Survey: Ebooks - A Second Look

survey eBooks - A Second Look
Assessing the Latest Impact of eBooks on the Publishing Market
Survey Summary
Fueled by a predicted 42% compounded annual growth rate for the eBook market
between 2009 and 2012,1 the book publishing industry is experiencing a rebirth—a
paradigm shift in which its leaders are being asked to re-imagine the future of the book
and the entire book publishing process. The goal is simple: efficiently create both
traditional books and device-independent digital content products that consumers want to
buy. Chief among these products are eBooks, apps, and other mobile content types.
But getting there isn’t easy or quick, as the results of our second publishing industry
survey in a year indicate. Traditional publishing processes introduce expensive
bottlenecks, emerging eBook standards are not as mature as some would like, and eBook
display mediums and distribution channels are not fully understood and constantly
evolving. Add to the mix the overwhelming financial success of the Apple iPad and the
impact it has had on its competitors (knocking some would-be eReaders out of the market
altogether) and on changing consumers’ expectations of eBooks. To prepare a scalable
digital road map, publishers need to better understand the current digital publishing
landscape.
That’s why we sought answers from more than 600 publishing industry representatives
this summer—twice as many as our first survey—from the Trade, Professional,
Educational and B2B publishing markets to understand the current state of eBook
publishing. We dug deeper this time, with new questions on eBook production specifics
and enhanced eBooks.
What did we learn? Some of the most insightful take-aways include:
• The main eBook production challenge facing publishers is eReader/content format

compatibility issues, as it was in our first survey. Even with the near universal EPUB
eBook format standard, today’s fragmented eReader market makes quality eBook
production a moving target. eBooks require expert, manual manipulation to retain
consistent formatting across device types. This challenge also contributes to the recent
heightened demand for expert technology vendors familiar with the detailed production
nuances of eBook readers and software.
• Almost a quarter of publishers producing eBooks are employing XML in their workflows,
which is a higher percentage than expected. This indicates a positive shift to scalable,
digital workflows in support of efficient eBook production across all eReaders. XML can
future-proof publishers’ content, preparing it for new markets and business models,
while reducing costs.
• There is a widespread inability to calculate the return on investment (ROI) from

eBooks—confirming that most publishers are not employing scalable digital workflows,
but rather retrofitting existing print production processes and foregoing significant cost
savings.
(cont’d)
Dec 2010 aptaracorp.com

survey eBooks - A Second Look
Assessing the Latest Impact of eBooks on the Publishing Market
Survey Summary (cont’d)
• There is no dominant approach to creating eBooks; some publishers rely on external

partners for conversion and production, others use a combination of internal and
external resources. Aside from confirming that publishers’ workflows vary widely, this
finding represents the need for streamlined content life cycles that adopt
XML-early/XML-first methodology, as well as a need for the uniform interpretation of
standards, like EPUB, by various eReaders to simplify quality eBook production.
• Only 7% of publishers are implementing enhancements to their eBooks, suggesting

either that most publishers are not aware of the EPUB standard’s inherent support for
enhancements, including audio and video, or that they are waiting for more capable
devices to enter the market. Creating an enhanced eBook via EPUB is dramatically less
expensive than developing a custom app in order to offer interactivity, and it avoids the
need to create interactive content objects, which few publishers have the creative
resources for in-house.
A significant theme from our second eBook survey is that the majority of publishers are
still struggling to maximize profits from the fast-growing eBook market as a result of
inefficient print production processes that require transformation in order to support
scalable, affordable digital output.
This is the second in a series of eBook-related surveys designed to keep you abreast of
this fast-changing publishing sector and to identify trends, challenges, and strategies of
importance to publishing professionals. To be included in our third survey, scheduled for
spring 2011, contact us at www.aptaracorp.com.
Click here to download the results of our first survey, eBooks: Uncovering their Impact on
the Publishing Market.
About Aptara: Aptara provides digital publishing

solutions that deliver significant gains in cost, quality
and time-to-market for eBook publishers. Having
converted tens of millions pages of content to
eBooks, Aptara offers comprehensive solutions
across all content sources and delivery media,
including the Apple iPad and iPhone, Amazon
Kindle, and Sony Reader devices. Aptara’s
expertise includes eBook production, application
development, custom content development, editorial
and design services, content technology solutions,
and content conversion. Founded in 1988, Aptara is
a U.S.-based company with more than 4,000
3110 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 900
professionals worldwide serving leaders in the Falls Church, VA 22042
Trade and Consumer, Professional, Education, and
Corporate publishing markets. +1-703-352-0001

