think Digital: Think Ahead
Take advantage of digital’s ability
to link, jump, highlight, enhance,
respond, count, surprise….
Exceed users’ expectations.
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

38. DIGITAL COVER
DESIGN
Excellence at the Front Door
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

39. What Makes a Great Ebook Cover?
1. It strongly represents the subject matter. There should be no doubt
what type of book you’ll be reading once you get to the first page.
2. It grabs the attention of the target audience. Readers should
recognize their favorite subject in the design, whether it’s true crime,
biography, sci-fi or romance.
3. It's well executed. Illustrations, photos, typography, etc. should not
distract or look amateurish. It must be understandable and readable in a
variety of sizes.
4. It's distinctive. It should offer something surprising, or pique a potential
reader's curiosity.
5. It's memorable. A great ebook cover will stand out on an online
bookstore and will, in effect, represent that work.
Foxpath IND :: Anne Kostick

40. Rethink Print Design for Digital
Print cover Digital cover

41. Kick Up the Backlist
Cover designs by Laura Foxgrover

42. Add Genre Atmosphere … and Test!
Cover designs by Laura Foxgrover

43. Or, Be Subtle

44. THE SEARCH FOR
EXCELLENCE
Creating Prizeworthy Digital Books
Joshua Tallent, Chief Ebook Architect, Firebrand Technologies
@jtallent | @ebookarchitects | @askburnie
Anne Kostick, Program Director, The Digital Book Awards
anne@foxpath.com | @bklynanne
A Digital Book World Webcast: July 17, 2013
www.digitalbookworld.com | @digibookworld | #dbw