DPP STORE

Is The Long Tail Wagging the Dog Yet?

2007-03-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

The following piece was contributed by David Coté, one of the co-founders of DPPstore's parent company, DigitalPulp Publishing, and a lifelong entrepenur. Enjoy!

Reading in the press about EBooks is often depressing. But then reading in the press about the press is depressing. Warren Buffet sees newspapers as in decline… The news of the day is that our news is not good - but wait, there is a flash of light. Somewhere out there in the blog-fog is an illuminating piece of information if only we could find it.

Eating your Bagel and spilling your coffee on the newspaper is not quite a thing of the past yet but it may soon come to pass that paper is replaced by words served up on digital displays. I dismissed the NY Times in less than a minute today and the Washington Post took less than five. Soon being a relative term, of course no one can accurately predict the future from where we stand. But some things are clearly more certain than others. “The sun will come up tomorrow,” in the immortal words of Little Orphan Annie. “Until it doesn’t anymore,” says the pessimist.

Organizing ideas and making them accessible are the main functions of newspapers and libraries. Some functional replacement for either of them will have to come along before they disappear. The internet is a great big mass of data, some organization will have to happen eventually. The real question for those of us who care is what form it will take.

Libraries may be an idea past its prime if I am reading Peter Brandt’s words accurately. Where will the repositories exist if Google fails in its effort to digitize and store everything? That digitization project will almost certainly fall short. I have watched as the Library of Congress shrunk to the size of a room and then to the size of a briefcase. It is not yet quite down to being written on the head of a pin but volumes can dance there now. Still the information repositories of the future will be different but no less necessary.

Selling the newspapers short may be a good idea for right now. But how long will it take for the bears to eat all the value in that industry? Will they leave the residue somewhere out in the woods with all the newsprint trees that are worth more for their fixed carbon than their fiber tomorrow? Does a bear really s___ in the woods? Not if they have an office on Wall Street.

Back to the future, only a crazy entrepreneur could think this thought, but isn’t some of this change fraught with opportunity? Aren’t the new ways of doing things going to result in more value being created than is destroyed? I think so but then I believed in the prospects of Alcohol Fuel back in the 1970’s. In investment timing is everything. Good luck guessing when digital will take over the newspapers and libraries but it is on its way!!!!!!

Books Unbound

2007-02-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

From the Orange County Register, "Word for Word" February 18th, 2007:

UC Irvine professor Ramesh Jain has spent years studying what he calls "organic books," which change and evolve online.

"At one time, books were static objects, bound and frozen in time," Jain said. "Now an organic book is a living document."

In the future, Jain said people will be able to view electronic books in their own preferred formats and interact with them in a way impossible with a printed text.

At DPPstore, we are seeing digital reading change the way people read right now, not just in the imagined future. Digital publishing is creating the opportunity for authors and readers to choose new ways to write and to read. Authors have greater access to their audience, and they can write work of any length or brevity and still have a simple means of distributing that work to their readers. Readers in turn, have greater choice of what to read, as blogs, community groups, and online forums turn the experience of reading into a group, rather than an individual activity.

Some examples of the evolution of the book within the DPPstore community:

Coming soon to the DPPstore is an eBook that will allow the reader to choose their path through the story, much like the “choose your adventure” books that I read as a kid. Ross Buzzell’s, “X=Conspiracy,” is a Sci-Fi tale full of twists giving the reader the opportunity to participate in uncovering the story by making choices to shape the eventual outcome.

Another exciting development for digital reading is one innovative reading system in development (currently available in Beta). OSoft's dotReader will soon incorporate a feature that will allow public sharing of reader markup – or notes, so you can comment on the book you are reading and share your insights with all of the other people reading that book, and read their remarks as well. This is one more thrust in the direction of creating books as living organisms - subject to evolution, just as we all are.

Digital publishing and distribution also allows for infinite repackaging of material to best suit the diverse needs and wants of readers. For example, C.A. Scott's Racing History is available by the episode, for $4.95 each or by the volume for $24.95 (*note - our authors and publishers set their own pricing models). We could even serve a book by the page for pennies a page if authors chose to sell their work that way. Since there are minimal costs for production and distribution within the digital model, producing alternate cuts of a given book would be almost trivial - giving readers the choice of how to buy and how to read.

eBooks are currently opening up worlds of opportunity to increase the diversity of available reading material and opening wide access to the reading public for authors who have had limited exposure in the past. Authors can reach out from their laptop in their living room and reach readers all over the world! The future of the book is unfolding now.

Invitation to Readers:

2007-01-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

Participate in our Blog ...
Help Make DPPstore Your eBook Store:

Provide FeedBack About Your Experience at DPPstore
Make Suggestions for Changes and Additions to Improve your shopping experience
Write Reviews of Your Favorite or Least Favorite eBooks
Write Articles about Software, Hardware or other eBook News
Start User Groups to Discuss your favorite Category of eBooks
Recieve Special Discounts to show our appreciation for your contributions!

Blog wars, flame wars, journalism, objectivity… personal laundry aired in public...

