March 26, 2009 3:34 PM
We've been muddling over how exactly to support the burgeoning demand for ebooks. As a publisher, it's a hugely confusing mix of readers (like Stanza), devices (like Kindle, Sony Reader, and the iPhone) and formats (like PDF and Epub). Our ebook strategy is a work in progress: we'd love your input on our current plan:
- So far: we've been providing our books as DRM-free PDFs that have been optimized for on-screen use (yes, we've actually tested the design with real-live users).
- Definite plan: We'll soon start providing another variety of PDF (also DRM-free). It's a printer-optimized version (toner-hungry elements deleted) that we hope will satisfy those who want to make their laser printers earn their keep.
- Does this make sense? Three ideas:
- Embed high-resolution images in our screen-optimized PDFs. We're trying this now and it actually works pretty well when you use Acrobat Reader. The resolution is better than what you'd get from our Flickr feed, and you don't have to go online.
- Support Epub, which works on the iPhone and Sony Reader. It looks like Epub files can be generated from InDesign, which is what we use to lay out our books.
- Wait on the Kindle: it doesn't seem good at support books with lots of images and lots of color. Yet.
Comments
Lou, I'm really glad you guys are looking into this. I think that supporting the epub format is a good start... but personally reading on an iPhone for long lengths of time just isn't for me.
As a recent purchaser of a Kindle 2 I can really see what all the fuss is about. I take it with me everywhere, I can search my notes and comments... it's changing the way I think about books. The Kindle 2 has introduced chapter markers and photos can now be zoomed. Sure there isn't any color, but I don't expect we are going to see e-Ink evolve to color so quickly because it really does look like paper and I don't see color happening on anything soon that isn't an LCD. I think clear, zoomable images that are in full grayscale are completely fine. Imagine if I was color blind? I wouldn't see the green or red that currently is in the paperbacks the same either. The information is what is important, and not the artifact.
Keep up all the great work, I'm looking forward to the great works coming from you guys in 2009 and I really hope you'll consider doing a Kindle version. The guys over at Pragmatic Programmers just made the transition, perhaps they can offer some guidance as to why they made their choices.
Best of luck.
Posted by: Tim Knight | March 26, 2009 4:12 PM
Louis- I loved my recent experience with you guys...ordered Indi's book with the download because I needed to get up to speed quickly. I didn't have to wait for the print version and that worked great as I read the PDF on my MBP. Now I must confess I love the Kindle 2. If I made the switch over to it I would hope to read many of your books on it. Just my 2!
Posted by: Daimon | March 26, 2009 5:08 PM
Thanks for the comments! I'm still skeptical about the Kindle as a reader of image-rich semi-linear stuff. Color aside, you're likely to jump around our books a bit as compared to reading fiction. I'm wondering what you folks think about Jakob Nielsen's recent comments on using the Kindle 2; he touches on some similar issues: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/kindle-writing.html
Posted by: Lou Rosenfeld | March 26, 2009 10:43 PM
Dear Lou, I share your reservations about Kindle, so far. And I have been trying to consider all to aspects that I have attention for. DRM-free PDF is easy to support, so much so I pledge to enthusiastically encourage all to get theirs, too.
I'm fairly enchanted by the attention and balanced consideration you're giving the ebook strategy. I assumed it a ploy or gimmick to start. Should have known better.
What I love about PDF is the search... could be better, of course, but for professional subjects it makes all the difference. That was a benefit of o'reilly safari, as I recall.
I love, also, being able to send someone a relevant page or two only with annotations, or highlights, etc. That's value. Especially when there is bibliography, sources, studies, statistics, and such stuff to refer people to.
Please consider too a subscription model.
Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Michael Cummings | March 27, 2009 12:16 AM
Lou, I'm definitely in line with you on the limitations for "image richness" on the Kindle. Having really sat and thought about it, I started thinking that Luke's book would have really been hurt by being only seen on the Kindle format. Grayscale just wouldn't have provided enough visual information on dealing with primary and secondary actions. So let me append my previous comment in saying that a Kindle version might make a great companion feature, for the reading convenience of Kindle owners, but shouldn't replace a rich in color PDF version.
Tim K.
Posted by: Tim Knight | March 28, 2009 10:51 AM
Lou,
First all I was going to say was "screen-optimized PDF +1", based on gut feeling. Then I though about how I deal with the PDFs; I rarely print a lot at the same time and if I do, it's usually a page with an image (since I can cut&paste text or even retype it).
So there you have it: screen-optimized PDF +1!
Posted by: Peter Boersma | March 28, 2009 1:35 PM
In the early days I used to hate PDFs, but now (and often for reviews) I end up with a PDF and a printed copy, which is the perfect combo for me.
