My tweets on digital for 2012-the whole rant

Because it's on my mind CONSTANTLY, I began posting on Twitter a couple of comments about digital books future and before I knew it, I'd written a short speech, which is impossible to read backwards in the Twitter feed, so here it is gathered in one place and from top to bottom, the way it's supposed to be read.

 

The canary in the mine for books is music sales. Digital sales topped physical for 1st time in 2011. http://tinyurl.com/6vbfb3b BUT…

Analysts say digital sales is NOT where music is headed, but instead to streaming access. New generatino doesn't care about owning, just access.

Notice that music digital sales are driven by the youth market, hence who's on top, like Lady Gaga & Adele. Comics needs youth to survive digital.

So, like music, digital book unit sales will someday give way to flat fee access to a lot. This means a giant is needed to hub the books.

@polianarchy Like public libraries? —Talking about how to sell stories in the first release. Libraries may go from book buy to access fee.

Whether unit sales or streaming access, the income stream for writers needs definition. We need a breakthru artist to show how.

Books have 1 BIG advantage over music: we are lossless digital files. We look better on the devices than in print. We need to trumpet that.

Comics can look beautiful on devices yet still be too lo-res to print. That is ideal, & inherent to our medium. Digital is perfect for us.

This is all good for the reader on the go, but nothing compares to the physical. Digital vs print is like porn vs a real lover.

So book stores may become more special, stocking elite, pricey versions of stories read cheap & fast online. Like buying DVDs of TV shows.

If Best Buy is selling TV shows you watched for free, my LCS will sell you a TPB you read via filesharing.

Maybe the LCS's will each have a server of inventory. They pay a pass-thru fee direct to publisher for books based upon hits.

That isn't too different from now with print. And it prevents one mogul from creating a server monopoly of Top 100 & ignoring indies.

What we DON'T want is one main comics hub promoting the TOP 100 digital sales to death. That's already killed one medium.

BTW: Porsche's Christophorus is the 1st dig. mag I'd rather read than its print version. Check out the free ones to see beyond scanned crap.

Making books for the dig world will spawn new stars, as old skills fade & new ideas blossom. Those who love creating the new will thrive.

Scan and upload is NOT what digital comics will be about. Creating for the digital experience will be the goal: horizontal & vertical stories.

Horizontal story is the main one you read; the vertical is the depth of footnotes & alternative stories/media throughout.

So one issue of Rachel might have the main story, plus each character's version, plus my music as soundtrack. I will hide easter eggs.

What we have to do is NOT make digital books that look like boring multi-media blogs or inanimate video games. That is the creator's challenge.

And finally, my work is not digital yet because there isn't a single penny in it for me. When that changes, I'm there. This isn't a hobby.