2006-12-31T18:15:00.000-08:00

Recently, our company, DigitalPulp Publishing was mentioned in the context of a personal dispute between Teleread Author, David Rothman and OpenReader co-founder, Jon Noring. David R. was bringing up his doubts about the ability of Mr. Noring to remain independent in the light of his new affiliation with DigitalPulp Publishing.

Ironic, that DigitalPulp Publishing was founded with the most independent of spirits… DPPstore, our eBook retailing site is exclusively for eBooks by independent authors and publishers. We are format agnostic, and hugely in favor of the development of a non-proprietary standard that will allow readers to buy eBooks with confidence knowing that their eBook will be readable regardless of their choice of reading platforms (software and hardware). David R. makes us sound like the evil empire… (I’m putting on my Darth-Vader gear now...Luke, I am your standard). I found myself reading this article, which expressed Rothman’s doubts of the personal integrity of Jon Noring, his ability to remain independent in light of working for and with DigitalPulp Publishing, thinking about the difference between speculative journalism, investigative journalism, and Op Ed pieces.

So many blogs are based on Op Ed… just one person blasting out their perceptions of the universe, in microscopic detail or vast sweeping statements. David R. has established Teleread with a backbone of journalistic tradition. He has focused on hardware, software, standards and other eBook issues. He has invited contributors with expertise in all of the realms of eBooks to participate in the dialogue whether or not he was in agreement with their point of view. That is why I, like many interested in eBooks, read Teleread.

I was disappointed with the tone and tenor of Rothman’s latest piece… (But admittedly, I was flattered by the notion that DPP was so powerful that anyone who joined our ranks would be swayed from all of their previously held values and beliefs). Seriously though, there is no need to air personal feelings as if they had any basis in objective facts. Also, David R. managed to muddle up the following issues:

Corporate interests could be in conflict with standards development.
Jon Noring’s affiliation with DPP could bring about a conflict with his continuing responsibility to and participation in the standards’ movement.
OSoft has not integrated the capacity to read the OpenReader Format under a timeline that pleases David.

On the first point, I agree completely with David. Corporate interests could be in conflict with standards development, IF:

The corporation is invested in a competing standard
Or, the corporation is supporting a given standard and have a vested interest in seeing it emerge (regardless of the quality of development)

DPP meets neither of these conditions. We are format agnostic in our store – we will sell eBooks in whatever format the publishers create and whatever format the consumers will buy. We are also not invested in any particular standard. We do believe that it is essential for the industry to have standards. David’s point in his article about how standards affect the consumer, “As an ordinary e-book user I badly want be able to own digital books for real and not be at the mercy of any particular company,” is a sentiment we share at DPP. We have not built a business that is dependent on the success of a particular format or an untested standard. Our business is to deliver content in the form that the consumers demand.

On the issue of Jon Noring’s honor – David Rothman has leaped overboard on this one…. Not only is Jon entirely capable of separating his vocation from his passionate avocation of standards development, it is shocking that someone so closely affiliated with him would publicly raise these kinds of doubts. In addition, as I stated previously, DigitalPulp Publishing is in favor of the emergence of a nonproprietary standard for eBook publications – leaving no moral conflict for Jon Noring to battle. In fact, standards are an essential component in realizing the full potential of the eBook market. Consumers must be able to buy an eBook reader, and know that when they download eBooks, they will be readable on their device. It’s common sense. I have seen many of the people in the eBook business engage in the folly of trying to bully consumers into a proprietary format through hardware ties or marketing schemes (such as getting a well known sales channel to exclusively sell eBooks utilizing your pet format). I believe that since there are an infinite number of solutions to the eBook puzzle, making a monopoly impossible to attain, focusing on proprietary formats only handicaps the growth of the industry. A unifying standard (which must be a non-proprietary one) will open up exponential expansion of eBook technology.

On the issue of OSoft’s timely implementation – David Rothman obviously has no idea what the process of software development entails. Timelines in software development are usually made of silly putty! The fact that OSoft has a working Beta at this date is impressive and a testament to their dedication and work ethic. OSoft’s dotReader is an open source project with SVN repositories viewable on OSoft’s Website through the Source Code Link. The development of dotReader is going to include facilitating the reading of all possible formats, including OpenReader’s own. Currently, the basic XML format (dotReader format) is just the quick and easy way to showcase the unique features of XML based formats (such as OpenReader) within the dotReader. They are NOT setting up a standard to compete with OpenReader; they have simply included a much less sophisticated XML format to get eBooks to XML quickly. We are all awaiting those creation tools that OpenReader is working on make it easier for all of us to create valid, nuanced XML-based eBooks.

The long and short – Jon Noring is a dedicated member of the standards community (a thankless job if you ask me) who is now also employed in his field of choice. OSoft’s dotReader is a well conceived and brilliantly implemented way to read eBooks (regardless of format). And DigitalPulp Publishing is a group of dedicated entrepreneurs who are grateful to count Jon Noring among our ranks, and who also fully support Mr. Noring’s continuing efforts in the standards community.

What else? Gratitude.

2006-11-25T01:14:00.000-08:00

Its been an unreal amount of time since my last blog entry. DPPstore has been growing in leaps and bounds. It looks like we should soon pass the 1,000 eBook milestone.