eBooks - A Second Look: Assessing the Latest Impact of eBooks on the Publishing Market Page 3
eBooks
1%
Does your organization currently Yes
produce and distribute eBooks?
No
Unsure
35%
64%
Not surprisingly, with the exponential increases in eBook consumption, 64% of publishers
surveyed are creating eBooks—up more than 10% from our last survey. The largest jump
occurred in the Trade/Consumer and Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM) publishing
sectors, which saw an increase of 23% and 24%, respectively, over the previous survey
period—bolstered, more than likely, by the popularity and commercial success of Apple’s
iPad, Amazon’s Kindle, and the allure of increased revenue possibilities in the digital
content arena. K-12 Educational publishers also saw significant growth, up 18% over the
previous survey period, while University level publishers saw an 11% uptick. Realistically,
before the iPad, most Educational publishers didn’t think that there was an eBook platform
that could do justice to textbook materials and layouts.
For STM publishers, the increase is likely due to increased customer demand and
pressure from the competition. For Educational publishers, this sharp increase is likely
due to trends in the educational institutions they serve. For example, one New England
prep school has replaced traditional books with a library full of eBooks and eBook readers,
while the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Applied Engineering and Technology Library
has gotten rid of all its paper books in lieu of a fully digital library collection. More
educational publishers are also offering professors the ability to compile and offer their
own course book, selecting from individual chapters of digital textbooks.
Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B
Yes 74% 72% 64% 78% 57%

No 25% 28% 35% 22% 43%
Unsure 1% 0% 1% 0% 0%

Importance of eBooks
How important are eBooks to your 1% High
company strategy and growth plans? 8%
Moderate
12% Low
Unsure
49% Undefined
30%
In the Gilbane Group’s recent Blueprint for Publishing Transformation Report, the majority
of publishers surveyed projected that eBooks will grow from 5% to 15+% of their total
gross revenues in the next 5 years2. So it comes as no surprise that eBook sales are
increasingly viewed as strategically important to publishers’ success. Nearly half of the
publishers we surveyed say that eBook sales are of “high” importance to growing their
organizations (up 11% from our first survey), while nearly one-third believe eBooks play a
moderate role in future growth.
Trade/Consumer and STM publishers saw the largest increase in the importance of
eBooks (from moderate to high), up 16% and 9%, respectively, from our last survey.
The other significant difference from the last survey was among K-12 Educational
publishers. While eBooks’ “high” degree of importance remained constant, the number of
publishers who view eBooks as “moderately” important increased by 19%.
With the dramatic success of multi-purpose mobile devices like the Apple iPad and the
consistent growth of the single-function eReader device market led by the Amazon Kindle,
the strategic importance of eBooks will undoubtedly grow across all publisher types. The
only question will be the rate of growth.
High 55% 52% 50% 46% 39%

Moderate 28% 33% 27% 39% 24%
Low 9% 9% 11% 10% 24%
Unsure 7% 7% 12% 4% 13%
Undefined 0% 0% 1% 0% 0%

eBook Inventory
What percentage of your titles are 0–25%
produced as eBooks?
25% 26–50%
31% 51–75%
76–100%
Unsure
8%
Undefined
5%
7%
24%
Nearly one-fourth of publishers surveyed are producing more than 75% of their titles as
eBooks—comprising primarily Trade/Consumer and STM publishers, 31% and 29%,
respectively. Just less than 20% of Educational publishers (K-12 and University) are
producing 75% or more of their titles as eBooks. This reinforces the importance of
eBooks to the future growth of digitally progressive publishers and the degree of eBook
sales that have yet to be realized.
0–25% 25% 22% 27% 36% 30%

26–50% 9% 12% 7% 18% 9%
51–75% 8% 9% 12% 4% 6%
76–100% 31% 29% 16% 19% 19%
Unsure 5% 4% 6% 7% 7%
Undefined 24% 25% 32% 15% 30%

