Thoughts on A Publisher’s Manifesto

While it was interesting to discover thedigitalist.net, it was a pleasant surprise to read this article as an introduction to the blog, and even more so to read it on a publisher’s blog.

“One of the key perception shifts that publishers need to make, then, is about the book as ‘product’. Whilst the book continues to be viewed as a definable object within covers, as a singular ‘unit’, publishers will continue to limit their role in its production and distribution, and this is a sure fire way for publishers to write themselves out of the future of content creation and dissemination. There are two areas of activity in the linear progression of a text between author and reader which have previously remained hidden to the reader: the development of the text itself; the writing and editing process, and the sales, marketing and distribution of the text. Readers have traditionally had no role in the former and only a limited role in the latter, through word of mouth recommendations or viral marketing. It is likely that today’s digital natives, who have become ‘prosumers’ (producer / consumers) with alarming speed and perhaps even more alarmingly different levels of proficiency, will expect a great deal more involvement in both of these areas of activity if they are to be engaged by texts. Witness two main stream examples, the Star Wars films and the Harry Potter books and films, both of which have developed massive prosumer (or ‘superfan’) followings, and both of which have seen conflict between the film companies and the fans that are creating content.”: thedigitalist.net » A book publisher’s manifesto for the 21st century

(Via PersonaNonData.)

Our interest obviously lies in the educational publishing side of the story, which, when you think about it, isn’t any different. (We did talk about this a while ago) In fact, it lends itself, more easily to the thought above. With most publishers setting up custom publishing divisions, it is clear that the consumer is now involved in the structure of the textbook. The next step, as the excerpt above suggests, is for the publisher to explore means and methods for educational prosumers to participate in the content creation and personalisation of the textbook.

The new textbook book becomes a digital loose-leaf offering, and prosumer content is added at will — during and after book production. With specific inputs from the publisher and a guided design approach for instructors and students alike, custom versions of the textbook are possible — Designed for the Institution. What we potentially have, is a non-linear and continuous publishing cycle, with negligible effort for editions.

The book, just became alive.

Sprinkle the right kind of technology, and you have a print-on-demand option, for those of us who would rather have a book on a train than watch the green fields whizzing by.