Creating an e-book, digital magazine, story app or digital guide is a great way to reach an evolving customer base, but getting started can be overwhelming. This simple, to-the-point guide is geared toward content creators, marketers and publishers new to the digital publishing space who want to understand how to navigate the expanding e-book market.

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2. INTRODUCTION
The digital publishing field is exploding with the rise of a multitude of different
devices on which to read and experience content. With more sophisticated devices and
evolving customer expectations, the emerging trend is an emphasis on visuals and the viewing
experience. To this end, interactive books, story apps and magazine apps now offer new ways
to capture readers.
E-books can contain audio, video and interactive elements in addition to scaling/reflowing
text. New distribution channels such as the iPad Newsstand platform are emerging that make
it possible for digital, magazine-style publications to regularly release content and charge
readers by the issue or via subscription.
The e-book, magazine and story app space is an evolving one. Entities such as Apple and
Amazon are spending time and resources developing the platforms, devices and rules that
best segment their markets and distinguish their products from competitors. Meanwhile,
content creators — independent or large scale — are doing whatever they can to maximize
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scales and capture the attention of their audiences.
With the rise of possibilities comes a rise of confusion. Content creators, marketers and
publishers just entering the digital publishing space need help navigating the digital publishing
landscape. This guide will help you start navigating this next great frontier in publishing.
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3. DISTRIBUTION
New distribution channels are emerging, and existing It’s important that your content lives in as many places as it can
distribution channels are evolving. With the influx of e-books to reach the largest audience. This means having your content
masquerading as apps in the iTunes App Store, Apple has been converted into different formats and optimized for different devices.
tightening the rules to keep content in the right distribution channels It isn’t necessary to be on every single store in every format, just the
and segment its markets. That being said, an iPad or iPhone app is ones that make sense for your content, target audience and budget.
still a viable medium for digitally published content, assuming the
experience is fitting to Apple’s preferences.
An easy way to get a good view of distribution channels is by pairing
stores with their target devices, but this can be a bit tricky when you
factor in apps as a content medium.
Some of the main distribution channels for digitally published
It’s important that your
content are:
content lives in as many
iPad | iPhone iTunes App Store and iTunes Books Store places as it can to reach
the largest audience.
(aka iBookstore store on the device)
Kindle Amazon Kindle Store
Nook B&N Nook Store and Nook Newsstand
Android Google Play Store and Sony Reader Store
Sony Reader Sony Reader Store
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4. TERMINOLOGY
An app is an e-book is an iBook
Terminology can mean different things depending upon the way
words are used, the understanding of the digital publishing field
that the person has, or the audience the person is talking to.
Almost anything is technically an application, including an e-book.
Interactive books can be referred to as e-books whether they are in iBook
the format of an app one would buy in the iTunes App Store or the
iBookstore. An “e-book” is probably used most often to describe
a predominantly text-based media that could be used on a device
such as a Kindle, but that doesn’t mean that the next time you hear
the word e-book it’s referring to an app — language is evolving too. app
Adding to the confusion, e-books can masquerade as apps and
apps can masquerade as e-books. Apps that are almost identical to
e-books exist in the App Store even though guidelines are tightening
to restrict this from happening. It may have been a fluke — apps
that don’t follow guidelines are sometimes accepted, perhaps on the
e-book
whims of the person at Apple reviewing submissions. In other cases,
developers and content creators push the boundaries of interactivity
in iBooks, creating compelling, engaging reading experiences that
cause people to question whether something is an app or an e-book.
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5. HOW TO CHOOSE A DIGITAL PUBLISHING FORMAT
E-books come in as many flavors as there are devices on which to
read them. Devices include the iPad, Kindle, Nook, Nexus, etc. and
each has its own proprietary formats for packaging and distributing AUDIENCE
content. I won’t focus on every proprietary format, but instead will
give a solid overview of the characteristics and distribution channels
of each major format. As you’ll see, some formats are supported
across many devices and converting your e-book into proprietary
formats for multiple devices is a feasible option for many projects. BUDGET
CONTENT
Know your content, target audience and budget. Knowing your
content and target audience is key to selecting a format and will help
guide questions such as:
Knowing your budget is also vital in choosing a format. Options
Is layout and design a key consideration for my message? such as branded e-book apps may be prohibitively expensive. Your
budget may permit you to choose multiple formats or target multiple
Does it make sense to release content in issues such as a distribution channels.
quarterly ‘magazine’ style publication?
Your content and target audience also help inform the decision of
What devices do my audience members own and consume which features and distribution channels best fit your needs. Each
content on? publishing format comes with its own list of features. There is some
overlap in features and distribution channels, but the limitations help
to balance the scales and make deciding a lot easier.
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6. 4 MAJOR DIGITAL PUBLISHING FORMATS
1 / EPUB
Using the same technology as a basic webpage, EPUB’s are a widely CHARACTERISTICS & FEATURES
used, open (no single company ‘owns’ the format), e-book format.
