Comments on: Phone Book

By: marthabee

marthabee — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:42:19 +0000

I want in on this drink bet. There will not be ad links in ebooks.

There is no model for this in other forms of digital text–if advertisers/publishers wanted this, they’d be doing it elsewhere. Like on those websites that generate millions of readers every day.

What advertisers want is either a mass audience or a good-sized niche audience with money to spend. This is really hard to get with a single book.

Also, keyword advertising is driven by search terms, not incidental things that crop up in narratives. It’s of value to advertisers because you know the searcher wants it.

Not saying there won’t be advertising opportunities in books. But they will be more like film trailers or banner ads, two existing ad forms that might be ported to books if the audience size is large enough.

People will hate it, though, unless there is some perceived benefit (like free books). Also, good luck getting books with lots of ads into a school environment if schools aren’t recipients of some of the revenue.

I like a dirty martini with olives, btw (insert emoticon).

By: martha

martha — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:22:11 +0000

. . . Darn—far too kind . . . I say Bah, Humbug! As an adversary of advertising, 3 images come to mind . . .

* Holidays past – pretty as a picture book
* Holidays present – visions of interference dance
in my head
* Holidays future – no signal

By: Anita Miller

Anita Miller — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:49:39 +0000

I was not at all impressed, but my four-year-old boy happened to be standing next to me when I viewed the promo…he asked, “Is that real?” and “Can I have one of those books?” Darn.

By: Liesl

Liesl — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:49:09 +0000

My initial thought was, “Great. Our books are now movies.” But I can see it having some pretty cool educational advances. Still I expect the American Association of Pediatrics will recommend you don’t allow children under the age of two to view, because it’s still a movie.

By: michael grant

michael grant — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:28:48 +0000

My main question with this thing is why bother having the book at all? What does it add? Not a damn thing. It’s all the animations and interactivity.

Like putting a steering wheel on your horse and thinking you’ll outsell the Model-T.

Okay, you’re on. Next Christmas, there better be ad links in ebooks or you’re a dirty rotten liar. Will hold you to this.

If it doesn’t happen I will of course deny ever making the prediction. And if that doesn’t work I’ll deny that this is the real Michael Grant.

By: Haste yee back ;-)

Haste yee back ;-) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:55:15 +0000

There’s a *rule* in screenwriting which travels well to prose… goes somethin’ like this. Every word you write must serve to a)advance the story b)develop the characters.

To Michael Stearns… what if all the animation and interactivity were dedicated to just that?

Haste yee back

By: martha

martha — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:52:37 +0000

. . . how true!

By: Munk

Munk — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:19:07 +0000

When queried regarding his drug use Hunter S. Thompson once pined, “…everything in moderation.” Aside from his definition of ‘moderation’ being perversely skewed, his sentiment was spot on.
Embracing technology is a societal inevitability, as soon as we as a writing community attempt to halt human evolution we become dinosaurs… destined to extinction. Think back, remember when you were a caveman and Lompor the Magnificent wrote on the wall with a fire blackened stick? Or later when Steve Gutenberg’s uncle invented the printing press? I am certain that someone in the gathering crowd of heckler’s must have screamed (blogged?), “Steve’s uncle is a WITCH!” … books for the masses? How absurd.
Flash forward… crossing the digital divide. Know this – media will change. As media changes, content will follow. The goal should not be to halt the progression, but to ensure that it is backwards compatible. The good thing about words is that their nuance is not easily lost through digitization. Fine art and music is the content I am concerned about… which, of course, includes picture books. The other thing I concern myself with is the use of digital media purely for baby sitting and distracting our children from life’s glorious mundane events.
So to sum up my rant:
1) Technology in moderation is good, embrace it, find your niche and express yourself. You have history on your side.
2) Save our fine art and music, capture the nuance.
3) Talk, sing and dance with your kids. Whether it be in line at the market or on a cross country car trip. For no better reason than you might miss them when they grow up and leave.
munk

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:49:33 +0000

My main question with this thing is why bother having the book at all? What does it add? Not a damn thing. It’s all the animations and interactivity.

And Michael: Okay, you’re on. Next Christmas, there better be ad links in ebooks or you’re a dirty rotten liar. Will hold you to this.

By: michael grant

michael grant — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:29:44 +0000

Ah, it seems like only 18 months ago (and 8 months ago, and 8 weeks ago,) that I was being alternately ridiculed or reviled for suggesting video/music/backstory etc… “enhancements” for digital books.

This (not this specific thing, which is stoopid,) is the salvation of publishers if they’ll get going on it. It’s labor intensive, probably too much of a pain in the ass for the individual writer. The enhanced digital book is something publishers can still do. And they really ought to be focusing, since they are teetering on the edge of annihilation.

By the way, the next thing the traditionalists can ridicule me for: advertising in digital books, including ad links in the text itself. (I’ve been pushing that for a while, too.) Ridicule today, come back in a year or so and admit I’m right.