Reason eBooks Not Produced

If your organization does not currently 12%
produce and distribute eBooks, why? No customer demand/requirement (78)
(choose all that apply)
9%
eReader/content format and compatibility issues (56)
7%
Return on investment (ROI) concerns (44)
7%
Distribution channel issues (41)
6%
Concern over protecting digital rights (38)
5%
Cost of overall eBook production (34)
4%
Complexity of pricing models (27)
4%
Lack of source rights to publish in new formats (22)
3%
Perceived quality of the converted content (18)
71%
Undefined (445)
(number of responses)
35% of publishers surveyed do not currently produce eBooks (see page 3). Yet there is
no apparent, dominant reason why—across any publishing sector—suggesting there may
still be considerable confusion about eBook publishing strategies. 71% of publishers didn’t
cite a specific reason.
No customer demand/requirement 6% 12% 17% 7% 22%

eReader/content format/compatibility issues 8% 9% 9% 9% 4%
Return on investment (ROI) concerns 8% 8% 9% 9% 2%
Distribution channel issues 6% 7% 5% 7% 4%
Concern over protecting digital rights 6% 9% 7% 7% 2%
Cost of overall eBook production 5% 5% 6% 7% 4%
Complexity of pricing models 2% 5% 4% 9% 2%
Lack of source rights to publish in new formats 3% 4% 3% 4% 0%
Perceived quality of the converted content 5% 2% 2% 1% 2%
Undefined 78% 75% 73% 82% 61%

Drivers
What are the main drivers to produce 42%
eBooks? New revenue stream (265)
37%
Seeking a new market/audience (229)
32%
Customer demand (200)
10%
Announcements by competitors (61)
6%
Other (37)
3%
Unsure (16)
30%
Undefined (188)
For publishers producing eBooks, the motivation is clear. Most are seeking to earn new
revenue streams (42%), attract new audience segments (37%), or quickly respond to
customer demand (32%).
Within all publishing sectors, the drive to create new revenue streams is the strongest
motivation to produce eBooks. This is most likely a direct response to the pervasiveness
of eBook readers like the Amazon Kindle and the overwhelming success of the Apple
iPad. Both devices have reinvigorated the publishing arena, causing publishers to rethink
their offerings in order to meet the growing expectations, and spending power, of digitally
savvy, mobile-centric users.
New revenue stream 53% 50% 41% 58% 37%

Seeking a new market/audience 53% 36% 36% 45% 31%
Customer demand 39% 39% 35% 45% 37%
Announcements by competitors 16% 11% 14% 21% 9%
Other 6% 6% 7% 3% 11%
Unsure 0% 2% 4% 3% 4%
Undefined 19% 27% 35% 16% 33%

Return on Investment
What is your average return on 10% 14% Better than printed books
investment for eBooks?
Same as printed books
9% 4% undefined
Don't know yet
Unsure
Worse than printed books

28%
25%
35%
When asked about the return on investment (ROI) provided by eBooks, a full 62% of
respondents were unclear as to the ROI of adding eBooks to their product mix. While for
10%, eBooks’ ROI was worse than printed books. Of 64% of publishers producing
eBooks, only 14% are seeing a better ROI from eBooks than print.
These statistics, which were relatively comparable across all publishing segments,
suggest that most publishers are likely retrofitting existing print workflows to produce
eBooks, meanwhile foregoing significant cost savings. This extremely inefficient process
makes it difficult to measure ROI and, when it can be tracked, it is undoubtedly
unfavorable.
Increased certainty about ROI is anticipated as more efficient and scalable digital
workflows are implemented to support the affordable creation of eBooks, and as
publishers recognize the inherent profit margins in leveraging their backlists to attract and
monetize new digital audiences.
With an optimized digital workflow, every eBook should make money. Publishers are no
longer dependent on one or two bestsellers to cover the cost of lesser known authors.
Better than printed books 15% 14% 9% 10% 15%

Same as printed books 6% 5% 3% 1% 4%
undefined 18% 25% 32% 13% 31%
Don't know yet 40% 34% 33% 45% 35%
Unsure 8% 10% 11% 10% 6%
Worse than printed books 13% 12% 13% 19% 9%