Basic EPUBs don’t have much in terms of looks, as the capabilities Reflowing text allows for readability features such as changing
for styling are dependent on the multitude of end devices that will the font size. It also makes for very versatile e-books content
read them. Things like custom fonts and colors aren’t supported on simply takes up the available space on the screen.
every end device. The EPUB’s strongest feature is its ability to reflow
Interactivity is limited and supported differently among
text, which makes it easy to read content on any size screen. This
devices. No doubt there is lots of room for experimentation,
makes the EPUB chief for functionality rather than form. Images are
but given that the EPUB was made primarily for basic, reflow-
supported but if complete design control is something you want, you
able, mostly text publications … why bother?
better look elsewhere.
Wide device support: computer, tablet and smart phones.
Low cost to produce. Since the technology is that of a basic
webpage, and room for design is limited, EPUBs are one of
the cheapest e-book formats to make.
Believe it or not, basic EPUBs can include embedded images,
audio and video.
PUBLISHING OPTIONS
e-book sites
Major marketplaces such as iBookstore, Nook Book Store,
Sony Reader Store, Lulu, Google play store and Kobo
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7. 4 MAJOR DIGITAL PUBLISHING FORMATS
2 / PDF
PDFs are exceedingly cheap to make and widely utilized across CHARACTERISTICS & FEATURES
devices, and since they’re basically multipage images, the design Fixed-layout. Greater control over design. Preferable when
can be as sophisticated as you want. The catch is that PDFs are
layout is important to the message.
meant mainly for computer screens — PDFs become cumbersome
or unusable on smaller screen sizes. The PDF format is so widely Wide device support: computer, tablet or smart phone (use
supported that most writing or designing software allows you to at your own risk).
export directly to the PDF format — as you probably already know Device independent (access is available across browsers).
because you’ve used a computer in the last 10 years.
Free to produce and share.
Includes multi-media (less utilized).
PUBLISHING OPTIONS
e-book sites
Major marketplaces will sell as is or convert into a usable format
Self-publishing and selling
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8. 4 MAJOR DIGITAL PUBLISHING FORMATS
3 / FIXED-LAYOUT EPUB
Originally designed by Apple (though really a no-brainer as the natural CHARACTERISTICS & FEATURES
evolution of the EPUB format), the fixed-layout EPUB is a special
kind of EPUB that has enhanced design control and capabilities. Limited device support: previously only Apple products such
Support for full-bleed images and overlapping text and images lets as the iPad and iPhone (use at your own risk), but has now
expanded to support other devices including the Amazon
visual-rich content come to life on newer screen-reader devices
Kindle and the Google Nexus.
such as the iPad. These design capabilities come at the cost of device
support and the ability to reflow text. Fixed-layout. Greater control over design. Preferable when
layout is important to the message.
Medium cost. They take more time and resources than a
normal EPUB to develop.
The same multimedia capabilities of regular EPUBs and PDFs
with the benefit of better control over their presentation.
PUBLISHING OPTIONS
Apple iBook store. Given the popularity of the iPad, this may
likely be your first stop for fixed-layout pubs.
Kindle store
Google Play store
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9. 4 MAJOR DIGITAL PUBLISHING FORMATS
4 / E-BOOK APP CONCLUSION
The leading choice for interactivity and deal-breaking features such as No one format encompasses all the features of digital
multi-issue publications, e-book apps are the leading choice for publishing. Each format comes with its own benefits and
completely branded, designed experiences on tablet and smart limitations. Choosing a digital publishing format for your project
phones. E-book apps have taken the digital publishing world by should come with careful consideration of your content, target
storm but aren’t available for everyone. Apps are costly to develop. audience, budget, desired features and desired distribution
Multi-issue apps require yearly budget commitments on top of the channels. You may decide that you are able to publish in
costs for design and development. multiple formats for your project such as PDF and Fixed
Layout (fixed-layout EPUB and e-book app). It’s important
to remember that each end device may have its own special
CHARACTERISTICS & FEATURES
formatting requirements for e-books. To a skilled publisher or
Limited device support: tablets or smart phones. conversion house, these changes may be trivial, but they still
Fixed-layout. Ultimate design control. involve extra cost and time commitment.
Supports features such as multi-issue publications and
Determining which e-book format will work for your project
subscriptions.
begins with an understanding of your content and target
High cost of development. audience, leads to deciding on features and distribution
Advanced interactivity and scripting capabilities. channels, and hinges on an understanding of the wide array of
e-book formats out there to choose from.
PUBLISHING OPTIONS
tablet and smart phone stores
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10. Start publishing. Contact Silver Square for content strategy and
creation services. 317.569.5977 or raquel@silversquareinc.com.
BY DEAN VERLEGER