MINING IN MEXICO S - ProMéxico

the lifestyle Interview feature Editorial andreas Industry heinecke
—How is an electronic book better
than a printed one
Printed books have a very expensive inventory
problem. There is the difficulty that
bookstores sell them for one or two weeks
on their shelves and then they want to get
rid of books to make room for new ones.
A paradox occurred with this year’s Nobel
Prize winner [Herta Müller]: it was unpublished
for a month, even though there were
translations dating from 1990 or 2000.
But they were no longer available because
inventories in the US are also considered a
taxable asset.
Another factor is the lack of piracy. The
important thing about electronic books,
especially those for the iPhone –the device I
use most for my publications– is that a book
can only be read on one iPhone. I can’t copy
it for anyone else. If my wife wants to read it,
I have to leave her my phone.
—How are electronic books different
from other media businesses, like music
or film
They are two separate types of media. With
music you’re talking about millions [of
downloads], with books, thousands. That’s
the main difference and the same applies
for films. My print runs vary between 2,000
and 5,000 but, as opposed to bestsellers,
they are known as evergreen because they
are sold constantly, each month, and they
don’t need to be struck off catalog lists.
—What does the iPad mean for the
publishing industry
It’s going to be successful. They’re going to
sell four million devices straight away. It’s
going to attract precisely those people who
are averse to reading devices because “you
can’t see the pages,” “the pages turn slowly”
or because “you can only read them with
lights on.” If you check out Steve Jobs’ presentation
you can see how you can literally
lift up the page with your finger and leave it
half-turned. It’s just like a book. Also, unlike
a laptop, you can read it lying down rather
than always having to be hunched over it.
—How will it affect other reading devices
I think they’re going to become obsolete.
Literally. It’s completely different. Amazon
is going to have to bring out a Kindle that
can produce colors. I imagine they’re working
hard on that right now. I think that we’ll
be seeing a lot of similar devices but like in
the case of the iPhone, nothing is going to
get close.
advantage of electronic reading will succeed.
It’s a new platform. It’s a new media
that may be enriched with music, hypertexts
or reading clubs. It opens doors to new
ways of disseminating content. For those
who already own content –such as publishers–
you can either choose to do nothing or
add greater content and value to what you
already have.
—What impact will it have on the Spanish-language
publishing industry
I see it as an opportunity to break up monopo-
“It’s a new platform. It’s a new media that may be
enriched with music, hypertexts or reading clubs. It
opens doors to new ways of disseminating content. For
those who already own content –such as publishers– you
can either choose to do nothing or add greater content
and value to what you already have.”
—How does this change your work as
an editor
Actually, I’m working with my developer on designing
a platform. This is forcing me to be more
ambitious and to develop my own reader for
the iPad. You can create hypertexts; make books
more interactive, with notes. It brings other costs
down so much that I have the resources to create
my own reader.
The advantage of Jobs is that he lets anyone
develop applications. There isn’t going to be just
one platform but several. With Kindle, as an
editor you upload your books and the quality is
uneven. Here the editor has control, although
Apple has the last word, as it won’t take on a
book without testing it first. For editors like myself,
this is a challenge to publish better books.
—Where are publishers going to compete
What is going to distinguish
them from each other
Content. Whoever manages to take fullest
lies, as a chance for anyone with a certain
amount of imagination to take part. It does
away with distribution bottlenecks. For instance,
the iTunes store is already selling content
in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina, and
not just music but also applications and content
too. You don’t need to be a big publishing
company any more. You can get a piece of the
action if you can offer attractive content.
—What entrepreneurial opportunities
do you see in Mexico
Mexico has enormous possibilities with
technology. And not just in terms of books
but for all kinds of media. We have a huge
pool of talent in the software industry. Our
creativeness will give us a new opportunity.
If I were a businessman or considering a
new business, I would set up a company to
produce applications for Apple. Not just for
books but all types of applications: for debt
collections, for catalogs, for everything. n