Gratitude is on my mind with the recently deceased bird making passage through my intestine. I can hardly begin to think of how much I am grateful for... because it makes me sound like a sap, and I pride myself on being a cynic.

The growth of DPPstore over the last year has blown my mind. So many authors, and independent publishers have contributed to our evolution from a tiny little eBookstore to a home for the Independent Spirit that has always defined us.

(An aside for my waxing philosophical, because this was written in the wee hours) eBooks have provided an opportunity for a bottom up democratization of publishing. They have allowed an unimaginable widening of voices reaching the marketplace. Readers now have the opportunity to vote with their dollars, removing the patronizing editorial process as the middle man that has for too long told writers and publishers that we must strive to reach the least common denominator to tap the greatest market. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this movement.

The mechanics of eBooks and eCommerce, and eMarketing have become a part of my very DNA.... (my Don't kNow Anything)... In this last year, I have had the pleasure of discovering how little I know about how much. I am grateful that DPP is never dull.

Most of all it is the people; the afore mentioned authors and publishers, the staff of DPP, and the readers that make my job such a joy. Thank you all for your participation & contributions to DPPstore & Happy ThanksGiving!

Nice to find our Niche

2006-08-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Niche – From the Encarta Dictionary Definition:

Place in nature,
From Ecology – a niche is the role of an organism within its natural environment that determines its relations with other organisms and ensures its survival.

This is the most poetic of the definitions offered by Encarta, and the one that I always think of first. The part that I like so well is the point made that to occupy a niche ensures an entities’ survival.

With the evolution of the internet (see borrowing terms from science again), there has been a co-opting of the term niche to common use in the context of niche markets and niche marketing.

Niche – Again from the Encarta Dictionary’s Definition:

Specialized Market
From Commerce- a niche is an area of the market specializing in a particular type of product:

“Thanks to the Internet small, niche companies can reach mass markets in a heartbeat.” Forbes Global Business and Finance (November 1998)

This is what I plan to write a bit about – the DPPstore, our consortium of Independent Publishers, and eBooks – the niche that we occupy.

In the US, there are six major publishers occupying a huge segment of the book market. There are also some 80,000 independent publishers occupying the rest of this market. DPPstore proudly uses our slogan,

"eBooks by Independent Authors and Presses for Independent Readers and Thinkers."

You may ask why it is important that we feature content exclusively from independents. The internet and eBooks offer a unique opportunity to remake the book industry. There is much about books as they are now that is good and beautiful, and should be maintained. However, with books being about commerce as much as creativity; authors works are heavily edited, authors themselves are pressured to turn out content that is formulaic and readily marketable, and the endeavor to write is being turned into little more than a JOB.

eBooks give us a low cost of production, and the internet gives us a low cost for distribution. In the digital model of publishing, the commerce side can afford to yield some risk to allow room for creativity. The big six have been slow to move on this, but the Indies have embraced ePublishing. And traditionally, the independent presses have allowed that creative freedom even when it meant risking everything with expensive print runs of titles that may never sell. They believe in the entrepreneurial spirit and experimental, innovative books. We have the opportunity to utilize the vast and diverse content from these 80,000 independent publishers to bring every consumer exactly what they want – thus filling the niches, finding our place in nature.

A quick anecdote about the quintessential niche consumer:

I asked a friend of mine if she would be interested in vetting manuscripts for publication. I chose her because she would wander down the street with her nose in a book, she read at lunch, during breaks and any other time she had the opportunity. She said that she would love to help. So I asked her what genre she liked to read. She told me, “food mysteries,” and looked at me as if I ought to know what that was. I thought she was joking, so I asked her if the books involved figuring out what someone ate by the stains on their shirts. She snarled at me and then explained that there was at least a few series of mysteries that involved chefs, cooking and food somewhere in the plot, and these were what she most liked to read.

This is just a snapshot of what the niche markets are all about. Independent publishers might have always had the insight and willingness to publish books about boating. With ePublishing and online distribution, they can now risk selling books about nudist boating. It may not be for you and me, but sunburned sailors everywhere will love this!

Niche markets provide the customer with exactly what they are looking for. DPPstore and our consortium of independent publishers are attacking a broad niche – people looking for something different. Within that niche, we are happy to sell eBooks about nudist boating, food oriented detective fiction, or whatever floats your boat. Our customers come to us looking for unique, innovative eBooks unconstrained by large company box thinking and the bottom line – that is what we deliver.

Niche – Last, from the Encarta Dictionary Definition:

Suitable Place for Somebody,
A position or activity that particularly suits somebody’s talents and personality or that somebody can make his or her own.

The eBook market is a niche that DPPstore and the Independent Presses with enormously diverse content can make our own. To work together, to cement our place, to define our niche – those are the building blocks of success.

To browse our current selection of eBooks for everyone visit http://www.dppstore.com/
For more info on selling your eBooks through DPPstore visit us at http://www.dpppress.com/

World eBook Fair - 12 MILLION DOWNLOADS

2006-07-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about being a part of the eBook industry is that I have had the opportunity to connect with smart and fascinating people. It has been amazing to me how accessible my heroes in this industry really are. Long before this was an industry, when it was only an idea, Project Gutenberg began. Thirty-five years ago, in fact.

