(A very personal) Spanish digital publishing panorama

On a recent post in this very recent blog I got myself into some kind of trouble by asking out loud some questions about what, if anything, and how Spanish publishing companies and editors are dealing with the digital present and future of books. Those questions were driven by my own experience, so I do not mean for them (nor what I am going to say later) to be a general statement, although from what I can tell from some collegues working for other publishing companies this situation is not, in the least, unique. (For an accurate study of the situation have a look here in Javier Celaya's dosdoce.com, where you will find a serious case study of the situation, apart from some other useful tools and comments.)

So what are many Spanish editors' feelings towards the digital issue?
Fear: Most likely fear of the unknown, but fear that leads to rejection.
Rejection: Even when some of them have no idea what they are talking about or the enormous amount of posibilities staring them straight in the face.
Self-righteousness: "I am very experienced and I do not need new ideas. This digital surge is just a passing fad".
Self-defense: Editors perceive the digital world as a threat, which once again can lead to rejection.

It seems that Spanish editors' main (and in some cases, only) concern about the whole thing is how to deal with the copyright aspect, which is of course a very important issue, but when the only thing that matters is how to manage copyright issues, isn't that a very narrow-minded point of view? I am not saying we should discard books in favor of eBooks, but why not take advantage of technology? Why not create and try to find new and complementary business models? One could say most of the publishing companies can't invest lots of money in that, but in the "traditional" book trade business model I see thousands of euros thrown away almost everyday. I am afraid the key point here is mentality, not just money.

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(Un muy personal) panorama editorial digital español
En una entrada reciente de este recientísimo blog, me metí en un pequeño lío al preguntarme en voz alta acerca de qué, si es que hay algo, y cómo las editoriales españolas y los editores se están enfrentando con el presente y el futuro digital de los libros. Dichas cuestiones surgieron de mis propias inquietudes, así que no pretendo (ni pretenderé) que sean leyes universales, aunque por los comentarios de algunos colegas que trabajan en otras editoriales, esta situación no es, cuando menos, única. (Un estudio con un enfoque más científico de la cuestión se puede encontrar aquí, en dosdoce.com, de Javier Celaya, además de otros útiles documentos.)

Al grano, ¿cuáles son las sensaciones de muchos editores españoles hacia la cuestión digital?
Miedo: sobre todo, miedo a lo desconocido, pero un miedo que lleva al rechazo.
Rechazo: incluso cuando algunos de ellos no saben de lo que están hablando o desconocen las posibilidades que se les abren delante de los ojos.
Engreimiento: "Llevo más de "X" años en esto y no necesito nuevas ideas. Este boom digital pasará rápidamente".
Autodefensa: los editores perciben el mundo digital como una amenaza, lo que inevitablemente lleva al rechazo.

Por lo que parece, lo que más (en ocasiones, lo único que) preocupa a los editores españoles son los derechos, que, está por demás decirlo, son un asunto fundamental, pero cuando se convierte en el único aspecto que interesa, ¿no estamos adoptando una actitud muy estrecha de miras? Con esto no quiero decir que debamos rechazar los libros en favor de los libros electrónicos, pero ¿por qué no aprovechar, no aprovecharnos, de la tecnología? ¿Por qué no crear e investigar nuevos modelos de negocio? Alguien podría argumentar que las editoriales no pueden invertir dinero en esa área, pero en el modelo editorial "tradicional" veo miles de euros desperdiciados casi a diario. Puede que la clave sea la mentalidad, no simplemente el dinero.

A lost chance by publishers?

This week there is a very interesting debate going on (I guess -and hope- it is not finished yet): Kassia Krozser from Booksquare wrote a post complaining about how book publishers missed the chance to take part in the iPhone launch. That was followed by a reaction from Sara Lloyd, Head of Digital Publishing at Pan Macmillan, defending the publishers' attitude. And then David Rothman, from Tele Read, shared his view on the matter here and here.

Being an unexperienced new guy and having not had the chance to try out any eBook reader device, sometimes it is hard to fully understand what it is being said. The three of them are against the "evil" DRM, and I could share their reasons (and one has to be brave to try to convince the authors), though, as David Rothman points out:

... Because of the Tower of eBabel, I can't read America America�said to be a "worthy successor" to All the King's Men�on any program compatible with the iPhone or my iPod Touch. I suppose that eReader's edition for both devices will eventually catch up with AA. But this is still one more reason for the ePub standard and the end of DRM (the enemy of compatibility)�given all the sales that the present horrors are costing. Read on. You'll see Sara's doing some good work on the ePub and DRM fronts. As for Fictionwise's treatment of publishers, that's also timely since the Pendergrast brothers are the only major source of DRM-capable e-book software for the iPod. I need to know yet more details here before reaching conclusions (the bold is mine).

But what is being done here in Spain? Are publishing companies investing in digitalization? Do they have digital departments? Any clue about Print On Demand? And a problem that I am particularly facing: How do you change senior editors' reluctancy to going digital, to technology, especially when they foolishly think what and how they do things cannot be improved upon or at least complemented?

I am afraid that will have to wait for another post.

Update: James Bridle's (from Booktwo) valuable opinion focused on publishers and software development.

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¿Oportunidad perdida por los editores?
Esta semana estamos asistiendo a un interesantísimo debate (me temo, y deseo, que inacabado): Kassia Krozser, de Booksquare escribió un artículo lamentando la oportunidad perdida por parte de los editores para tomar parte en el lanzamiento mundial del iPhone. Su queja fue respondida por Sara Lloyd, de Pan Macmillan, quien defendía la actitud de los editores. David Rothman, de Tele Read, terció en la disputa aquí y aquí.

Con mi escasa experiencia de novato, y sin haber tenido la oportunidad de probar ningún lector de libros electrónicos, a veces resulta difícil entender totalmente los argumentos. Los tres se muestran contrarios al uso del "diabólico" DRM, y estoy de acuerdo con sus razones (a pesar de que no será fácil convencer a los autores), aunque, como explica David Rothman:

... Because of the Tower of eBabel, I can't read America America�said to be a "worthy successor" to All the King's Men�on any program compatible with the iPhone or my iPod Touch. I suppose that eReader's edition for both devices will eventually catch up with AA. But this is still one more reason for the ePub standard and the end of DRM (the enemy of compatibility)�given all the sales that the present horrors are costing. Read on. You'll see Sara's doing some good work on the ePub and DRM fronts. As for Fictionwise's treatment of publishers, that's also timely since the Pendergrast brothers are the only major source of DRM-capable e-book software for the iPod. I need to know yet more details here before reaching conclusions (the bold is mine).

Pero ¿qué se está haciendo en España? ¿Están las editoriales invirtiendo en la digitalización de su catálogo? ¿Han creado departamentos especializados? ¿Alguna noticia de la impresión bajo demanda? Y un problema con el que me topo habitualmente: ¿Cómo cambiar las reticencias de los editores hacia lo digital, hacia la tecnología, en especial cuando tontamente creen que su manera de hacer las cosas no se puede mejorar, ni siquiera complementar?

Me temo que esta cuestión tendrá que esperar para otro momento.

Actualización: interesante el punto de vista de James Bridle, de Booktwo, sobre los editores y el desarrollo de software.