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Building a New World Publishing Business: Lessons from Stanza

Building a New World Publishing Business: Lessons from Stanza. O’Reilly TOC Conference O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference. Neelan Choksi COO, Lexcycle neelan@lexcycle.com. February 11, 2009. Who Am I?. COO, Lexcycle Former COO, SpringSource – open source

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Building a New World Publishing Business: Lessons from Stanza

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  1. Building a New World Publishing Business:Lessons from Stanza O’Reilly TOC Conference O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference Neelan Choksi COO, Lexcycle neelan@lexcycle.com February 11, 2009

  2. Who Am I? • COO, Lexcycle • Former COO, SpringSource – open source • President and Co-Founder of SolarMetric (acquired by BEA Systems in 2005) • Previous Employers – Exxon, Andersen Consulting, TechTrader, MIT Blackjack Team • Board Seats – SpringSource, Tasktop, Lexcycle • BS from MIT, MS from Stevens Institute of Technology, MBA from Univ. of Chicago Booth

  3. e-books – Inflection Point • $44 million Wholesale e-book sales in last 4 quarters * Source: IDPF US Trade Wholesale Electronic Book Sales

  4. Mainstreaming of e-books • Oprah Effect

  5. Big Name Vendors

  6. Improved Displays: E Ink

  7. Improved Mobile Displays • Larger touch screens w/ crisp color • OTA, wireless • App Store

  8. New Hardware • Netbooks • Lots of new eReaders

  9. iPhone Distinctions As an eReader: • International reach • Color display • Multi-function device • Built-in wireless • No external light required • App Store

  10. Enter IDPF’s EPUB • Standard format – users don’t want to care about formats (or DRM for that matter) • Proliferation of proprietary formats (and DRM) is bad for users, creates lock-in for vendors • Standard format eases a historical burden of conversion

  11. e-book Alphabet Soup Formats • .LIT • Mobi • AZW • PDB • FB2 • PDF • RTF • BBeB • EPUB DRM • Microsoft Reader • Adobe Adept • eReader • Mobi • Apple FairPlay • DNL • many others • HTML • RB • CHM • OEB

  12. Stanza Overview

  13. Stanza iPhone & iPod Touch • 1.3 million users in 60 countries • Over 5 million books downloaded • 100,000+ books available (half free) • Translated to 12 languages • Featured in: • NY Times, Boston Globe • Time “Top 11 iPhone Applications” • Forbes • Wired “10 Most Awesome Apps” • iTunes Top Applications of 2008

  14. Primary Usage • In bed – 31% • Commuting on bus / train – 29% • In waiting areas – 13% • At home – 12% • At work – 5% • At a bar or café or lunch or dinner – 5% • On an airplane – 5% • 2 write-ins mentioned “In the bathroom” Readers enjoy having access to their library at all times in their pocket or handbag

  15. Stanza Fictionwise Store • 44,000 titles • 3x sales growth since December 3 launch • 5,000+ purchasers • Average title price point ~$10.25 • Buying patterns representative of print sales

  16. Publisher Promotions • Pan Macmillan Excerpts – first to notice Stanza • Random House Free Titles • Back list of certain authors • Included excerpts for forthcoming books • Harlequin Free Titles • 4 free “Minis” in December • 15 free titles from each imprint in January

  17. O’Reilly Book Application • O’Reilly’s iPhone: The Missing Manual application • Currently at TOC discounted price of $4.99

  18. Lessons Learned

  19. Lessons Learned - Readers • Quality matters – Virtuous or Vicious Cycle • Every reader is unique – Give readers lots of options to customize their reading experience • Every device is unique – Things that work for one device may not work on another device • Listen to the user – they are happy to tell you what you are doing wrong • Give your readers a voice

  20. Lessons Learned – Readers(continued) • Holistic view of the entire experience for a reader: • Not enough to focus just on one piece. Readers expect more. Search / browse content Find book Pur-chase book Down-load book Start Reading Available now via partners.

  21. Lessons Learned – Readers(continued) • Moving users from established behaviors takes time and patience • Friction = bad • All about the reader and the reading experience • Immersive reading

  22. Publisher Lessons • Calls to action need to be clear and contextual • KISS – make it simple for the user • Hold your technology providers, conversion houses, and distributors to a higher standard • Keep experimenting • Support EPUB

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