Devices
On which of the following devices can 53%
your eBooks be read? PC (332)
45%
Mac (280)
36%
Amazon Kindle (228)
36%
Apple iPad (226)
35%
Apple iPhone (220)
32%
Sony Reader (198)
30%
Other (190)
26%
B&N Nook (165)
10%
Unsure (62)
31%
Undefined (192)
Roughly 50% of all publishers surveyed have eBooks that can be read on a Macintosh or
PC, which is to be expected, since many early eBooks were produced in computer-friendly
Portable Document Format (PDF). What’s truly surprising is that 36% of publishers
surveyed produce eBooks that can be read on the Apple iPad, a device that did not exist 8
months ago. An equal number support the Amazon Kindle, 32% support the Sony
Reader, and the Barnes and Noble Nook enjoys support from 26% of those surveyed.
Trade/Consumer publishers are leading the way in their support for eBooks on single-
purpose and multi-function devices. About half of all publishers’ books in this sector can
be read on the iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, and Nook.
Interestingly, 35% of eBook publishers say their offerings can be read on the iPhone, a
jump of 20% from our last survey. Trade/Consumer publishers support the iPhone
significantly more than other publisher types, perhaps because they see the tremendous
(cont’d)

Devices
(cont’d) revenue that Apple is able to repeatedly generate from the consumer sector. For instance,
Apple sold 17 million iPhones in the first half of 2010, compared with 400 million handsets
sold by Nokia, Samsung, and LG. Yet despite selling far fewer devices than all of their
competition, Apple pulled in 39% of the industry's profit during the same period, more than
the 32% earned by the world's three largest handset makers combined. Much of this profit
was due to the sheer volume of content sold via iTunes.
With the increasing popularity of the iPad, we expect the revenue potential for publishers
who sell their titles in the Apple iBookStore to grow rapidly, as more and more customers
purchase enhanced eBooks, apps and subscriptions from the Apple digital book mall
that’s soon to rival the size of Amazon’s Store.
What’s not clear from this survey is how readers are accessing eBooks on iPads and
iPhones. They may be using Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and other eBook reader “apps”
designed for use on iPads and iPhones, or they may just be reading PDF eBooks.
PC 62% 60% 54% 73% 57%

Mac 55% 47% 47% 57% 46%
Amazon Kindle 51% 37% 33% 45% 22%
Apple iPad 50% 35% 32% 33% 30%
Apple iPhone 51% 32% 32% 39% 30%
Sony Reader 47% 28% 29% 36% 24%
Other 43% 26% 27% 30% 31%
B&N Nook 42% 21% 23% 27% 19%
Unsure 9% 7% 11% 10% 9%
Undefined 23% 27% 35% 16% 30%

Distribution
Through which of the following channels 38%
are your eBooks distributed (or planned Our own eCommerce site (241)
for distribution)?
(choose all that apply) 37%
Amazon.com (231)
36%
Other (228)
22%
Apple iTunes (136)
13%
Small or independent book sellers (includes campus bookstores) (81)
6%
Unsure (37)
30%
Undefined (191)
Compared to our last survey, the number one channel publishers are using to sell and
distribute their eBooks today is still their own eCommerce website... but barely. Publishers
are increasingly taking advantage of third-party content distributors like Amazon and
iTunes that provide them a direct connection to mass audiences of technologically savvy
digital-content consumers who are most likely to purchase eBooks. These networks are
business-critical distribution channels for publishers seeking to increase revenue and
open new markets.
38% of publishers today sell eBooks from their own websites (compared with 36% from
our last survey), and 37% also utilize Amazon (an 11% increase since our last survey).
Amazon is the fifth most popular website visited by US shoppers with roughly 70 million
unique visitors per month. Although that number seems impressive, the fastest-growing
distribution center of eBooks is Apple iTunes, which jumped from 9% to 22% since our last
survey. The iTunes store boasts 150 million registered users, 50 million of which are
iPhone users.
The elephants in the room are the Apple iPad and the Apple iBookStore, about which
respondents were not specifically queried. If previous success is any indicator, and
industry analysts’ predictions are correct, Apple may sell over $1 billion in apps, eBooks
and subscriptions to its estimated 12 million new iPad owners this year, making the
iBookStore an extremely attractive sales channel. To benefit financially, eBook publishers
(cont’d)

Distribution
(cont’d) will need to ensure that their eBook offerings are available in the iBookStore as well as in
the emerging online eBook superstores serving customers with Android OS-powered
devices, Blackberries, and other smart phones and tablets.
Our own eCommerce site 44% 47% 39% 46% 44%

Amazon.com 53% 38% 34% 42% 22%
Other 47% 40% 39% 43% 37%
Apple iTunes 38% 21% 12% 13% 19%
Small or independent book sellers 19% 14% 17% 18% 15%
Unsure 6% 4% 7% 7% 2%
Undefined 23% 25% 34% 18% 31%

