How Mobile is Disrupting the

Publishing Industry

Margaret Gold

CMO, Ether Booksmargaret.gold@etherbooks.com

@MobileMaggie

www.etherbooks.com

Margaret Gold

@etherbooks

Ether is a mobile social reading platform, connecting Writers and Readers around the world.

Ether publishes "made for mobile" Quick Reads straight to Smart Phones, the fastest growing digital reading device on the planet.

Ether provides a Direct-to-Reader global channel for Writers to get published and get paid.

Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive Innovation

NOT Disruptive

Disruptive

Disruption

Disruption

Revolution

Retail Point of Sale

Retail Point of Sale

Console Games Platforms

Console Games Platforms

US is leading the Smart Phone revolution

iPhone + Social Media has changed everythingThis is where people are spending their time!

31

Mobile is just getting started!

So why is the Publishing Industry ripe for disruption?

Content is freeing itself from context

We add articles to Instapaper and Readability; we buy books in paper or Kindle form, we switch to “print view”

so we don’t have to read articles on thirty separate pages.

Made-for-mobile

Ether is at the centre of 3 new consumer behaviours

Smartphone Smartphone UsageUsage

Smartphone Smartphone UsageUsage

Digital Digital ReadingReadingDigital Digital

ReadingReading

Social Social NetworkingNetworking

Social Social NetworkingNetworking

After accounting for inflation, the hourly and per-article rates

in Writer’s Market have dropped 81.3% on average

since 1991.

Writers are creating their own industry

Print-on-demand services give easy access to printed matter. Services like Newspaper Club

allow us to publish broadsheets. Authors publish long-form essays as Kindle Singles, with no publishing industry in sight. Many

authors have gone the end-to-end route, putting their projects up on Kickstarter to

fund production and shipping. Designer Frank Chimero raised over $100,000 to publish his book; Kern and Burn, Wax Magazine, and

Matter have all had successful projects.

Standards: ePub

Initially conceived in September 2007, the open ebook standard ePub uses a combination of

HTML, CSS, and XML wrapped up as a Zip file.

No semantic mark-up, no forced compliance, no Stack Overflow

What’s going on in start-up land?

Wattpad is the world’s largest community of readers and writers. It’s the free and fun way to read on the web and across all mobile devices. Everyday millions of people use Wattpad to read unique new fiction or share their own creative writing

Wattpad raised $20.8 million for “MySpace for stories”

Oyster is a simple and beautiful iPhone app that gives members unlimited access to an ever-growing library of books. Read as much as you want for a single monthly price.

Oyster raised $3 million from Founders Fund for “Spotify for books”

A platform for teenagers to read, write and share their stories in a social and interactive community

Movellas raised $500k in Angel funding for “MySpace for teen stories”

Ether is a mobile social reading platform, connecting Writers and Readers around the world.

Ether publishes "made for mobile" Quick Reads straight to Smart Phones, the fastest growing digital reading device on the planet.

Ether provides a Direct-to-Reader global channel for Writers to get published and get paid.

How Mobile is Disrupting the

Publishing Industry

Margaret Gold

CMO, Ether Booksmargaret.gold@etherbooks.com

@MobileMaggie

www.etherbooks.com

Margaret Gold

@etherbooks

Readers want to Read

• People love to read on-the-go

• The ideal device for a quick read is already in your pocket

BUT

• Most digital reading platforms are filled with poor writing

• Most mobile reading apps are just mini versions of eBooks and eReaders

• Personal recommendation engines are geared towards established book authors

Readers want to Read

• People love to read on-the-go

• The ideal device for a quick read is already in your pocket

BUT

• Most digital reading platforms are filled with poor writing

• Most mobile reading apps are just mini versions of eBooks and eReaders

• Personal recommendation engines are geared towards established book authors

• The joy of a good read

• Made-for-mobile format

• Instant access

• Offline access

• Recommendations from trusted sources

• No painful slog through reams of poor writing to find the hidden gems

VITAMINSVITAMINS

Writers want to Write• Writers love the immediacy of

social media

• Writers love the short-story and flash-fiction formats

BUT

• Short formats are completely neglected by publishers

• Self-publishing platforms are a nightmare to navigate

• Writers are desperate for reader feedback

• Writers need to make a living

Writers want to Write• Writers love the immediacy of

social media

• Writers love the short-story and flash-fiction formats

BUT

• Short formats are completely neglected by publishers

• Self-publishing platforms are a nightmare to navigate

• Writers are desperate for reader feedback

• Writers need to make a living

• “Get Published, Get Paid”• Publisher bottlenecks

removed• No nightmare processes• The writer is front and

centre• Immediate feedback from

readers and fellow-writers

• Faster time to market• Better revenue potential• Direct marketing tools

PAIN KILLERSPAIN KILLERS