Michael Hart, the founder of Project Gutenberg, is one of the people that I knew of very early in my involvement with eBooks. His story was inescapable and very cool. He has spent most of his life working endless long hours alone, rallying volunteers, and doing all that is humanly possible to create public, free, unlimited access to the treasure trove of literature that has fallen out of copyright and into the public domain...by turning them into eBooks.

As I began fumbling through list serves and newsgroups, Michael Hart plucked me out and started an email friendship. I was fairly “geeked” (a term which means excited by things that many people would not readily understand). In one of our first chats, we got on a tangent about our favorite books. I told him that I had just finished reading Arthur Clark and Stephen Baxter’s, “Light of Other Days.” I started to extol its virtues and he told me he could pass along Arthur’s email address so I could tell him myself. This, for me, was a moment that for many young women would be equivalent to being told that they could call up Brad Pitt just to say, “Hi, you’re beautiful”.

Michael has since proven to be an invaluable business ally as well as a truly good friend. He has made himself available to our whole crew at DPP. As Michael and John Guagliardo, of World eBook Library, were preparing to put on the world eBook fair, Michael offered us the opportunity to sponsor the month-long summer eBook extravaganza.

DPPstore jumped at our chance to support this cause. In addition to celebrating the 35 year run of Project Gutenberg, World eBook Fair also offered an opportunity for people all around the world to download hundreds of thousands of eBook titles for free. To date, World eBook Fair has given away TWELVE MILLION eBooks.

Even after this event, DPPstore will continue our commitment to providing FREE eBooks through our store to support access to public domain titles. To visit our FREE section:

CLICK HERE

Interestingly, the mainstream media has picked up the story here and there - it was out on the AP wire before the event began. However, the list serves and newsgroups that discuss eBooks have almost entirely missed the fact that millions of eBooks are being disseminated across the world. There has been little or no discussion of this exciting event in the very groups that are dedicated to discussing all things eBook. I hope to see this change in the near future.

DPPstore is also celebrating World eBook Fair by offering a 50% off coupon for the remainder of the event on all items at the DPPstore. When ordering, simply enter the coupon code, “worldebookfair,” in the coupon field.

The World eBook Fair runs through August 4th, 2006.

DPP Sponsors World eBook Fair

2006-06-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Check Out Nicky Pitman's Interview about DPP's Sponsorship of the World eBook Fair:

Click Here to Listen

DPP (www.DigitalPulpPublishing.com) and the DPPstore (www.DPPstore.com) are pleased to participate in the first annual World eBook Fair. We have joined in as contributors and sponsors for this exciting event.

1/3 of a million eBooks will be offered to download for FREE from July 4th - August 4th...

Visit www.worldebookfair.com to check out this spectacular event!

White Hats v. Black Hats

2006-06-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

Zig Ziglar - "If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want."

White hats versus black hats is a reference to the old spaghetti westerns where the bad guy had a big black Stetson, while the hero had the big white Stetson. This phrase has been adapted to describe the distinct approaches that business entities take to a given marketplace. Based on this approach, consumers will either label an organization as black hat or white hat.

How do customers know how to make this distinction? Essentially they look for organizations that appear to want the same thing for them that they want for themselves; low prices, something for nothing wherever possible, an easy acquisition (shopping) experience; and all of this without any sacrifice in quality. If you can deliver this, you are a white hat. If you promise, but cannot deliver you are a black hat. If you neither promise nor deliver you may just as well holster your pistol and go home.

In relation to intangible products like eBooks, the image an entity projects to their customers is pivotal. In our industry, there are basically two major approaches to the customer:

The proprietary
The open

The proprietary approach is about locking down the intellectual property tight, so tight that it may never see the light of day. The organizations who take this tact are the groups who want to squeeze as much money from the consumer as possible, give them as little access to what they bought as possible and call it a day. It is obvious in our industry, that these have been identified by the consumers as the black hats. They promise you content, and then deliver something which has limitations that were never clearly defined on the front end: the customer can only read this file once, they can never transfer this file to a new computer, they cannot use this file on both your regular PC and a portable device, and on, and on…

When there are other alternatives in the marketplace, this approach usually gets money from that customer about once. They say to themselves – well, that was a waste… then they never come back.

The open approach is about protecting intellectual property, in an honest way; getting value for intellectual property, at a reasonable price point; bringing the consumer more than they expected, never playing bait and switch. They also operate on the theory that there is room for many players in the game…as long as they play their own cards right, their operating philosophy is – the more the merrier. The groups who approach the customer this way understand the theory of creating a loyal customer base.

When the customer is met with this attitude, they tend to respond with open pocket books.

In this environment the current consumers have already placed Black Hats on the propietary, and White Hats on the open model proponents. The buzz is in the air, on the blogs, in the newsgroups and all over the list serves.

So, back to that dusty old standoff outside the local saloon – watch a few dozen old flicks, and then do your own quickdraw math – how often do you see the white hat go down?

Every Book is an eBook Waiting to Happen

2006-06-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Why can’t we all get any and every book in eBook form? Most books are never released digitally - because the rights to publish these books as eBooks are held by companies who are traditional, or print, publishing houses. Why don’t these publishers want to generate additional revenue without additional expense by adding eBook selections to the forms in which they offer their print books? Good question.

