models of e publishing

CH 2:TYPES OF E PUBLISHING
MODELS

Dr. Essam Obaid

Types of E Publishing Models
2

1. Commercial e publishing
2. Print-on-demand (POD)
3. Subsidy e publishing
4. Self publishing.
 distributors
 agent vendors

3

 There are several models in e publishing ranging
from commercial e publishing, print-on-demand ,
subsidy e publishing, and self publishing.
 In addition to .these, there are distributors and
agent vendors who package on-line journals,
books and sell the database to industry bodies,
universities etc, with a mark-up over their cost,
incurred for procuring rights. These costs would
vary depending on whether the vendor has
procured exclusive rights or has to share them
with a competitor. As a variation of the above,
there are online bookstores.

1) Commercial e publishers:
4

 Commercial e publishers are almost like their
traditional counterparts, they choose to publish books
that are most likely to be sold – a good mix of quality
and subject matter is what they look for and rejection
rates are pretty high.
 While their websites serve as effective storefronts,
they also sell through other online bookstores like
Amazon.com etc. By and large, e-publishers do not
pay an advance, but royalty payments are higher than
what traditional publishers offer, often as high as 40%.
 The editorial and technical work that the e publishing
team puts in is no different that what is done in print
publishing.

2)print-on-demand (POD)
5

 Another interesting model is the “print-on-
demand” (POD) model, which is a mix of
electronic and print publishing. The book is
held by the publisher in electronic form and is
printed out in the hard copy form only on
order. This is also done for a flat fee. While
many commercial publishers also offer the
POD format, this is a model more often
followed by the subsidy e-publishers.

3) Subsidy Publishers:
6

 Subsidy e publishers differ from commercial publishers in several
ways. For one, they accept most manuscripts and publish them on
an “as is” basis. These are not edited or proofread or even
formatted.
 They have a virtual rate card for add-on charges for these
services, should the author opt for it. Everything, from adding
images or graphics to copyright registration, is offered at add-on
rates. They publish books for a flat fee and pay the authors a
royalty that is comparable to what they would receive from the
commercial e-publishers.
 However, they are more likely to sell through online stores than
through their own websites.
 Likewise, they pass on the added cost of selling through online
stores to the author who receives higher royalties for books sold
through the publisher’s website and lower royalties if they were
sold through, say, Amazon.com.

4) Self publishers
7

 These are authors who choose to publish their
e book on their own and in the bargain earn
hundred percent revenues and keep all
publishing rights. The main idea is to avoid the
publishing, marketing, licensing costs and
keep complete control over the design, price
and marketing strategy.

Distributors &agent vendors
8

 These are book stores which sell e books. They offer a platform
for the finished product or earlier print publication to be sold as
e book and share percentage (20-30%) of the royalties.
 They do not charge the author.
 They do not charge a fee, but take a slice of the royalties. Price
setting is usually the author’s prerogative.
 The no-fee distributors do not offer services like editing or
formatting. This works well for the authors who prefer the self
publishing model, but want to offload the task of setting up their
own “store front” or website.
 This also does away with the need to register as a retail
business as they get paid royalties by the distributors as
opposed to revenues on sales.

Evolution of E-Publishing

 Project Gutenberg (1970s)

 Voyager’s books on CD
(1990s)

 Adobe’s PDF format

Voyager’s books on CD
 The Voyager Company was a pioneer in CD-
ROM production in the 1980s and early 1990s,
and published The Criterion Collection, a
pioneering home video collection of classic
and important contemporary films on
Laserdisc.

Adobe’s PDF format
 Portable Document Format (PDF) is an open
standard for document exchange. This file
format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is
used for representing documents in a manner
independent of application software,
hardware, and operating systems.
 Each PDF file encapsulates a complete
description of a fixed-layout flat document,
including the text, fonts, graphics, and other
information needed to display it.

PDF Characteristics
 An open standard — PDF is a formal open
standard known as ISO 32000. Maintained by
the International Organization for
Standardization, ISO 32000.
 Multiplatform — PDF files are viewable and
printable on virtually any platform, including
Windows, Mac OS, and mobile platforms such
as Android.

PDF Characteristics
 Trusted and reliable — More than 150 million
PDF documents publicly available on the web
today, along with countless PDF files in
government agencies and businesses around
the world, serve as evidence of the number of
organizations that rely on PDF to capture
information.

PDF Characteristics
 Rich in file integrity — PDF files look like
original documents and preserve source file
information — text, drawings, multimedia,
video, 3D, maps, full-color graphics, photos,
and even business logic — regardless of the
application used to create them and even
when compiled from multiple formats into a
single PDF Portfolio.
 Searchable — Text-search features in
documents and metadata make PDF
documents easily searchable.

