Harry Potter ebooks and generating attention for your business

Last June, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling launched Pottermore, a fan site that was initially launched as a private beta. I wrote about it here Pottermore, Apple and "the secret will soon be revealed" form of real-time marketing. I managed to get a beta login, so I'm a registered user on the Pottermore site.

Last night got an email saying that the new Pottermore ebook store is open and that the Harry Potter books are (finally) available in electronic format.

This is significant because it is the first time that Harry Potter books are available as ebooks and the only place to buy them is on the author's own site. (If you go to Amazon to buy a Kindle version of a Harry Potter book, you're re-directed to Pottermore).

Attention

The book business is changing. So is the music business. And these changes have ramifications in your business too: How you generating attention?

Now authors can easily get a book out without going to a publisher and without using paper. And they can control their distribution.

Or they can choose to lose control and make their work completely free with no registration required.

That's not to say that traditional publishing is going away. I actually think print books and the big publishers have a future in the new ecosystem.

You no longer need to convince an editor in New York or an A&R guy in LA that your work is worthy.

Now you can create your own audience, build your fan base, publish your art, and control its distribution. Or you can make your work completely free so you can spread it far and wide like Summer Land did.

Seth Godin has been talking about these themes on his blog and on his Domino Project site.

Check out this Domino Project post from Seth on what happens when you flip scarcity with abundance (hint: everything changes).

Comments

[John J. Wall]

I'm really surprised that Amazon is willing to direct traffic there. How do you think this applies to authors that are not the unstoppable media juggernauts?

My new goal is to have a ride at Universal.

[David Meerman Scott]

John - I think it was the only way that Amazon was going to get the most successful author on the planet. Us mere mortals won't have that deal, but we certainly do have many options on how to get published.

[MicroSourcing]

It depends on what your goal is with publication. If it's to generate revenues from sales and royalties (though book sales have been in decline lately), then it would help to go for self-publication. This way, you won't have to split the profit with anyone. If the goal is to build credibility, then the book should be distributed for free.

[Chicago Garage Builder]

JK Rowling is doing it right. Take a page from her and George Lucas, its your merchandise so make sure you are controlling who profits from it. If someone is making more money on a product than you are, you need to renegotiate. Protect your property and find outlets for it where ever they may be. Amazon is paid a lot for those forwards away from them so its a marketing investment for Pottermore, that's all.

[Dara Bell]

Hi David,

Your comment on how ones is published is important. I think JK is abbreviated for a reason. Publishers weren't biting on a woman writing adventure stories.

Pottermore gives Joanne freedom to be her own franchise. It allows ger to pick and choose publishers perhaps and extend personal brand reach. The question is, is it a great career move?

Thanks

Dara

[David Meerman Scott]

Dara - The use of JK was a brilliant move. Your name is your personal brand. (I use my middle name professionally because there are so many people named "David Scott" on Google. I do think her own online property is an excellent move.

[Michael Malacek]

I like this move. Having bigger control over your distribution is great thing if you know what you are doing. Also, if you offer it free it can very much help the person get some popularity for future published books. It was prooved many times now.

thanks for sharing.

[Colin Warwick]

Derek Sivers has some interesting observations on musicians bypassing the traditional A&R route. Derek founded (and sold) CD Baby. His book "Anything You Want" is one of Godin's Domino project book and it comes with several hundred no-extra-charge MP3 picks from his CD Baby days. A good read and good value.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/06/anything-you-want.html

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks Colin. A fine example!! I've got the book. I need to re-read it.

[Rita Dawson]

That is interesting to know. I tried buying it in Amazon once, but, it was getting redirected as you said. I didn't know that it was connecting to Pottermore. I don't think anything else can be that great like building your own fan base. Isn't it?

[business consulting solutions]

Looking at the situation, JK Rowling and the publishers made a fortune from the books and the said movie franchise. The logical next step is the e-books where the same market is present alongside a new generation of readers are present.