all posts tagged “publishing”
[Note: This is my second post in a row about Amazon. I can assure you that although I am a fan, I (or Common Craft) am not affiliated with Amazon in any way.]
I remember my first purchase from the Kindle Store. It was an article by an author named Stephen Windwalker called "How to Use the Amazon Kindle for Email & Over 100 Pages of Other Cool Tips" (Now here, under a new name). It was $2.39 and was delivered to the Kindle in seconds. I remember thinking, "Hmm, $2.39. That's not too bad, I'll see what it's all about." It was easy - I've been giving Amazon digital money for years - doing it on the Kindle was a no-brainer.
Soon I found I was not alone. At the time, Stephen's article hovered in the top 10 of all purchases on the Kindle, right there with Oprah's favorites. This made me wonder about how the Kindle works - how can Stephen Windwalker be selling as many copies as NYT Bestsellers? What I found was that Stephen's success is a model for everyone who is tired of the traditional publishing world and wants to sell articles and books directly to consumers.
If you're new to Kindle, read my intro here.
Stephen and others like him are at the forefront of a publishing revolution made possible by Amazon's Digital Text Platform (DTP). The DTP is startlingly simple. Anyone can upload a Word file (saved as html) to the DTP, assign a price, and start selling it to Kindle users. Amazon is the only middleman and exerts very little editorial control. Of course, Amazon does make money on every purchase. Right now Amazon keeps about 65 cents of every dollar sold in the Kindle Store.
Two Stories
Stephen Windwalker (a pen name) has been an Amazon seller since the z-shops days. When the Kindle came around, he was fascinated thanks to the problems with what he calls the "Literary-Industrial Complex." Kindle appeared to be a viable alternative to working with publishing houses that dominate the industry.
So, as an experiment, he put some time into understanding Kindle's experimental features and wrote the article I purchased. Stephen made close to a dollar (US) on my purchase. Since his article was published in December of 2007, over 26,000 copies have been sold directly to Kindle users like me.
Stephen's success may be an anomaly, but it is an independent publishing success story nonetheless. Stephen names Amazon Search as one way his article become popular - it's current the #2 result for the search "Kindle." Further, having a web presence outside the Kindle Store helps.
Stephen has since written a number of other articles and blogs about the Independent Publishing and Kindle at Indiekindle.blogspot.com and kindlehomepage.blogspot.com. He's also published a book (in paperback & Kindle edition, of course) to lend a helping hand to other would-be Kindle authors.
Stephen introduced me to another person who is seeing similar success. His name is Manual "Manny" Burgos. Manny found that simple gray-tone graphics that work on the Kindle are difficult to produce. So, he's created a set of guides that help people design graphics that are optimized for the Kindle's screen. The first of what is now a 4-part series was "Graphics on the Kindle" which lays out how to format images for the best results.
Manny soon discovered demand for this kind of information from Kindle owners and those interesting is helping Kindle publishers with graphics. His second article, "Formatting Comics for the Kindle" reflects the opportunities he sees. Manny hasn't seen Stephen's level of success, but has been able to earn extra money by publishing on the DTP. Manny's work can be found at www.rarearts.com.
We're going to be seeing a lot more stories like these. Stephen and Manny are like you and me. We don't have connections to publishers. We don't have gatekeepers. We don't have the weight of the entire publishing industry on our shoulders. We are prepared to put our work into the consumer market and see what happens. We're prepared to fail and to try again because the cost of production is so low. The question is, what can we create that people would pay to download to the Kindle?
Updated: You can listen to an interview with Stephen Windwalker on Len Edgerly's Kindle Chronicles.
About a month ago, I got a Kindle as an early birthday present (Thanks Sachi's Mom!) Since that time, I've become consumed by not only the device, but the potential for it to become a foundation for Amazon to disrupt the publishing industry.
Indeed, there are two parts to any discussion about Kindle (1) the device and how it works (2) how Amazon will use it and it's Digital Text Platform to create a micro-payment economy for authors.
For now, I want to introduce a few aspects of the device, starting from taking out of the box. 
The strangest, most unsettling thing from the un-boxing? Amazon included a coupon for a free McDonalds chicken biscuit in the box. Amazon, please don't cheapen the experience for future Kindle buyers.
One of the awesome aspects of getting started is that the Kindle already knows who you are. Since you purchase it from Amazon.com, it arrives connected to your Amazon account and immediately connects to (Sprint's EVDO) cell-phone network called Whispernet, which quickly delivers books to the Kindle after purchase. This connection is free - paid-for by Amazon.
I don't think people understand that this cell phone connection means the Kindle is a 100% stand alone device - no computer needed. I dread connecting new devices to computers and it's so delightfully lightweight to skip that whole process and use a device that connects to a cell phone network instead. 
I'm not a huge fan of the physical design, though after using it regularly, I have become very comfortable with how it fits into the hand. I love reading before bed and always hated having to hold a book open. The Kindle makes reading easy.
Speaking of reading - people often wonder why they would use a Kindle when the same info (newspapers, blogs, etc.) is available on the Web. It's true - but for me, I want to get away from the computer and computer screen to read. The Kindle's screen is "e-Ink" and appears like a printed page, in tones of gray. It's not lit like a computer screen - it's easy on the eyes and looks better in light. This also helps the battery last a very long time.
I have no idea how it works, but I'm fascinated by the glittery-gold cursor thing that allows you to make selections.
The "Next Page" and "Previous Page" buttons are huge and I often hit them accidentally. I find it hard to believe that the design team actually thought this was the optimal size. But, I'm used to it now and it does make paging very easy. There is no scrolling on the Kindle - only paging.
When it's in Sleep mode, it displays random illustrations of famous authors and tips. 
Buying books, periodicals, newspaper susbscriptions, etc. from the Kindle Store (accessible from the device and Amazon.com) is as easy as you would expect from Amazon. We've been giving Amazon digital money for years, so it's a no-brainer to do it from the Kindle - especially when books are delivered in seconds instead of days. I've found the selection of books sufficient and growing.
Overall I'm a big fan of the Kindle. It has some design issues, but I truly believe that it has a very bright future. People are quick to criticize it sight-unseen, but once you sit down with it, buy a book and understand how easy, lighweight and fun it is, you'll want one. I believe it is the future of reading.
But like I said, the device is only one part of the equation. What excites me most, and is least publicized, is Amazon's Digital Text Platform. More on that soon.
More Info:
Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device
(now $359 - recently reduced)
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