The Future of Publishing: Apps

This article was first published on the San Francisco Writers Community site.

Do you have an iPhone or the new iPad? Then, you’ll be familiar with apps. For the rest of us, “apps” are software applications that run on mobile devices, including the mobile Apple devices, and other smart phones.

You may think that books can just become e-books for these mobile devices, but actually there are many more ways your content can be adapted to them. If you take the time to explore the uses and possibilities, then you can develop more revenue streams with your writing and reach exponentially more readers.

While creating innovative book-like content for the iPad is still in its early stages, there is one company, EnhancedEditions that is already leading the way. They create “enhanced books” for the iPhone and iPad. These books include text, fully synchronized audio and special author videos, and special features, like dedicated in-app newsfeed. Books developed in cooperation with the publishers and authors include The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman, and Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison.

In conversation with an iPhone/iPad app developer, I learned that he is looking for books that have a strong visual component to adapt, especially for the iPad. What interactivity and visual elements could be built into your book, especially for the iPad? What other ways could your book be adapted as an app?

c. 2010 Beth Barany