Enhanced ebooks have not lived up to their earlier promise. Movie tie-ins might improve their sales. Equalizing the technology of all e-book platforms would also boost enhanced ebooks.
Enhanced ebooks, once imagined as the future of reading, have not taken off as hoped. Digital books with extra features such as embedded video or audio, animations, or interactivityhave clearly not struck a chord with American readers. Since their inception into the publishing world in 2010, these types of ebooks have failed to earn significant profits.
The closure of Atavist Books at the end of 2014 led industry experts to question the ongoing viability of enhanced ebooks. Atavist, a publisher specializing in long-form multimedia ebooks, expressed its belief that the market for enhanced, full-length, literary ebooks had not yet emerged.
One bright spot for the genre has been the enhanced ebook edition of American Sniper, the memoir of Chris Kyle. During the first three weeks of 2015, the book headed the Apple iBooks bestseller list. This version of the book, which included a video of Kyle’s wife and audio interview of Kyle, sold at a faster clip than the standard ebook version of the same book.
Mad for Movie Tie-Ins
Of course, the book’s success could be directly linked to the January 2015 release of the movie of the same title. Film adaptations generally boost sales of the books they are based on, so American Sniper’s success doesn’t necessarily signify readers’ newfound passion for enhanced ebooks.
According to an article on Publishers’ Weekly website, several publishers are counting on the strength of movie tie-ins for enhanced ebooks. Publisher Grand Central has released two enhanced ebooks that tiein to movies based on novels and is planning a third. Likewise, Penguin Random House has seen positive results from companion books to TV series and movies after it converted them into enhanced ebooks.
Books with movie tie-ins benefit from the promotional efforts of the studios. At the same time, the movie producers benefit from the increased exposure the books give to the movies. The studios are willing to hand over extra content to the book publishers, from behind-the-scenes footage to interviews with the actors because they ultimately see the fruit of the books’ success.
One important question to ask is whether enhanced ebooks should continue to be created by publishers and not by movie producers. If the most profitable ebooks are dependent on movie-like material, shouldn’t movie makers spearhead their production? Tie-ins that include movie clips, stills, and actor interviews might belong in the domain of the film producers, who could easily hire someone to write an accompanying narrative.
Inconsistent Technology
There is still hope for the enhanced ebook, especially in the realm of educational books, but device makers first have to put their technical capabilities in order. Ebook devices are still inconsistent in their capacities, and some enhancements are limited to specific ebook apps and devices. Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Barnes and Noble’s Nook, and Apple’s iPad all have different levels of support for audio, video, and animation. Therefore, publishers cannot create one enhanced product and expect to sell it across digital platforms.
This weakness acts as a deterrent to producing more and better enhanced ebooks. Decreased accessibility is frustrating to both publishers and readers. Once the industry improves the functionality of enhanced ebooks, they are likely to find their true audience.
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