Formats
Which eBook formats do you currently 41%
support? PDF (257)
41%
EPUB (257)
25%
AZW (Kindle) (158)
20%
Mobi (125)
16%
HTML (98)
5%
RTF (29)
3%
Other (21)
8%
Unsure (48)
31%
Undefined (194)
The two most popular eBook formats are PDF and EPUB, with 41% of publishers
supporting both of these open standards, while only 25% support the proprietary Kindle
format. The overwhelming success of the Apple iPad is likely influencing Trade and
Consumer publishers—61% of whom support the EPUB standard (a full 18% more than
any other publisher type). But these publishers also provide better-than-average support
for other standards, providing eBooks in PDF format 41% of the time and in Kindle format
38%.
(cont’d)

Formats
(cont’d) EPUB, the defacto standard for eBooks, is accepted by almost every eReader except the
Kindle. The IDPF (International Digital Publishing Forum) is the body that oversees the
standard. It is currently revising the standard to enhance its functionality and reduce the
inconsistencies and incompatibilities between eBooks and eReaders, particularly with
regard to content types and interactivity. The new version of EPUB is expected in the late
spring of 2011.
PDF 41% 50% 39% 48% 48%

EPUB 61% 39% 37% 43% 39%
AZW (Kindle) 38% 24% 20% 31% 15%
Mobi 29% 19% 17% 24% 11%
HTML 14% 22% 16% 13% 28%
RTF 7% 4% 1% 0% 2%
Other 3% 4% 4% 9% 2%
Unsure 7% 7% 9% 12% 4%
Undefined 23% 27% 34% 19% 30%

Source Files
What are your primary source file 38%
formats for eBooks? PDF (239)
27%
Adobe InDesign (171)
21%
XML (129)
11%
Microsoft Word (69)
7%
QuarkXpress (42)
4%
Hard Copy (26)
2%
Other (11)
5%
Unsure (32)
30%
Undefined (190)
Publishers use a variety of source files from which to generate eBooks. The most
common is PDF (38%), followed by Adobe In Design (27%) and XML (21%). The move
toward XML is an encouraging one, as XML allows publishers to separate the content of a
book from its formatting. This gives publishers the flexibility to automatically generate
eBooks for a variety of delivery formats simultaneously, at a much lower cost, and without
the need for multiple publishing streams.
XML also enables the repurposing of content from multiple sources, without the need for
re-creation or re-formatting, making it simple to meet the varying demands of eReaders.
More publishers are clearly taking advantage of the many XML authoring tools (including
Adobe In Design, Microsoft Word, Aptara’s PXE, and QuarkXPress Author) that enable
content to be created in a word-processing-like environment, yet deliver source files that
comply with the XML standard.
(cont’d)

Source Files
(cont’d) Not surprisingly, the greatest adoption of XML is by STM and B2B publishers (36% and
31%, respectively). K–12 Educational publishers come in at the industry average of 21%,
university publishers at 24%, and Trade/Consumer publishers with the least degree of
adoption at 17%.
The move toward XML source files also supports the automatic application of interaction
metadata (information about the behavior of eBook content which eReaders use to add
movement to digital content) and touch-screen interaction.
PDF 41% 46% 42% 54% 48%

Adobe InDesign 41% 20% 27% 42% 24%
XML 17% 36% 24% 21% 31%
Microsoft Word 14% 8% 11% 4% 20%
QuarkXpress 8% 9% 4% 13% 7%
Hard Copy 3% 3% 4% 3% 2%
Other 2% 3% 1% 1% 6%
Unsure 7% 3% 2% 4% 2%
Undefined 22% 26% 33% 18% 28%

Production
How does your organization produce 26%
eBooks? A hybrid approach (both internal and external resources) (163)
23%
Third party conversion partner (142)
19%
Using internal resources (116)
3%
Unsure (19)
30%
Undefined (187)
eBook production is a relatively new undertaking, which may explain why there is no
dominant approach to creating eBooks across any publishing sector. 26% of publishers
surveyed take a hybrid approach to producing digital books, leveraging both internal and
external resources to get the job done. A nearly equal percentage (23%) rely on
outsourced technology partners to produce their eBook inventory, with 19% handling the
process internally. This discrepancy represents the need for streamlined content lifecycles
that adopt XML-early/XML-first methodology as well as a need for the uniform interpreta-
tion of standards, like EPUB, by various eReaders to simplify quality eBook production.
As more publishers streamline their digital production processes, we expect more

