Smart speakers are becoming a staple in the average household and changing the way we interact with technology. Publishing companies are taking note and looking at their use of the digital space in order to attract a more tech-savvy crowd. The industry is no stranger to surviving a digital upset, but the question is how they will respond to it. Looking closer, we can already see what challenges publishers face and the innovative ideas they have brought to the table in response.
digital
Where to Get Your Book Fix
By Rylee Warner
With all the closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have lost physical access to libraries as well as chain and local bookstores. Our access may be diminished, but our need for entertainment—or if we can’t be entertained, at least some kind of distraction—has wildly increased.
Ebooks Are for Everyone: Making Accessible Ebooks
By Megan Crayne @megancrayne
Inclusive publishing, or making print books more accessible for readers with disabilities, is becoming easier with the development of ereaders, smartphones, and even braille displays for ebooks. When it comes to producing ebooks at Ooligan, we should be making sure our designs are accessible and following industry guidelines so that we can bring our books to as many readers as possible. So how can we accomplish this?
Self-Published Authors’ Ebook Success
By Courtney Young @courtlbunny
More and more writers are becoming published authors. Some start with blogs, writers’ groups, and lifelong dreams. Traditional publishing can be difficult to break into, especially if you’re not already an established author. So how are new authors getting their books into the competitive market without an agent or a supportive publishing house?
Ebooks: The Prophecy That Never Came True
By Siri Vegulla
Nearly a decade ago, ebooks were on the rise, and it was believed that this would lead to the imminent death of the print book. Some experts went as far as stating that the market for print books would plunge into oblivion. These prophecies turned out to be both true and false to some extent. While the market for ebooks soared at an unprecedented rate, the print book still holds its place with its head held high.
XML Coding: Where Digital, Editorial, and Design Collide
By Kaitlin Barnes
During my time at Ooligan, I have been told by multiple people that XML coding is the portion of the Ooligan workflow that they are most unfamiliar with and therefore most anxious about volunteering for. It’s not hard to see why XML seems daunting or confusing: the work is done by the editorial department, but it requires coding tags one would expect to see in the digital department, and the product is used exclusively by the design department. It’s easy to get lost in all of that. If the work requires coding, why isn’t it done in the digital department? If the product is only used by the design department, why don’t they do the work? To help clarify, here’s a crash course in XML.