As far as I can tell, there are three main issues at play here:

Sentimentality about the current form of books
Fears about piracy and DRM
Concerns about competition with existing products

SENTIMENTALLITY

The participants in this industry have a romantic notion about books. The books that they grew up with will be held out as an ideal. Often, when you ask someone to tell you about their early experiences with books, they will tell you about the classics that they read and the deep and meaningful relationship that they built with the written word.

Ok, this happens. I read my first classic fiction when I was eight; “The Chronicals of Narnia” and “The Nancy Drew Mysteries” in the stairwell at my aunt’s big suburban house in Edina, MN. They were wonderful and truly ignited my imagination. I also read my first erotica (semi-porn) when I was eleven. It was wonderful and truly ignited my imagination. It was one of those “books” that the publishing industry forgets all about when they become entranced by the idea of a book. The cover was torn off – and even so, I only read it in the dark – behind a locked door. Gee – a backlight would’ve come in handy then.

My point here is simply that it was not the medium, paper, which delivered the book to me that I built a relationship with. Rather, it was words, ideas, second-hand experiences that became an essential part of my human experience. Had those same books been eBooks, they would’ve been equally seminal in my formative years.

If, as I’ve heard so many times, it’s the smell of paper that does it for you – I’ll invent a scratch and sniff sticker to adhere to your eBook reader, so that you don’t have to miss a thing!

FEARS ABOUT PIRACY

Traditional, print publishers fear piracy. I’m with JFK – the only thing to fear is fear itself. I get it, someone might steal the digital version of your book and use it without paying for it. Most likely, someone will. But, the VAST majority of the consuming public is honest and lazy. A great combination if you want to sell us something. I do count myself in this group.

When you are looking for; ham radio channels, wireless internet access, or content on the internet you must weed through what you don’t want to find what you do – this is called the, “signal to noise ratio.”

I will digress for a moment, indulge me, this is relevant. One of my dear friends, an exception to the laziness bit about the consuming public … but steadfast in honesty … told me about a signal/noise experience. He is my age, 29, and reads books primarily as eBooks. When the sixth book in the Harry Potter series came out last summer, he wanted to read it, but he didn’t want to carry around the hard cover. Harry Potter was not being offered as an eBook by the publisher. So, in order to consume this product by his own preferences, while still honoring his conscience, he ordered the hardback from Amazon, then went about searching for a scanned, digital copy for his personal use. After reading about 100 pages of terrible dialogue, and painfully trite plot … his hardback arrived. It turns out that someone has taken the time to author a fake Harry Potter, 600 pages of it!

This is only one example of the kind of noise (what you don’t want) that you may have to filter through when you get signal or content (what you do want) from illegitimate sources. Worse yet, if you try to get a pirated or illegal version of an eBook (or any other digital file) you can get a virus and ruin your whole computer system.

Thus, the end user (reader) would face both nuisance noise and virulent noise in trying to obtain the signal in an illicit fashion. So not only is piracy a very limited issue because most consumers are honest – piracy is a very limited issue because most consumers won’t put up with that level of aggravation in order to get the product they want.

FEARS ABOUT DRM (Digital Rights Management, for the unjargoned)

OK – this is a hot button issue for those who know. How can you protect content and preserve copyright and intellectual property values? The various schemes by which this can be done are known as DRM or Digital Rights Management.

DRM technologies essentially give the user (reader) restricted access to the content they purchase. Instead of buying an eBook outright, the reader buys what amounts to a use license. The schemas of protection are endless; access for a particular period of time, limited sharing between devices (you can only transfer or copy the file one or two times), embedded technology to track illicit sharing (to allow prosecution of pirates), etc.

The long and the short of this is that there are a number of clever ways to protect your content, but NONE of them are 100% pirate proof.

The point here, piracy is a fact of life. But the ways to combat piracy are more effective all the time. DRM is helpful, but not foolproof. However, it is much easier to photocopy a paper book, or to scan it to create a digital copy, than it is to crack even a dumbed down DRM schema.

Not offering an eBook edition of any book as a means to prevent piracy is a self-defeating approach. That’s like declaring, “I refuse to sell $100 jeans to teenagers at the mall, because some of them will shoplift the jeans and I’ll loose those profits.”

Publishers, like retailers, simply need to build the best theft deterrents possible. Then take the unavoidable (but minimal) loss to theft as a deduction against the (potentially very large) profits from the honest consumers.

CONCERNS ABOUT COMPETITION WITH EXISTING PRODUCTS

For this, let’s go back to the example of the jeans retailer at the mall. Let’s imagine that the retailer has been paying $20 wholesale for the jeans, plus the cost of having them delivered, plus the cost of keeping the inventory warehoused, plus the cost of delivery to the various retail locations, etc. … then selling them for $100 … he nets $10/pair. The retailer finds a new brand of jeans that is made by magic elves. They are $15 wholesale, and the elves can deliver them magically to all of the retail locations perfectly folded and beautifully merchandised for NO additional cost to the retailer… he nets $85/pair…or $65 if he decides to sell more jeans for less – say $80 price point, instead of $100.
The only catch, the retailer must accept that magic is real.