Types of commercial e-books
 Web-accessed e-book
 Web-downloadable e-book

 Dedicated e-book reader

 Kindle, Sony, Nook
 Print-on-demand books (academic

texts & Self-publish)

 In July, 2001, two of the world's most
prominent technology publishers, O'Reilly
Media, Inc. and The Pearson Technology
Group, joined forces to create Safari Books
Online.
 Safari Books Online's initial product offering,
Safari Tech Books Online, immediately
exceeded all expectations, selling site licenses
to Fortune 50 companies, major universities,
and leading training organizations worldwide.
 http://my.safaribooksonline.com

Web-downloadable e-
book

E-Book Reader
 An e-book reader is a portable electronic
device that is designed primarily for the
purpose of reading digital books and
periodicals.
 e-book readers are similar in form to a

tablet computer. A tablet computer
typically has a faster screen capable of
higher refresh rates which makes them
more suitable for interaction.

E-Book Reader Cont.
 The main advantages of e-book readers are
better readability of their screens especially in
bright sunlight and longer battery life. This is
achieved by using electronic paper technology
to display content to readers.
 Any device that can display text on a screen
can act as an e-book reader, but without the
advantages of the e-paper technology

what to look for in an eBook
reader

what to look for in an eBook reader
 M ory: How many eBooks or other documents does the
em
eBook reader have the capacity for? Can this memory capacity
be increased?
 F at type: Can the eBook reader handle a variety of file types
orm
or only one type (see previous step)? Is this ability (or lack of it)
reflected in the price?
 Connectivity: Does the eBook reader have 3G and WiFi
connectivity? Most of the recent ones should by now.
 Screen friendliness: Here you need to be concerned about
viewability, color, size, and reflectiveness (glare).
 Vie wa bility : Is it easy to read? Which eBook readers seem most like
the pages of a book? Some have more of this feel than others.

 Co lo r: Black and white or color? Both have advantages and
drawbacks. Black and white is easy on the eye for novels and
sun reading (see "Viewability" below), while books and other
items such as magazines or comics which need color to
transfer their beauty and photos (such as art books,
cookbooks, graphic novels, etc.), won't appear so well on
plain black and white eBook readers and should be
experienced in color.
 Siz e : Compare the eBook reader screen with the screen of
non-dedicated eBook readers such as an iPad or your laptop
to see which you prefer, and if you're happy to downsize your
screen reading experience.

 Re fle c tive ne s s : One of the advantages of black and white
eBook readers (using E-ink technology) is that they can be
read in full sun without reflecting, glaring, or loss of image,
unlike a laptop, color eBook, or an iPad. If you're planning on
reading outdoors a lot, keep this consideration at the
forefront.
 W eight and com fort: Each person's impression of weight and
feel is rightly different but there are some things to assess:
 Does it weigh less than your usual paperback? It should.

 Is it easy to carry and hold? You don't want something that's
bulky, awkward, or hard to hold. In particular, be sure to hold
the eBook reader in the store to check its weight and to
ascertain whether the weight is comfortable for you

 Battery life: What's the battery life promised by the
blurb? You don't want an eBook reader that runs out
after an hour of sitting on your hammock at the beach.
You could have taken a paper novel along in that case!
Can the battery be replaced by you or do you need to
send the eReader to a technician for replacement?
 E of downloading: Is it easy to download eBooks?
ase
Do you have to connect to the computer or can it be done
without a computer as the intermediary?

 Shareability: The ability to transfer eBooks to another
eBook reader is important, especially if you need to
remove purchased books from an old eBook reader to
a new one; if you can't do this, you may lose the
purchase when the eBook reader dies.
 Other features: What other features does the eBook
reader have? For example, does it allow you to add
notes? How easy is the process? Some readers have
keyboards that work well. Others are difficult to use
and can distract you from your reading. How easy is it
to "page back" and find something?

Print-on-demand
books
(POD)

 Lulu is creating a new model in publishing —
open publishing — that empowers more
creators to sell more content to more readers
more profitably than ever before.
 Through their open publishing platform, they
are helping creators make works available in
multiple formats and markets and improving
discovery so buyers can more easily find the
content they need.
 http://www.lulu.com

 Since their founding in 2002, 1.1 million creators
from more than 200 countries and territories have
signed up with them.
 Each month, they add approximately 20,000 titles
to their catalog.
 Products: Hardcover and paperback books,
eBooks, mini books, photo books, calendars,
cookbooks, travel books
 Creator revenue: Creators keep 80% of the profit
they set on their products.

Comparison of e-book readers
Look at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-
book_readers

45

Thank You

Any Queries??

models of e publishing

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to models of e publishing

More from Essam Obaid

Recently uploaded

models of e publishing