The chief executive of publisher Faber & Faber has challenged the book publishing industry to respond to the rapid increase in smartphone use, particularly by young readers.
“Perhaps in the 21st century the zero-law of publishing will be understand mobile. Because without expert understanding of it, we may not be able to create the new audiences,” said Stephen Page, speaking at the FutureBook publishing industry conference in London.
“That’s true for booksellers, for publishers, for writers. We have to put mobile at the centre of our thinking,” he said, while suggesting that for book publishers, mobile’s key challenge is a marketing one.
“Yeah, I think e-reading might migrate to phones, but that’s not really the issue. This isn’t about formats, it’s about marketing,” he said.
Page also said that printed book sales have held up well despite the advent of digital reading, but warned publishers that while they should celebrate this trend, it is no reason for complacency.
He described predictions of the past for publishing – “ebooks will eat print, subscription will replace digital sales, shops will be wiped out by online” – and suggested that they have all been proved wrong so far.
“For about a decade or more publishers have been berated, criticised, taunted for their ability to get it. ‘It’ being the future,” said Page.
“Yet books and ideas have proved resilient to the disruptive technologies that have swept aside other industries. We should all be feeling a bit of a spring in our step. We really should.”
“In the main, the book industry has evolved pretty successfully over the past decade. We’ve also been proved right about a good deal,and made good judgements, and have arrived here in a recognisable, possible world. I don’t think that’s complacence: I think that’s an honest judgement,” he added.
“The urgency now is not about survival, but about how we continue deliberate evolution.”
Page also welcomed what he said was a resurgence in the physical bookshops world. “Shops aren’t dead. When Amazon opened a shop recently, my first thought was ‘what the hell took you so long?’,” he said.
“Much future-gazing presumed that the physical world was done. But the digital and online world has forced reaction from the physical world – and one that consumers have responded to.”
Page also called for more diversity in the book publishing industry, including younger people and stronger representation from ethnic minorities.
“This year, for the first time, the millennials are predicted to outnumber the baby-boomers. We as an industry have a lot to offer them,” he said.
“The book world offers nourishing and fulfilling work with meaning, with intellectual challenge. This should be appealing. But for those interested in media of this generation, publishing seems less glamorous… If we attract the best minds of this generation, we will thrive as an industry. But we have got to be mindful of their expectations.”
Page added that he thinks the publishing industry is currently failing in its efforts to attract a more diverse mix of young staff.
“It’s already true that we’ve failed to represent in our staff the current demographics of the UK,” said Page. “We’ve not done enough. Rather than throw our hands up and say ‘we’ve tried’, we’ve got to try a lot harder. We’ve got to approach this in different, rather more radical ways.”
Finally, Page urged publishers to explore the “not book” world of digital products and real-world experiences, citing as examples the Pelican Books online-reading website as an example of the former, and Faber’s own membership scheme that includes events and courses.
“Our digital journey continues to be about new opportunity, not replacement… This is not about replacing the book, this is about a new opportunity. So we do need to keep exploring,” he said.
“Rather than get fixated on new book formats, let’s keep investing in the ‘not book’ world that amplifies and enhances reading.”