publishers to report that they handle eBook production internally. But we also expect
expert technology partners to play a critical role in helping publishers get there by
designing comprehensive digital strategies, implementing scalable XML-based workflows
with multi-channel output capability, and assisting publishers in creating enhanced eBooks
and mobile device apps.
That outsource vendors are playing a central role in the creation of eBooks is not
surprising, especially given the young age of eBook publishing. Outsource vendors know
the detailed production mechanics of book publishing, having been in the business of
composition and title production for many years. And eBook publishing technologies,
including format standards conversion engines, are still relatively new, so it makes
economic sense for a small number of companies to invest in such technology and
leverage the technology investments across many other companies.3
A hybrid approach 27% 35% 34% 39% 20%

Third party conversion partner 27% 24% 22% 28% 11%
Using internal resources 21% 13% 9% 16% 35%
Unsure 2% 2% 3% 1% 2%
Undefined 22% 26% 32% 15% 31%
Challenges
What are the biggest challenges in 45%
bringing eBooks to the market? eReader/content format and compatibility issues (282)
35%
Distribution channel issues (219)
27%
Digital Rights Management (DRM) (170)
21%
Cost of overall eBook production (133)
21%
Quality of the converted content (130)
17%
Cost of backlist conversion (107)
7%
Other (41)
9%
Unsure (55)
9%
Undefined (57)
The number one eBook production challenge, agreed on by all publisher types, was
eReader/content format compatibility issues—to an even greater degree than expressed
in our last survey (45% now compared to 21%). This issue, likely in direct proportion to
the number of new eReaders available since our first survey, directly impacts production
and conversion costs, distribution options, content quality, and digital-rights-related issues.
With an eBook format standard in place (EPUB) that is universally accepted by nearly
every eReader, it begs the question: Why are the majority of publishers battling content
format and reader compatibility issues?
While EPUB files will work on nearly every device, save for the Kindle, each eReader
device has differing physical dimensions, functionalities, and their own default style
sheets—thereby rendering the same reflowable EPUB content inconsistently across
devices, rarely with any matching the publisher’s original style sheets.
(cont’d)

Challenges
(cont’d) In addition to the fact that new eReaders continue to come out of the woodwork, existing
ones are continually updating their OS and their functionalities, keeping the formatting of
eBook content in a state of flux.
As long as the eReader market remains dynamic and fragmented, quality eBook
production will remain a moving target. Until a dominant player (or two) emerges
triumphant, EPUB files will continue to require expert, manual manipulation in order to
retain their intended formatting across the plethora of existing and future devices. This
help may come from outsource vendors who continue to specialize in and focus on eBook
format conversion, or from the growth of more consistent and better established eBook
format standards.4
eReader/content format/compatibility issues 55% 46% 47% 49% 31%

Distribution channel issues 44% 40% 34% 36% 26%
Digital Rights Management (DRM) 23% 31% 35% 43% 20%
Cost of overall eBook production 25% 21% 27% 22% 22%
Quality of the converted content 26% 20% 27% 24% 22%
Cost of backlist conversion 20% 19% 22% 16% 17%
Other 5% 7% 6% 12% 2%
Unsure 8% 7% 11% 7% 11%
Undefined 5% 9% 9% 7% 13%

Enhanced eBooks
What are your plans regarding 29%
enhanced eBooks (books with links to Still investigating (180)
related content or rich media such as
audio/video)? 13%
No plans at this time (80)
11%
Planning to once the EPUB standard supports enhanced eBooks (69)
7%
Already producing them via iPhone apps (42)
4%
Planning to once eReaders become more prevalent (26)
7%
Unsure (44)
30%
Undefined (186)
Just as many publishers are still investigating enhanced eBooks as they are “undefined”
on the topic, suggesting that publishers are still trying to wrap their heads around what
exactly an enhanced eBook is—and where and when to include features that take
advantage of interaction, to provide links to related content, and to incorporate multimedia
elements like sound, video, and animation.
Nearly one-third of publishers surveyed admit to being stalled in the investigative phase,
while 13% say they have no plans to offer such products anytime soon. A small but
respectable 7% of publishers are already producing enhanced eBooks as iPhone apps
(primarily in the Consumer/Trade and STM sectors as opposed to Educational). An
additional 11% plan to produce enhanced eBooks once the EPUB standard is updated to
support features that are needed to create enhanced eBooks in a consistent standards-
based fashion.
These stats suggest either that most publishers are unaware of the EPUB standard’s
inherent, existing support for enhancements, including audio and video, or that they are
waiting for more capable devices to enter the market.
Creating an enhanced eBook via EPUB is dramatically less expensive than developing a
custom application (app) in order to offer interactivity, and it avoids the need to create
interactive content objects, which few publishers have the creative resources for in-house.
(cont’d)

