Eric Hellman was in the mix—a smart guy with a laconic sense of humor who went on to do bold things as a physicist before he fell in love with the idea of being a book entrepreneur. Recently our paths crossed again as I became intrigued by Eric's newest business, something called Unglue.it—a new model for digitizing and sharing books that might, in the estimation of some, redefine the future of libraries...and of authors.
Today my feature story on Unglue.it runs in Publishing Perspectives. I encourage authors who own the rights to books that have not yet been digitized to take a look. There's opportunity here.
Here's how my story begins. Please consider reading the whole.
People, Eric Hellman is fond of saying, have a funny relationship to books. They’ll cram them onto shelves, stuff them several layers deep. They’ll talk about their love for them, defend them, take them to bed. They’ll buy several copies of their personal favorites and parcel them off to friends. Maybe books aren’t people and people aren’t books. Still: The line is thin.My other stories for Publishing Perspectives can be found here:
The Value Rubric: Do Book Bloggers Really Matter?
The Attraction-Repulsion of International Literature: My conversation with Alane Salierno Mason
Transforming Children's Book Coverage at the New York Times: My conversation with Pamela Paul
Success is when the world returns your faith: My conversation with editor Lauren Wein
Between Shades of Gray: The Making of an International Bestseller
4 Comments on Unglue.it: Changing the future of E-books and Libraries?, last added: 1/24/2012
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This is a fascinating concept and I will be interested to see how it shakes out. In a way, I think it is like Sundance, because it's not about finding the funding for project itself but investing in its distribution. I wonder, in this case, what is the return on that investment? But I like this kind of vision, this idea that people want to pay money to gift a book, not just to a friend or family member, but to the world.
I really love your posts on Publishing Perspectives. I've enjoyed following along with them. This concept is interesting. I can see the potential tho I'm curious about how the pricing will work out. Will authors overvalue or undervalue their work?
I will have to check this out.