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Web site focuses on self-publishing
Fatbrain comes to the rescue of new online authors
By Colleen Bazdarich, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 5:04 PM ET Oct 13, 1999
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Is your college thesis sitting idle
on a floppy disk? Do you have a collection of e-mail love poems archived
in your "sent items" folder. Why not make some money with them?
You say Random House isn't knocking down your
door? That hasn't stopped legions of
self-publishers from getting their novels, poems
and how-to guides out into the world. Linda
Radke of Five Star Publications estimates
7,000-10,000 independent presses pop up every
year.
The process could get easier this month when
Web bookstore Fatbrain (FATB: news, msgs)
launches its digital content department, Ematter.
Digital content department? Yes, cyber-author,
this isn't your grandmother's self-publishing
solution. E-books are paper-optional -- entire
documents will be posted online so that users can
download the file to their desktop. Depending on
their affinity for computer screens, customers can
read the story on their desktop or print it up on
their home inkjet.
Over 2,000 authors have already signed up to
have their work published on Ematter. The company has announced that
Catherine Lanigan, author of "Romancing the Stone" and "Jewel of the
Nile," will publish exclusive short stories on the site.
A new, old idea
Of course, using the Web for self-publishing isn't a new phenomenon.
Rocket, a device made by NuvoMedia, has warmed some Americans up
to the e-book, but Ematter will be the first large company to enter the field.
To get authors onto the site Ematter is offering free publishing plus 100
percent royalties through January for material submitted before the launch
date. After Oct. 18, authors will pay a $1 per month hosting fee and split
the royalties with Fatbrain -- if your list price is $6, you get $3 per
download.
Essentially authors interested in getting their product
over the Web had two choices until now: print the
book and offer it over a Web site, or offer the file
for free download. Both options have their
drawbacks.
For Jill Dalley, self-published author of "The Milk
and Potatoes of Breastfeeding," a nutritional guide
for new mothers, writing and researching for the
book was often hindered by the logistics of
self-publishing. Since Dalley decided to publish her
book the traditional way, she had to format the
document to fit printing standards, then search
around for the best printer at the best price.
Then there were headaches of setting up a Web site,
planning online payment options, and shipping
procedures. "The credit card issue is a big deal for
people. For a small publisher, dealing with shipping
and purchasing chips away from your productive
time," says Dalley.
Curl up with your computer
She eventually was able to work out a deal with
Amazon (AMZN: news, msgs) so that when a
customer logs on to her site to purchase the book, they are re-directed to
Amazon.
Many self-published books like Dalley's are available for sale on Internet
bookstores like Amazon. So far, however, those services were only
available for traditional books, which naturally involved costs like printing
and shipping. With electronic publishing, the production cost is virtually
non-existent.
For authors who are used to printing the traditional way, the service offers
a way to virtually eliminate production and shipping costs. For the already
e-savvy writer, Ematter offers what was once too expensive or too
complicated -- a credit-card-safe Web site where customers can purchase
downloads.
Electronic domination?
OK, digital content may not take over the publishing world anytime soon.
When it comes to curling up with a good novel, a bunch of loose paper or
a computer monitor just doesn't cut it. But what will draw readers in, says
Judy Kirkpatrick, vice-president of digital publishing at Fatbrain, will be
work that doesn't fit into usual publishing guidelines.
"The sweet spot we believe is going to be this piece of content that is
longer than a magazine article, shorter than a book -- short stories, for
example. Customers are going to print on their local printer, gather up
those pages, stick it in their satchel and read them the next time they are on
a plane or train or wherever they might be."
Kirkpatrick believes that Ematter will open up opportunities for short
works that aren't financially feasible by traditional printing standards.
Ironically, one of Ematter's ultimate goals is to allow users the opportunity
to move beyond the scope of Web publishing.
"We really hope that someday the next John Grisham will be discovered at
our site and get a contract with the big publishers," said Kirkpatrick.
Colleen Bazdarich is a reporter for CBS MarketWatch. |
