Jessica Nelson, Marketing Coordinator Lightning Source UK

Can you tell me a bit about yourself and your publishing background?

I’ve been in the book industry for 35 years, first for 25 years with Macmillan/Pan Macmillan Australia, from sales rep to Product and Operations Director. I then moved to Dennis Jones & Associates, a book distribution company that represented over 1000 independent Australian publishers and self-published authors to the Australian book trade. DJ&A wanted to establish a digital distribution service, and I took on that task. I set up Port Campbell Press to offer eBook and print-on-demand (POD) distribution services via Lightning Source to the publishers and authors being distributed by DJ&A, many of whom either didn’t have the manpower or the expertise to do this themselves. Unfortunately, DJ&A liquidated in August 2018. I however saw the opportunity to continue offering digital distribution services to Australian publishers and authors and thus Ebook Alchemy was born!

What’s your favourite book?

My favourite book is Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas Hofstadter. My favourite Australian book is Cloudstreet by Tim Winton.

What are you reading at the moment?

I’m reading a wonderful book containing the last recorded interview of an iconic Australian author, Ion Idriess, who was interviewed in 1975 by another great Australian author, Tim Bowden, for an ABC radio program that didn’t eventuate. The interview archives still exist and have been turned into a book with accompanying photographs from the Idriess photo library. It has just been released in eBook and both b&w and colour paperback POD editions in time for Christmas.

Ebook Alchemy is an interesting company, offering digital publishing services to Australian publishers and authors. Can you share a bit about Ebook Alchemy’s story, and how it has evolved to fill a gap in the Australian publishing market?

With the closure of Dennis Jones & Associates I realised that many of the publishers and authors we had previously been distributing digitally would still require those services. I was delighted by the positive response and support I received.

Ebook Alchemy now looks after around eighty Australian publishers and self-published authors, with over 900 eBooks and 750 POD titles made available globally via CoreSource and Lightning Source, respectively. I prepare all files to ensure their compatibility and validity for both eBook and POD requirements. I also look after the metadata and uploading of files, I collate and distribute payments monthly to each publisher for their sales, and I assist with updating and maintaining of files where needed. By representing a large number of smaller independent publishers and authors under a single account with both Lightning Source and CoreSource I am able to look after higher combined volumes of both sales and publisher-direct printing than those publishers/authors would be able to achieve with individual accounts. It has the added bonus of simplifying the reporting and paperwork for both CoreSource and Lightning Source who only have to deal with a single reasonably large account (me) rather than dozens of individual smaller accounts.

Have you noticed any interesting trends in what readers are buying at the moment? Any runaway successes? Does it vary much between ebook and POD books?

With a few notable exceptions, I tend to find that most ‘trends’ are generally driven by a very small number of titles in any category, rather than an actual trend in the category itself. Having said that, the area of the market I work in rarely sees runaway successes. We deal more with the ‘long tail’ which works as a model due to having a lot of titles each selling a few copies rather than a few titles selling a lot of copies. Being able to do this digitally has many advantages including no stockholding (and therefore no wastage), no freight, and most importantly great discoverability as all of your titles can be found in all online retailers by using ever-improving search functionality.

It is a very difficult time to be in the publishing industry. How has Ebook Alchemy coped with the COVID-19 pandemic? How has POD factored into your response?

I’m actually fairly well-placed as far as the pandemic, even with the tighter restrictions we currently have in Melbourne. I have been working from home for the last two years anyway, so there’s no change there, apart from not being able to go to the pub for ‘Tuesday steak night’…

POD is the only printing I do, so again has not been impacted by the pandemic. I am extremely thankful that Lightning Source Australia has been able to maintain its excellent turnaround times throughout, as that has certainly contributed to the fact that May through October have been the six biggest sales months for Ebook Alchemy.

What kind of factors do you consider when setting up titles for POD? Do you see some ebooks you think would make good POD books and advise publishers as such, or do publishers come to you already knowing they want their books set up for POD?

Most of the publishers I represent see POD as an ideal way to make their books available internationally without having to try to find overseas publishers/distributors for them, and also without having to pay the freight to physically get the books there. Increasingly they are also now seeing POD as a way to extend the life of their books beyond the initial print run. Where a reprint of 1500+ copies may be risky, the ability to print 25, 50, 100 copies at a time is attractive, especially when the costs are competitive. Alternatively, some publishers are now even dropping the physical distribution side for some of their POD titles and just adding the Australian market to channel distribution instead.

I work with many of my publishers and authors to make sure the formats they are using will suit the requirements of Lightning Source. Although I can generally make any minor adjustments that may be needed (I’m digitally certified with Lightning Source), it’s easier if the original files are already created to the right specifications. Similarly on the eBook side, educating the publishers about the capabilities and limitations of reflowable vs. fixed eBook formats, and thinking about how to use those to each title’s best advantage while the book is still being created.