The digital publishing industry continues to change even as most authors and publishers are still reeling from the changes of the last decade. But one thing is clear going forward: publishing a book takes as much tech experience these days as writing skills.
Tech Skill: Marketing
Advertising and marketing is a game of numbers, chance, and understanding Google algorithms. It’s no longer enough to get the book published; long before you even get a book on a shelf (digital or physical) there are all kinds of marketing efforts you’ll need to have in place: social media, website, a blog, subscription marketing, and more. For the indie author, there may not even be time to write after all that.
Tech Skill: Formatting and Digital Publishing
We would all like to think that if we write the book and upload it that it will magically look perfect on every reader and be a great experience for every reader. But if you include anything extra – images, charts, graphs, multiple font sizes, or chapter headings, you’re likely going to need to adjust the formatting to make it work for everyone.
Tech Skill: Converting Your Book
One of the best ways to reach a larger audience with your book is by converting it – to a podcast, an audio book, or even a screenplay. All of these conversions take a diverse skill set but can result in a much wider reach and bigger audience, which means more sales.
Tech Skill: Digital Rights Management
Digital locks, or also known as digital rights management (DRM) technologies, are measures employed by copyright owners and their publishers to protect their intellectual property and control how their data, software or hardware is used by others. In the publishing world, DRM is mainly used to prevent unauthorized access to or copying of digital files.
Indie Authors Need Indie Digital Publishing Partners
These tech skills aren’t always the forte of someone who just wants to write books. Luckily, one of the biggest trends to come into play this decade is the growth of small, online publishers, often in niche categories, who can partner with authors to provide the tech skills they need to have better success with their books. In addition, having a publisher can provide the author with more credibility.
Publishers will be able to leverage economies of scale by working with groups of authors and providing the marketing they need. They’ll benefit from the aggregate data they’ll be able to gather, which will help them provide comprehensive services, including sophisticated websites that help their authors stand out.
Publishers Partner with EditionGuard
EditionGuard works with publishers of all sizes. We use Adobe’s DRM system to protect content, which is compatible with many e-Commerce systems. In addition, you can use our APIs to build out any kind of business solution that involves the secure distribution of eBooks.
If you are an author or publisher looking to safeguard your digital assets, get in touch with us to start a 30-day free trial. Our services are easy to integrate with your website, with the more popular e-commerce environments supported by our turnkey solution. EditionGuard offers industry-leading DRM solutions at affordable, fixed monthly installments.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you protect your revenue.
