eBook Channels
There are many specialized vendors of electronic books seeking to license content from publishers. (One of these is the Canadian Electronic Library).
Contracts
Publishers must enter a license agreement with each distributor covering rights and payment terms. This is an onerous but essential element in the process. Here is a sample distributor contract.
File Submission
After agreements are settled, each distributor will give each publisher access to “a submission site,” which is a secure FTP site where the publisher may deposit his files and metadata. Collection Point provides the tools to set up each distributor and store this access information, making the delivery of titles to one or more distributors a simple task.
In addition to distribution through the channels above, there are various ways in which publishers may realize additional sales via direct marketing. GPC can assist with this step in several ways.
Here is the Submission Guide for Publishers from the Canadian Electronic Library.
Website Marketing
Using the digital assets created and stored in CP, publishers may move these into direct sales channels using branded e-commerce sites or other web-based options.
These portals can be configured as online bookshelves for consumers and institutions or as e-commerce sites to support the purchase and delivery of e-formats.
Host Your Own Content
Publishers now have the option of providing online access to multiple titles through a website module. This access may be free or priced at the publisher’s option. This approach works particularly well for publishers with specialized audiences or titles. If you’re now offering PDF downloads from your website, this is an option you should explore further.
This new offering from ebrary Inc allows a publisher to place a collection of titles on a robust proprietary search platform and offer worldwide access to digital content within days. Setup is simple, requiring only PDF and metadata.
Key features and benefits:
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Capable of processing thousands of documents a day
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Support for multiple business models: subscription, perpetual access (single and multi-user), or usage-based
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Built-in DRM
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Easy PDF submission
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Simple meta-tagging
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Browse-before-buy capabilities
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Title Preview for promoting content and generating leads
» See Title Preview in action
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Comprehensive statistics
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Available in multiple languages
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APIs for further customization
Print on Demand
“The number of new and revised titles produced by traditional publishing methods fell 3% in 2008…but the number of on-demand and short-run titles soared 132%. The numbers of on-demand titles topped those of traditional books for the first time.”
–Publishers Weekly 5/19/09.
While Print on Demand is a printing technology, the ingestion process is entirely digital. And the “magic” of the process is not so much the economies available through POD, but rather the fact that any title in the POD “pipeline” is instantly available to purchasers throughout the world’s major booksellers. This is particularly advantageous to smaller publishers who have been unable to interact with the larger channels like Amazon, Indigo and B&N.. By establishing a POD supplier relationship, a publisher gains access to these channels.
In the context of digital asset management, moving assets into the POD pipeline is no different from moving them into digital channels. Contracts are signed, and digital formats and metadata are provided to the POD supplier.
GPC will assist with the setup of POD supplier relationships for its clients. This is an optional feature of the Introductory Offer.