Back to “Books” as eBooks – the magic is real – it’s called technology. Our whole world depends on it in one way or another. Technology allows publishers to use a product that they already have to create a new product and a new revenue stream with no additional investment.

So what if someone chooses to buy the eBook instead of the paperback or the hard cover? Great! Then, a large portion of the costs that would normally be taken out of the profit (printing, binding, shipping, freight, warehousing, etc) are negated by the magic of technology. Books are the $100 jeans with all of the built in overhead – eBooks are the $80 jeans with all of the built in profit margin.

Please excuse my silly examples and allegories. I'm constrained by the reality that while I am a geek, I'm still a girl.

THE POINT, in case I didn't make it clear:

It’s not hard math. Here’s the simple equation:
No eBook product available = 0% of the potential revenue from digital sales.
eBook product available = X% of the revenue from digital sales
Where, X is always greater than 0!!!!

To Be or Not to Be, silly question!
Traditional print publishers: some money from digital sales, or no money from digital sales? That is actually the question that some in this industry are still asking!

Up a Dike, with Carly's Paddle

2006-06-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

At Book Expo America, 2006, I had the opportunity to attend only a few select speaking events. As an exhibitor, my time out of the booth was fairly limited.

What time I could find was carefully allocated. I did make time to attend at least two interesting events.

Carly Fiorina gave a speech entitled, “The Future of Publishing in the Digital Age”. Carly carefully crafted her speech on what was guaranteed to be a nerve wrecking topic for some in the publishing industry.

A few days later I found myself facing Mr. John Updike at a un-breakfast (little food was harmed in the making of the event) in one of the grand ballrooms. I listened to him lazily reminisce about a boyhood where he found his love for books, and bookstores….the smell, the people, the ambience, but most importantly, the books. I felt almost like an intruder in his reverie of days long past. I willingly indulged him as he slung 50 cent words out at the audience almost like an episode of “Says You,” on NPR challenging us all to understand, requiring a stretch even for people who spend their lives, and their careers, with words. He was silently proclaiming, “I am better, smarter, more important.” I agreed. I have not had an illustrious writing career. I’m just a snot nosed kid. I’ve known Mr. Updike’s name and fame since I was barely pubescent. I listened with rapt attention (even over the lonely grumbles of the coffee and mini muffin in my stomach)
Until…

Back to Carly … she stood in a room full of publishing industry professionals and talked about … music, and photography. Odd choice you might think, but the important parallels became apparent quickly. She also talked about overarching themes of the technological, social and cultural changes that our society is enduring. She talked about a world that is fast becoming; “digital, mobile, personal, virtual.” The needs of consumers are changing, the masses want more. They want more intimacy, more specificity, more of what they want … because now, they can get it. This was also touched on at the Chris Anderson event that preceded Carly’s talk.

Chris talked about, “The Long Tail,” or in a nutshell…selling less of more. This is the very paradigm shift that the music industry is now adjusting to, just in time to keep from becoming utterly obsolete. I’ll fall down this rabbit hole another day.

Carly told us that the music industry came to the party just a little late… the booze of revenue could’ve disappeared all together. The digitization of huge catalogues of music, the i-pod, cell phones equipped to listen to music, the opening up of innumerable channels for distribution of that music - via the internet, are all pieces of this industry’s effort to turn water into wine. It may even work if they can be nimble enough and remember the simple and basic rule that, “The customer is always right.” If you don’t give them what they want, someone else will.

Back to you John, can I call you John? O.k., Mr. Updike… you lost me when you shared your nightmarish interpretation of Kevin Kelly’s NY Times Article, “Scan This Book.” Kevin, like Carly and Chris, was trying to talk to an attention deficit publishing industry about the good news / bad news reality check that is needed to revamp the business models that are no longer conscious of the market they operate in. Frankly, I think you read the article and got scared of what this might mean for you. The interesting bit that you told us was how you abhorred the idea of contact with the unclean masses who are foolish enough to buy and read your books. I have these naïve ideas that writing was meant to be a form of communication – that people, even authors, write because they have something to say. Maybe, for you, writing is just an erudite, secluded and abstract event … shared only begrudgingly to make a buck. For some people, the opportunity to communicate further with their readers would be a great value-add for writer and reader, both.

Value-add was a business term that Carly threw around quite a bit. This term means defining what makes your product unique and more valuable to the customer. She also talked about the constant need to update a business model to adapt to the changing marketplace. Carly comes from a technology based business model, where vicissitude (yes, at least I know when I’m dropping the 50 cent, but I do love words … vicissitude = change, but more than that… the inevitability of change, the natural order of the universe is flux) is the accepted way of life. The organizers of this year’s BEA seemed to realize the fact that as the use of the internet becomes more and more a fact of everyday life … no industry will be untouched by the technology model. Carly also talked about the cautionary tale of Kodak and the advent of digital photography.

The long and short of this story is that Kodak did not take the move to digital photography seriously and they waited too long to join in the digital age, suffering huge and unnecessary losses. The Kodak experience is a story of holding on to old ideas, cleaving to the past and avoiding the future.

