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Comment: How publishers are adapting to the new era

As the shapes of Kindles, Kobos and tablets bulge from many a Christmas stocking, a new generation of Scottish publishers are viewing e-readers as a gift of a different kind.

The developing technology is bringing a new impetus to an industry under pressure, and with it, the opportunity for smaller, creative organisations to compete on the same stage as the established names.

Allan Guthrie, a crime novelist, agent and now co-publisher of Scotland's first digital only imprint, Blasted Heath, is a champion of the new wave of publishing, and has already seen its benefits.

When the planned paperback publication of his book, Bye Bye Baby, was delayed, Guthrie decided to publish the work for himself, as an e-book, and within months found that online sales had out-performed all his previous titles. The unexpected success inspired him to set up a publishing company, Blasted Heath, along with digital expert Kyle MacRae.

Launched in November, it already has nine digital titles on sale. "For a long time now, a growing number of very talented writers have been getting knocked back by the traditional publishing industry," he says. It's terrific to provide a means for great writers to connect with readers.

"Everybody knows that you have to be insane to be a publisher, since it's an inordinate amount of work and most books lose money, but the risks aren't so great for a digital-only publisher."

Reduced production costs may be a key influence on publishers exploring digital avenues, but while budgets can drive experimentation, the potential of the medium goes beyond them.

Glasgow-based publisher Saraband's first digital offerings were video trailers for printed books, but with hard-copy sales coming under increasing pressure, staff came to view digital media as both an important driver for print sales, and a means of publishing in itself.

"There is a real energy and excitement about digital publishing," says publisher Sara Hunt. "Our background is in illustrated non-fiction, and this kind of book is not really viable without economy of scale. Innovation and diversification are essential to our survival, more urgently so than for most publishers."

Saraband's first e-book publication was a debut novel, Making Shore, by Sara Allerton, which although not an instant success, took off after an Amazon promotion, with the Kindle version peaking at number 2 in literary fiction rankings. "This gave an indication of the potential of digital publishing, even for an unknown author. Print sales were nothing like so fast," says Ms Hunt.

From that relatively conventional start, Saraband is now exploring the possibilities of e-publishing, enhancing titles, such as an ipad version of the wildlife book Panda: Back from the Brink, with video and audio, and even producing a smart phone app for Burns Night, combining text with audio and interactive elements, like an autocue to prompt readers as they recite Tam O'Shanter.

This sense of excitement is shared at another Glasgow-based publisher, Cargo, who launched their digital-only label, Cargo Crate, earlier this year, working with authors such as the BAFTA-nominated film-maker Ewan Morrison, whose videos complement his forthcoming book Tales from the Mall.

"We see the world of e-books as an opportunity to produce some really cutting-edge material," explains Anneliese Mackintosh, the label's Editor-in-Chief. "We are allowing authors to experiment with the form, and to dream up new ways of delivering their content to the reader.

"This is not only exciting, but also vital in an age where the book industry is changing so rapidly, and there are many uncertainties as to what the future holds for the book as we know it."

One reason for the momentum around e-publishing in Scotland is the speed at which publication is possible: "One of the things that we love about this medium is the freedom to turn something around very quickly," says Kyle MacRae, Allan Guthrie's partner at Blasted Heath. "We can publish a book in about three months, compared to the year and a half it can take a traditional publisher. It means that if we want to, we can publish suddenly and react to current events."

Film critic Brian Pendreigh is one of the authors who has benefited from this quick turnaround time, seeing his novel The Man in the Seventh Row, which was written several years ago, published last month.

Like other Blasted Heath authors, he has worked closely with the publishers to raise awareness about his book, including attending a social media course. "I still have a house full of book cases, and I don't think the arrival of e-books means that people are about to toss their books out in the tip" he says.

"But things are definitely moving in the direction of digital publishing, which is good for authors who have to make a living, as e-books are cheaper to produce, they sell cheaper, and give authors a much bigger percentage."

"I don't think you can really be against e-books any more than you can be against computers, it's just something that's happening."

While their offerings can be the more imaginative, the smaller publishers have company in seeking to exploit the potential of the digital market. In early December, Penguin introduced a collection of short digital reads, and Random House recently debuted Storycuts, by authors including Irvine Welsh.

Canongate, Scotland's best-known publisher, which is responsible for titles such as Yann Martel's Life of Pi, sells e-book versions of its publications direct to readers through its website, and was among the first to incorporate extra features such as music and audio interviews with digital editions.

The rise of e-books is increasingly being described as a publishing revolution, and while the medium has plenty of pitfalls - the complexity of pricing structures and a limited browsing experience among them - the advantages, especially for authors facing the battle to reach an audience, are considerable.

"This is a real time of change for books," says author Ewan Morrison, "equivalent to the transformation from medieval hand-made illuminated manuscripts to the printing press.

"Ironically, the illuminated manuscript is making an unexpected and wonderful return, only this time around, words, pictures and sound can live in full colour within the format of the enhanced ebook."

This comparison to the fifteenth century emergence of the printing press is echoed by Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, who is upbeat about the future for literature: "The print market has always been driven by technology. Gutenberg applied an industrial process to something that used to be done by hand, and there was a huge explosion then as well."

"We are happy with people reading on whatever platform is appropriate and useful to them," he says. "What's happening now is a continuum, not a rupture, and it means huge opportunities for writers and readers. Reading is not under threat here."