Even more globalisation
At this year’s London Book Fair, Harper Collins’ announced their takeover of publishing houses in various countries. They intend to launch books in different languages simultaneously. Teams in a number of countries will cooperate to leverage the marketing.
I think launching books in different countries at the same time is an interesting model also for international self-publishers for maximum global reach and to make the most of their efforts.
And the general increase in globalisation means more translations are needed as well.
London Book Fair 2015, lecture in Tech Theatre
Content is vital – form can change
We saw the introduction of ebooks and audiobooks in the past, and new options like interactive content are now becoming more widespread. When signing contracts, you should bear possible future developments in mind, which can mean technical developments that do not currently exist. So it is actually a good idea to be prepared and stay up to date with technical innovations, whether you intend to use them or not.
Shorter forms are becoming increasingly popular
As I mentioned in my article about the London Book Fair and literary translations, there is a trend towards micro-payments, for example reading and paying for individual book parts and being able to stop buying more at any time, if you want. I have started reading a book in this way via Pigeonhole, the company that I wrote about last time, and I am enjoying it.
And especially when it comes to non-fiction, the so-called Millenial generation seem to prefer shorter books even more than other age groups.
I must admit that I like shorter non-fiction books myself, which do not repeat certain aspects again and again, just to fill the pages or to remind me of something that I read earlier in the book. I would actually love more shorter non-fiction that contains the information I am looking for in a more compact way that doesn’t take so long to read. I think this is actually a good trend for self-publishers who have an advantage since they do not need to write a book of a certain length for a publisher, but can concentrate first and foremost on the value they intend provide for their readers.
Related article: London Book Fair Part 1: Literary Translation
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