I started reading Web Form Design on my Macbook, rotated the file and set it full-screen and read it like a book - a poor man's Kindle (actually a rich man's Kindle probably). Then I got the physical copy and continued with that, but it is extremely handy to have a PDF in my e-book archive to search. Also for teaching, it is very useful to be able to show pages and diagrams on screen without having to scan in pages.
One last thing, I hate any kind of DRM on the things, even a password. I can see all the reasons for it on the publisher's side, I just think it's highly irritating to the end user and makes decent search indexing in applications like Yep and Leap impossible. AFAIK you don't do this, but the ones I received were review copies, so I don't know what happens when you purchase them.
The best solution I have seen is to have the buyer's name and e-mail address stamped on the pages as a small footer (this is what 37Signals did with their Getting Real PDF). It's the best incentive to not even send your copy to one person in case it ends up escaping out there.
Posted by: Andy Polaine | March 29, 2009 8:41 AM
Hi Andy; yep, we do NOT use DRM. No, no, no to DRM. DRM, feh.
We'd like to do what 37 Signals does, and even had some more involved (and pretty cool) plans for watermarking individual PDFs But we don't have the budget or the in-house developers that 37 has, so no go there.
Some day.
Posted by: Lou | March 29, 2009 8:19 PM
DISCLAIMER: as a company offering conversion and ebook distribution services I'm far from neutral on the subject! :)
I would suggest you start by converting ALL your catalog in EPUB, which is a standard open format, so that your digital archive in EPUB will be safe and reliable also to get from EPUB all the output formats of choice.
BTW: beware of what you get from the InDesign->EPUB conversion, it's still too ugly as a conversion output: When need ask for our services to get a GREAT EPUB file ;)
Posted by: Antonio Tombolini | March 30, 2009 8:18 AM
Since I don't happen to live in the US, I don't have a Kindle. But I don't mind, as I personally love my Sony PRS-700. Your screen-formatted PDFs look great on it, though I dislike having to zoom in so much sometimes to see the images clearly. Thankfully, since I've the 700 and not the 505, I can at least zoom, and the PDF rendering is supposed to be faster; but to remove some of the extra margins, an EPUB format will allow for reflowing text, and is better compatible with both the 505 and 700 models. EPUB, by the way, is nothing more than HTML with some CSS and an XML file or two thrown in, then zipped up with a mimetype. See http://www.hxa.name/articles/content/epub-guide_hxa7241_2007.html for a great tutorial -- also available in EPUB: http://www.hxa.name/articles/content/EpubGuide-hxa7241.epub
Having said how I dislike zooming for the images, at least your PDFs look amazing without zooming in, for text. Most PDFs are designed for letter-sized paper, and so you can barely read them at 100%. This wouldn't be a problem except the PRS-700 does its own rendering, and its zoom functionality must be re-specified after every page turn, and while open, it constantly displays the zoom UI, meaning your already small screen feels an inch smaller all around. Unfortunately, because of this, and the lack of zooming for the PRS-505, I would suggest creating your EPUB (or PDF) version with high-resolution images sliced or resized to the fixed sizes of the Sony Readers (they are both 90.6 x 122.4 mm (3.57" x 4.82"), 600 x 800 pixels, though Wikipedia also adds "effective 115.4 x 88.2 mm (4.54 x 3.47 in), 754 x 584" to both, which probably takes into account the UI and parts of the screen covered by the casing).
As for such books being suitable for the Kindle or Sony Reader, I have to say that right now it's not the linearity of the devices that I mind so much -- the Sony Reader supports TOC, bookmarks, notes (text selections), annotations (comments on text selections), and search -- as that I have a hard time understanding the graphics occasionally, because of the colour-blindness of the devices, and the small, though detailed, renderings. Another option would be to try and replace the graphics with alt text, or eliminate them entirely, as the text can still have value on its own. Such text would then be much better suited to iPhones, BlackBerries, etc.
Having said that, an HTML version for iPhones/BlackBerry/etc. like EPUB, would work also. And certainly, if I had my eReader for textual reading, and an iPhone for colour photos, that would probably be the best of both worlds. Actually, now that I think of it, if I were to download the Flickr photos, and put them as a set on my iPhone, I could flick through and zoom in on them as I read through the text on the Reader. That could work out quite well, assuming I didn't have my EEE PC or full-size notebook around. I'm surprised people haven't yet thought of using the iPhone as a colour Kindle/e-Ink substitute before. It's not something I would normally think of, but it has awesomely fast zooming in, and a rich dpi. No annotations, unfortunately, but at least it's network connected, so I can just click Email and write them there, then email them to myself or my team.