Enhanced eBooks
(cont’d) Ironically, Educational publishers, whose readers have the most to gain from enhanced
eBooks (think tutorials, demonstrations, simulations, etc.), are producing the least
quantities of them. We expect this to change—and the importance of eBook
enhancements to be recognized—as publishers begin to realize that they are more than
just digital purveyors of pictures and text, and are, increasingly, the designers of
interactive experiences.
Still investigating 28% 36% 29% 45% 31%

No plans at this time 15% 9% 12% 9% 13%
Planning to once EPUB standard 15% 11% 9% 12% 9%
supports enhanced eBooks
Already producing them via iPhone apps 10% 7% 3% 4% 0%
Planning to once eReaders 4% 5% 4% 1% 6%
become more prevalent
Unsure 6% 7% 9% 9% 7%
Undefined 22% 26% 34% 19% 33%

Backlist Conversion
What factors determine which backlist 38%
(or out-of-print) titles are produced as Market demand (238)
eBooks?
(choose all that apply) 33%
Desire to extend publications' life cycle (210)
24%
Opportunities to develop new audiences (149)
13%
Competitive offerings (79)
10%
Unsure (60)
31%
Undefined (195)
Market demand (38%) is the number one driver for converting backlists (out-of-print titles)
to eBooks. This is closely related to many a publisher’s goal of extending the life cycle of
backlist publications (33%) and developing opportunities to create new audiences (24%).
More K–12 educational publishers (58%) see the demand for backlist and out-of-print titles
as the primary driver than publishers in any other industry sector. They, along with
Trade/Consumer publishers, see extending the life of previously published offerings as a
major driver, more than other types of publishers. This approach, known as “The Long
Tail”, popularized by Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, allows publishers to
realize significant profit by selling small volumes of hard-to-find books to many customers
instead of only selling large volumes of a few popular books.
Backlists are critical digital assets with infinite resale value and significantly higher profit
margins than front lists. With an optimized digital workflow, every eBook should make
money. Publishers are no longer dependent on one or two bestsellers to cover the cost of
lesser-known authors.
Market demand 43% 45% 39% 58% 37%

Desire to extend publications' life cycle 45% 36% 37% 48% 33%
Opportunities to develop new audiences 34% 22% 24% 33% 22%
Competitive offerings 16% 12% 11% 21% 11%
Unsure 7% 9% 13% 12% 13%
Undefined 22% 26% 32% 19% 35%

Digital vs. Print

2%
Are your eBooks primarily produced in 9% In place of print
place of, or in addition to, print editions?
In addition to print
29% Undefined
Unsure
60%
60% of publishers surveyed—the majority—create eBooks in addition to traditional printed

books, as opposed to only 9% in place of print, with more Trade/Consumer and B2B
publishers producing eBooks in place of print titles than any other type of publisher.
Interestingly, these stats are almost identical to our last survey. So while more publishers
are now producing eBooks, the ratio of digital to print titles remains unchanged across all
publishers.
Although there are fears that eBooks may cannibalize print sales, savvy publishers are
taking advantage of the eBook sales channel to cross-promote print editions and other
eBooks, or upselling eBooks to print customers for just a few dollars more. These new
marketing opportunities should open the door for new revenue generation activities and
allow publishers to move more of their readers from print to digital editions over time.
While few publishers are creating eBooks in place of print editions, the digital-only market
segment should not be ignored. Some traditional publishers have created new eBook-
only publishing divisions designed to determine the long-term viability of pure electronic
publishing houses.
In place of print 12% 4% 6% 4% 11%

In addition to print 66% 70% 61% 81% 59%
Undefined 20% 25% 32% 13% 30%
Unsure 2% 1% 1% 1% 0%

Personal Preferences
Do you read eBooks? 3% Yes
No
Undefined
37%
60%
It’s widely accepted that eBook publishing is the inevitable future of the book publishing
market, so you might expect book publishing professionals to be among the early
adopters. But not all publishing insiders are digital content consumers. More than one-
third of publishers surveyed say they do not read eBooks.
More survey respondents from Trade/Consumer and B2B publishers read eBooks (68%)
than STM and Educational publishers (an average of 55%).

