Didn't a famous singer once ask us to follow him all around, to the Rocky Mountains and back, and so forth? Well, yes...but would we have followed John Denver on more than one social network? I'm not sure about that.
Scribd.com is putting us in the position of having to choose how much we admire authors and publishers, and other publishing professionals. According to a Wall Street Journal blog, Sribd.com has created a Twitter-like social network with tweeters (or whatever Scribd is calling them) and followers. Presumably, Scribd.com is enabling the sharing of digital books with a community of people who are interested in the same digital books.
And, as a book publicist, I'd have to say that Scribd.com is offering a must-look-into-this book promotion opportunity, but as a social networker -- and as a professional who understands that there are only so many hours in a day -- I want to cry foul.
How many social networks will be required to join before we all want to leave on a jet plane? And why do I have John Denver songs stuck in my head now, anyway? I'm supposed to be blogging, not singing!
Showing posts with label Scribd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scribd. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
So...Scribd has opened an online store.
Good for Scribd. Far more interesting to this book publicist, though, was the fact that I read about Scribd's new ecommerce venture in no fewer than three major media outlets today: Publishers Weekly , the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
Jeez. I care only marginally about the fact that Scribd will now charge readers for digital content (books, magazines, newspapers, research reports, etc.), and 80% of the proceeds will go directly to the contents' publishers. (Scribd's service will only be as impressive as its content, and I haven't had a chance yet to check out the site -- I'll reserve judgment until I have).
But I am blown away by the amount, and the quality, of media exposure that Scribd's new ecommerce venture has received. Imagine if, in the midst of your book promotion campaign, your work was featured in PW, the Post, and the NY Times on the same day? My goodness! That would be an accomplishment, for certain!
Jeez. I care only marginally about the fact that Scribd will now charge readers for digital content (books, magazines, newspapers, research reports, etc.), and 80% of the proceeds will go directly to the contents' publishers. (Scribd's service will only be as impressive as its content, and I haven't had a chance yet to check out the site -- I'll reserve judgment until I have).
But I am blown away by the amount, and the quality, of media exposure that Scribd's new ecommerce venture has received. Imagine if, in the midst of your book promotion campaign, your work was featured in PW, the Post, and the NY Times on the same day? My goodness! That would be an accomplishment, for certain!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Scribd for Book Promotion
Yesterday, I discovered Scribd. Scribd is the latest hope of publishers and authors who want to promote their books online.
Users sign up, and then they get to see book excerpts, and even full-length books, for free. According to a recent article in TechCrunch, such major publishers as Random House, Simon & Schuster, Workman Publishing Co., and Berrett-Koehler have already begun explore the book promotion value of Scribd. Scribd beats the book excerpts that you can find on Google and Amazon, the article contends, because Scribd lets users embed the book excerpts in their own blogs and on their own Web sites.
And, like Google and Amazon, Scribd levels the proverbial playing field between mainstream books and self-published books. Just as all cats look grey in the dark, all books look equally palatable -- or not -- on the computer monitor. Every book benefits to the same degree from Scribd's book promotion value, regardless of the publisher, or the author's renown.
Which leads me to my own beef about Scribd (and every other site that offers books, or book excerpts, for free. This peeve doesn't involve copyright issues or philosophical concerns (of course I don't want pirated books to abound on the Net, nor do I want paper books to disappear) but, rather, readability.
I tried to read one of Random House's titles online via Scribd, and all I got for my efforts was the beginnings of a headache. Is anyone really going to read a book on his or her computer monitor? I understand that ebook readers are nearly (although, perhaps, not quite) ready for prime time. But does any publisher, including self publishers, really expect potential book buyers to start reading a book -- and to enjoy that book -- while glued to the Scribd site?
It would be nice if Scribd had revolutionized the art of reading a book online, but to be fair, that's not its business. Scribd does have buy-in from enough major publishers that, maybe, I'll simply be outvoted. Maybe potential book buyers and the media will flock to Scribd. Me? I'm not flocking. But that might just be my loss.
Users sign up, and then they get to see book excerpts, and even full-length books, for free. According to a recent article in TechCrunch, such major publishers as Random House, Simon & Schuster, Workman Publishing Co., and Berrett-Koehler have already begun explore the book promotion value of Scribd. Scribd beats the book excerpts that you can find on Google and Amazon, the article contends, because Scribd lets users embed the book excerpts in their own blogs and on their own Web sites.
And, like Google and Amazon, Scribd levels the proverbial playing field between mainstream books and self-published books. Just as all cats look grey in the dark, all books look equally palatable -- or not -- on the computer monitor. Every book benefits to the same degree from Scribd's book promotion value, regardless of the publisher, or the author's renown.
Which leads me to my own beef about Scribd (and every other site that offers books, or book excerpts, for free. This peeve doesn't involve copyright issues or philosophical concerns (of course I don't want pirated books to abound on the Net, nor do I want paper books to disappear) but, rather, readability.
I tried to read one of Random House's titles online via Scribd, and all I got for my efforts was the beginnings of a headache. Is anyone really going to read a book on his or her computer monitor? I understand that ebook readers are nearly (although, perhaps, not quite) ready for prime time. But does any publisher, including self publishers, really expect potential book buyers to start reading a book -- and to enjoy that book -- while glued to the Scribd site?
It would be nice if Scribd had revolutionized the art of reading a book online, but to be fair, that's not its business. Scribd does have buy-in from enough major publishers that, maybe, I'll simply be outvoted. Maybe potential book buyers and the media will flock to Scribd. Me? I'm not flocking. But that might just be my loss.
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