Digital e-books. They’re the new thing with book publishers. Just a few weeks ago we told you that Scholastic (the U.S. Potter publisher) announced a digital imprint, and now Bloomsbury (the U.K. Potter publisher) is doing something similar.
Reuters reports that Bloomsbury will bring out-of-print books back to life by releasing them in a digital format. The publisher discussed the challenges of finding these old books in the first place:
“Talk about bringing books back from the dead,” said [digital media director at Bloomsbury Stephanie] Duncan. “It’s actually, in some instances, a struggle to find a print copy that we can start the process with. In that sense it’s sort of saving books as well for future generations.”
Another challenge is to reach a big enough audience and make the works stand out in a marketplace that tends to be dominated by bestseller lists and “hot” new titles.
“The challenge is how do you get a book that’s may be 50, 80 years old and find its audience,” Duncan explained.
“I think digital gives a real ability to find that audience because of course word-of-mouth remains the strongest way to sell a book and digital word-of-mouth is quicker, its reach is wider, it’s interactive.”
Would you read a very old book brought back “from the dead” if it were in a digital format?
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