Tablets Are Destroying Stories

I spend the majority of my day with creators, authors and publishers. The ability of storytellers to see a world that could exist and share it with words and pictures is amazing.

When I am not chatting with storytellers, I am talking about how to distribute their stories digitally.

Easy right? Just put it on iBooks or Kindle or NOOK. Done.

Turns out its not that easy, but thats a story for another day (or just go check out Graphicly, its what we do thousands of times a day).

What is fascinating is that creators are beginning to take into account the delivery mechanism of their stories.

That’s right. Tablets are fundamentally changing storytelling.

Think about it. A paper book is a self-contained item. Its the text, pictures, and cover. There is nothing within the delivery mechanism that takes away from its primary purpose – delivering the story.

But tablets are different. Their primary purpose is not delivering stories. Their primary purpose is to provide distraction.

Every app on your tablet is screaming for attention. Bing! email. Ding! Someone posted a picture. Zing! Meeting. There is nothing about a tablet that is built on the concept of focus.

We accept it because we live in a world where distraction has become the norm, and we spend more time chasing shiny objects than on completion.

Multi-tasking arises out of distraction itself.

– Marilyn vos Savant (Guinness Record Holder for Highest IQ)

We pride ourselves on our ability to multi-task and swear it doesn’t take away from our ability to produce at a high level. It has been shown that our productivity actually decreases by as much as 40% when we “multi-task.”

But productivity isn’t the only thing that is hurt by multitasking. Reading is as well.

At Graphicly, we collect analytics on the reading behavior of folks reading digitally, and we found some really interesting things.

People read more often digitally. Perhaps its less of a commitment. Perhaps its easier to carry around a multi-purpose tablet than a book. People will read multiple sessions daily. Makes sense. Two directions on the commute and before bed.

Coupled with reading more often, people read less per session. Seems to average about 6-8 pages per session.

Also, lets not forget the impact of the socialization of reading. We have found that people who like, comment, etc on books via Facebook generate about 2,000 impressions per action. Books seem, on some level, to be naturally viral. Goodreads, with more than 5 million members, is built on the premise that books are inherently social, and with its top 1,000 Alexa ranking seems to be right.

Digitally, it seems that people are reading 6-8 pages per session, with each session lasting 15-20 minutes, and multiple sessions occurring daily.

If thats the case. That instead of longer reading sessions that occur more infrequently (paper books tend to be read in a single long session per day) how should creators adapt? Should authors write differently?

Well, in the early 1800’s a young writer named Charles Dickens figured out how to give his readers the ability to manage the distractions around them.

He pioneered serialized writing. By putting out chapters monthly, he wrote in a style that allowed each chapter to stand on its own, but as a completed collected work became a masterpiece.

This style also allowed for Dickens to take advantage of reader feedback immediately. He may have been the first lean startup.

As I speak to creators we chat about the idea of releasing short “bursts” of story – 6 to 8 pages that while it can stand on its own, naturally leads into the next 6 to 8 pages. It creates two realities, one: the author loses less readers as they move from story to story in their short daily reading sessions, and two gives the author a greater chance to build a fanbase. In the blogging world, for example, there is a known correlation between daily posting and increased page views. Fans grow out of exposure and consistency.

In many ways digital books have been a boon to publishers. They can create and distribute stories more cost-effectively from more authors than ever before. For self-publishing authors, there is a greater chance that their story will catch on and drive significant sales.

But as readers change their reading habits so should authors change their writing habits.

The presentation layer of books must adapt to digital.

Authors and creators must take advantage of the shiny objects, not by adding bells and whistles to their stories, but by providing stories that lend themselves to the changing reading habits of their fans.

eBooks are just getting started, and the next Charles Dickens is out there.

I can’t wait.