John took a large portion of his time to read the words of Kevin Kelly. I wasn’t sure for a long time what he wanted us to take from this audio book version of the prior week’s NY Times. Most everyone in the room could read for ourselves. Was he vying for a position as a voice professional? He does have a lovely, radio quality baritone. Then, he finally reached the end of his excerpts and delivered his point. He described the difference between “Books” of his definition and his time… and the (said in a sneering tone) “authorship in snippets” that supposedly will dominate the digital book model. He used almost three minutes of purple prose to decry the advent of an additional medium for dissemination of ideas and words as an affront to the tree swallowing, bound up, static editions of collections of words that he deems fit to call, “Books”.

He finished by calling his troops into battle, like Custer at his last stand, “So booksellers, defend your lonely forts, keep your edges dry… your edges are our edges. For some us, books are intrinsic to our human identity.” For all of us in that audience, books are intrinsic to our identity…we are in the book industry. Mr. Updike, whether you like it or not, the definition of the book itself can be expanded to include more than just what feels safe and familiar to you.

Carly wrapped up her session with a gentle prod, a challenge to adapt or be left behind. Her final note was one of hope, it’s not too late. The consumers don’t realize what’s possible yet. Our industry still has time to redefine itself before the consumers do it for us. This is the window of opportunity that some will hurl themselves through in order to find the future… the expansive future of the publishing industry.

Beyond delivering a product that sells well, why are some in this industry obsessed by their proprietary skill for discerning value? Collectively, we put out more drivel than divinity. So what! Is it our job to be the arbiters of the value of ideas, words, meaning? Or is it simply, pragmatically, our job to run in the black making a nickel or two and giving consumers access to what they really want? Well, maybe a bit of both.

The murmur amongst the consuming public is that they would like the option to read eBooks, along side their hardcover and paperback choices. Shouldn’t we consider getting products ready in this form before their murmur turns to a shout?

Isin’t the very act of, “Defending those lonely forts,” best achieved by making them less lonely? If the consumers aren’t coming to you, the internet is a tool by which you can come to the consumer. You can be in the comfort of their living room with them, quietly displaying your wares. The imaginative author can build a following without accruing vast supplies of frequent flyer miles. You can make your book personal to them without so many personal appearances…take heart John.

One example of a brilliant parlaying of the internet into community, and thereby, revenue was Orson Scott Card’s use of his Hatarack River Community at America Online. I first discovered this advent in 1993. Card was then effectively using this online tool to bring his readers the value-add that would make us all life long devotees. I will buy every Card book from now until the end of time…but these days, I want them delivered digitally. This way, I can read them wherever I go without carting a hard bound copy along with me. I can have all ten of the books that I am currently reading in my purse, on one small device.

Sadly, many of the titles I want are still not available as eBooks. So I still plunk down my money and walk off with paperbacks and hardbound books. I often wonder why the publisher would not want to take advantage of the increased profit margins on delivering that same sale with no printing, warehousing, shipping, freight, or delivery charges. Sure some people want paper. But why not augment your sales by making an additional product available?

So John, let the elite hide in their ivory towers and snicker at the expansive human discourse and creative output … sneering at the idea that a book is still a book whether read on screen or paper. For us on the ground, the foot soldiers in the war for the continuation of the existence of literary ideals, the means of delivery - stone tablet, scroll, hand written sewn artistry, hard back, trade paperback, or eBook - should mean far less than the fact that literature and literacy itself continues to flourish.
DigitalPulp Publishing

Book Expo America 2006

2006-05-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

D.C. is full of people doing interesting things and wearing sensible shoes. I like that city.

The Convention Center in Washington D.C. was the site of Book Expo America, 2006.

Book Expo America is the opportunity for all of the publishing industry insiders to get together and promote, amuse, and schmooze each other.

It is open to the public, and many attend for the FREE books ... I made the rounds on the floor myself ... and shipped a few boxes home.

The experience of being immersed in all that is books for three days was well worth the long flight in coach with the basketball player's knees firmly embedded in my back for six hours and nothing to eat but jerky ... I guess you really are what you eat after awhile.

More to the point, this trip was phenomenally successful for the DPPstore. We will be stuffing our e-shelves full as fast as our e-staff can e-manage. We are truly on the road to housing the best collection of eBooks by independents anywhere.

So I am off to burrow into my work and hunker down for the summer.

I have many exciting developments in the works that I will tell you about in the coming months as the specifics unfold.

Rogue's Gallery - The Notorious Staff of DPP

2006-05-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of the Coffee Fiends who populate the office here in Palm Springs -
Caffeine makes our world turn at DPP.

Nicole (Nicky) Pitman (PR/Marketing/Author's Advocate) is a bundle of contradictions: fairly complex and yet inexplicably simple. She brings her love of writing, desire to make good things happen for others, and her creative promo skills to DPP.
Takes her Bold coffee with a little whole milk.

Catherine Hodge (Publisher Outreach/Art Director) is a mother of three and self-proclaimed geek. Catherine says, "...This Midwestern girl finds herself staring out her office window at palm trees while she gets to work with big words, great ideas and smart people. It doesn't get much better than that!"
A big ol' Double Dry Soy Cap will do me in.