Preferred eReader Device

Which of the following devices do you 16%
personally use to read eBooks? iPad (101)
13%
Kindle (82)
12%
PC (78)
5%
Sony Reader (33)
5%
iPhone (32)
4%
Mac (24)
3%
Other (20)
1%
B&N Nook (9)
1%
Other Smart Phone (9)
38%
Undefined (239)
Since our last survey, the most impressive finding is the rapid adoption of the iPad as the
eBook reader of choice (16%) among publishers that read eBooks. The iPad was
introduced in April 2010 and, in the 8 months since its introduction, has become the most
preferred eBook reading device among publishers—outperforming the Kindle (13%), PCs
(12%) and Macs (4%), and all other eReader and smart mobile devices. Tied to the
success of the iPad as the most popular eBook reading device is the decline in book
publishers using the iPhone to read eBooks, down to 5% from 16% in our previous survey.
The popularity of the iPad, and by extension the iPhone, as an eBook reader is likely tied
to the overarching commercial success of multi-function devices. Unlike single-purpose
devices such as the Kindle or the Sony eReader, multi-function devices like the iPad
provide consumers with a positive and engaging user experience made possible by the
touch screen interface and hundreds of thousands of “apps.” These devices have raised
(cont’d)

Preferred eReader Device

(cont’d) the bar. Consumers will increasingly expect all eBooks and apps to work the way they do
on their iPad or iPhone. It’s not enough to make a digital photocopy of a book and make it
available for reading on a mobile device.
With multi-function tablets predicted to eclipse single-function eReaders in 2012,5 in order

to remain competitive, publishers’ eBooks must engage the reader, pull them in, and
command their attention. They must provide interactive content elements and eBook
reading experiences that are not possible when reading a printed book. The next eBook
survey in our series, in the spring of 2011, will gauge the degree to which publishers
agree.

Publisher Industry
What industry segment best describes 28%
your publications? Trade (211)
26%
STM (197)
18%
College (139)
11%
Other (81)
9%
K–12 (67)
7%
B2B (54)
2%
Undefined (13)
Publisher Size
Approximately how many titles/editions
does your organization publish 1% 0–25
annually? 6%
25–100
13%
100–500
37%
500+
Unsure
18% Undefined
25%
Footnotes
1 June 21, 2010. Worldwide E-Books Market Size & Forecast Report, 2009-2012. ©2010 Outsell, Inc.
2–4 October 2010. A Blueprint for Book Publishing Transformation: Seven Essential Processes to Re-Invent Publishing. Gilbane Group.
5 June 7, 2010. Forrester Research eReader Forecast, 2010 to 2015.

Survey: Ebooks - A Second Look

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Survey: Ebooks - A Second Look

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survey eBooks - A Second Look

Assessing the Latest Impact of eBooks on the Publishing Market

What did we learn? Some of the most insightful take-aways include:

• The main eBook production challenge facing publishers is eReader/content format

• There is a widespread inability to calculate the return on investment (ROI) from

Dec 2010 aptaracorp.com

Survey Summary (cont’d)

• There is no dominant approach to creating eBooks; some publishers rely on external

• Only 7% of publishers are implementing enhancements to their eBooks, suggesting

About Aptara: Aptara provides digital publishing

Dec 2010 aptaracorp.com

Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

Yes 74% 72% 64% 78% 57%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

High 55% 52% 50% 46% 39%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

0–25% 25% 22% 27% 36% 30%

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Reason eBooks Not Produced

Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

No customer demand/requirement 6% 12% 17% 7% 22%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

New revenue stream 53% 50% 41% 58% 37%

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Don't know yet

Worse than printed books

Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

Better than printed books 15% 14% 9% 10% 15%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

PC 62% 60% 54% 73% 57%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

Our own eCommerce site 44% 47% 39% 46% 44%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

PDF 41% 50% 39% 48% 48%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

PDF 41% 46% 42% 54% 48%

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As more publishers streamline their digital production processes, we expect more

Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

A hybrid approach 27% 35% 34% 39% 20%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

eReader/content format/compatibility issues 55% 46% 47% 49% 31%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

Still investigating 28% 36% 29% 45% 31%

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Publisher Type Breakdown Trade STM College K–12 B2B

Market demand 43% 45% 39% 58% 37%

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