If you would like me to test anything on the PRS-700 / iPhone / BlackBerry Pearl, let me know. I've all three, including most of the eBook software for the last two. My email address is attached to this comment, of course. And best of all, I happen to be named Louis also. :-)
Louis from Toronto, Canada.
Posted by: Louis St-Amour | March 30, 2009 9:14 AM
Louis, I love your name!
A couple things:
* We're beginnning to release our screen-optimized PDFs with embedded high-res images. You just click on an icon next to the inline image, and a new window pops open with the high-res version. I hope this partially addresses some of your suggestions.
* We'd love for you to test our next book's EPUB version. I'll send it to you in a few.
Thanks!
Posted by: Lou Rosenfeld | March 30, 2009 4:25 PM
Hi Lou and everybody, here are my 2 cents:
- first: you are doing a great job. Thanx for trying to walk on some new trails :-) ...
- though I am an ex-librarian, I am not into having/owning books very much. All that stuff that piles up and gets dusty and all that mess. Every morning I have between 15 to 20 new podcasts in my podcatcher. Thousands of tweets streaming by every day, and so many blogs to read day and night.
The only way how I get 12 books per year actually "read" is by listening to them. I now even begun to subscribe to an audio feed of some blogs, so I don't have to actually read them. It's so much easier.
I don't have the Kindle yet, but I simply love the fact it will read your books for me.
I vote for the Kindle camp (soon to become the audio books camp :)
Posted by: Jan | March 31, 2009 3:30 PM
Great feedback all; thanks so much!
Jan, here's a question: how do you handle an image-rich book via audio?
I'm still not sure how well a Kindle would display such a thing, but less play it as audio...
Posted by: Lou Rosenfeld | March 31, 2009 3:40 PM
Plus, you don't need a Kindle for its kind of text-to-speech. It's built-in to existing Macs and PCs and is nothing special. (Some would argue that Mac OS X 10.5's text to speech is superior to the Kindle's actually.)
http://www.naturalreaders.com/products.htm (Free will read copied text, $100 for MP3/WMA conversion)
http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/ ($30 with 15-day trial; $45 per voice for premium voices)
http://www.nextup.com/ghostreader.html (For Mac, $40-50)
http://www.speaktext.com/index.htm ($30, webpage isn't as nice looking as the others')
And there are many more options. In fact, for PDFs, you can use the Adobe Reader software you likely already have:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Reader/8.0/help.html?content=WS58a04a822e3e50102bd615109794195ff-7d15.html
Posted by: Louis St-Amour | April 1, 2009 11:25 AM
As an author and publisher, I've been using OpenOffice on 64-bit Linux for all of my book development over the past two years. I did have to resurect a Windows machine to take the PML output from OpenOffice and pretty it up with eBookStudio before getting it loaded at eBookMall. I used Calibre to go straight from OpenOffice to Sony LRF before getting "Infinite Exposure" loaded on the Sony eBook site.
What I have had trouble in finding is a decent Apple conversion service. Oh, Stanaza wants $1000 for the conversion + 20% of the sales. PixelPapyrus wants $3000 for the conversion plust 30% of the sales. The place I exchanged emails with this week will do the conversion for free, but they expect 35% of the sales. Before people think I've gotten greedy, you have to remember that Apple takes 30% to provide order "facilitation". The person/company who owns the storefront/contract with Apple is taking a cut because they took the time to write you a check once Apple sent them a check.
As far as I can tell in the contracts, none of these "services" provide Apple credit. By that I mean, they wait until the check from Apple clears before they write you a check.
"Infinite Exposure" is a unique experiment for me. It is being released in eBook only format first. You cannot get a paper copy for love nor money right now...unless you are doing me some amazing favor and I put pages in a 3-ring binder for you...
Right now, the bang-up business model for some lone wolf would be to get their own storefront (or whatever they call a vendor account) with the AppStore, provide conversion from ODT or EPUB to an app via the SDK, then list the books for a 10% cut. Feel free to charge $500 for the conversion effort.
Why an app instead of an EPUB file? Fonts. EPUB ^)(*&)(*)*(&(*%^ing sucks for books using more than one bland font. The App can embed the fonts directly. I'm not being an artsy fool, there are practical reasons for needing many fonts. In the case of "Infinite Exposure" I used different fonts to segregate Email, had written notes, faxes, etc. I even used different fixed width fonts for email from different sources. Very few modern books are "straight prose" today.
Posted by: Roland Hughes | April 15, 2009 4:29 PM
I'm testing the .epub on my Sony Reader :)
Posted by: chovy | April 15, 2009 4:42 PM