On Futurebook.net, the digital blog launched by UK magazine Bookseller, Nick Harkaway just published two insightful pieces on digital publishing. Maybe I think they’re insightful because they speak to my own prejudices, but I do think he makes clear, logical arguments that address some of the more self-defeating behavior of publishers in these unsettled times.
What makes Harkaway’s ideas even more valuable, in my opinion, is that they’re not limited in scope to just the big publishers. Anyone who publishes, including self-starting indies and small niche presses, can and should take note.
Here’s what he suggests, although the paraphrased explanations that follow should be blamed on me:
- Make your content available. Don’t window the digital release in a misguided attempt to boost hardcover sales; you’re wasting opportunities to sell to new consumers who wouldn’t or can’t buy the hardback.
- Price wisely and think in tiers. Don’t charge a premium price for a substandard (i.e., typo-ridden or image-lacking) digital version. At the same time, add value incrementally to digital versions so that you can segment them into different price points. First, this will help you give the consumer the option to spend as much as he’s willing to spend (always a good thing for profits). Second, this will give you a way to “window” digital content in a useful way, by letting you release differently priced versions of digital content to correlate with the traditional release schedule.
- Don’t cheat customers. Harkaway doesn’t quite use such strong language–he says customers don’t want to pay twice for the same content. But ultimately it comes down to feeling cheated as a consumer: if you paid for something, you don’t want to have to buy it again, and then again, each time you want to consume it on a different platform. Here’s an idea: if you really do want to charge a consumer on a per-platform basis, then you must drop the price to a “rental” level as an acknowledgement of how limited the access is that you’re selling.
- Skip DRM. It adds cost to your production budget. It creates potential situations where your customer will feel cheated. It’s arguably ineffective. The people telling you that you need it are frequently the ones who are selling it. Most of the arguments for it are based on emotion, not business intelligence. If it’s too late for you–because there are higher-ups or board members who insist on it and are too slow/scared/suspicious to try something new, then at least start pushing for an exit strategy.
“DRM is not all that” [Futurebook] “The Rules Of Harkaway Club: everything I think I know about ebooks, but probably don’t” [Futurebook] www.nickharkaway.com