Gary Takesian (Web Meister) takes great pride in being an original nerd. Gary is a gifted musician, composer and graphic artist. He and Genene have worked together for over 15 years.
Gary Takes his Coffee Strong and Black.

Barbara Barker (Office Manager) loves her job! She lives with her main squeeze Brody (a 3 yr old apricot poodle). Barb believes that life is an adventure - she's a gung ho participant!
Strong and Independent... Miss Barbara loves the French Roast.

Daniel Green (Store Meister) has a love of singing, writing, culture - well, love itself. He sees every day as an opportunity to make himself and the world a better place. If you meet him say 'hi'. He will have a smile for you.
Daniel is all about the Chai Latte, but he won't sneeze at something sweet and blended!

Points

2006-05-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true ... DPPstore is giving you, "Money for nothin' and your chick lit for free!" We have recently posted a page explaining the points system at DPPstore.

Earn points for:

Registering
Reviewing
Referring a friend
For every dollar you spend!

Check out the Points page for a detailed explanation. Also, check out our Free section ... growing daily!

Free eBooks at DPPstore!

2006-04-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

DPPstore is committed to offering our customers all that we want when we go eShopping.

My first thought is, give me something FREE. A sort of shopping apertif to wet my appetite.

DPPstore has created a FREE section where you can download content to your heart's content. (terrible puns, my favorite)

We are working diligently on converting some of the great classics titles from Project Gutenberg to .PDF and .LIT form eBooks:

Little Women was the first of many to come. Our goal is to have 100 free titles by mid-summer.

DID I MENTION THAT THESE eBOOKS ARE FREE!!!!???!!! Happy eBook Shopping!

Our CEO Speaks ... don't they all?

2006-04-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

This is Genene Miller Coté, our CEO. I just returned from the Colorado Independent Publishers' Association Conference where Genene gave a talk about eBooks. The crowd of authors, self-publishers and independent presses listenened with rapt attention, as Genene told us the story of the eVolution of eBooks; Where they've been, where they're going, and why every book should be available as an eBook. The crowd listened attentively, and asked many questions at the end of Genene's pitch.

This gave me the opportunity to indulge my inner geek. There was a huge screen in the exhibit hall, and a projector linked to someone's laptop. As luck would have it, the laptop belonged to Dr. Judith Briles, one of the authors featured at the DPPstore (click on the link to the right to see her featured title, "The Confidence Factor.") With that equipment available, we decided to throw together a powerpoint presentation. The presentation is a good summation of Genene's speech. To learn more about the history of eBooks:

CLICK HERE
(continue clicking your mouse to advance the slides and text)

Thanks to all of the fantastic people at the Colorado Independent Publishers' Association, this weekend's meeting was great fun, as well as function! I look forward to future opportunities to participate with CIPA, and I hope you all sell millions of your books ... Don't forget to list your eBooks in the DPPstore!

eStir - pronounced (Eas-ter)

2006-03-27T13:26:00.000-08:00

No I'm not talking to you about bonnets, baskets and bunnies ... so b not afraid, my friends.

DPP's favorite holiday is, eStir, is a celebration of all things e:
eCommerce
eMarketing
eZines
eBooks (o.k., this one is our favorite!)
eMagination
eASY
eVil empire (o.k., I'm not so hot on this one.)

You get the point ... this April 16th, take a moment to generate some eStir.
Come by the DPPstore and fill your eStir basket with eBooks and eMagination!

This message brought to you by the eggheads at DPPstore.

Taking Shape

2006-03-23T15:54:00.000-08:00

I went out for a romp in the snow with my daughter yesterday. We live in California, and snow is most often seen, not felt. I have a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains, and the view is the part I like. Every once in awhile one of my children talks me into the foolishness of going to play in the snow. Yesterday was one of those days.

Marissa was bound and determined to make a snow man. The snow left on the ground was that slightly wet icy mush that makes good snow cones, but bad snowmen. We saw a giant lump of snow that she wanted to shape into the base of her snow man. As we started to smooth it down, the big lump of snow croaked, "I want to be a frog." So given the shape of the snow lump ... We went to work.

DPP has been an endeavor much like our snow man who turned out to be a frog... A Really Great Frog!

Genene Miller Cote - our CEO - set out to find a way to publish the writings of her husband, David. She found out that it just made more sense to self-publish or perhaps to work with a small press. Then, she found out that it was not much harder to start a publishing company than it was to self-publish one book. Genene loves books and found this to be an inspiring idea. At further consideration, Genene thought about her experiences publishing digitally at the outset of CDROM technology about fifteen years ago. And Genene's big lump of ideas croaked, "I want to be an ePublisher." So, given the shape of the idea lump ... She went to work.

Since then, the lump of ideas has given shape to a publisher, a press, and an eBookstore ... The DPPstore.

In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.

- Michelangelo

So, I see frogs in snow. Genene saw eBooks. Her vision has produced a thing of beauty.

We are busier than ever at DPP. We are adding eBooks to the DPPstore daily! The community of independents is really coming together to shape the DPPstore into our own piece of artistry. The response from the small presses has been phenomenal. Plus, we have had the best possible affirmations that we are going in the right direction. Many of the people who we most respect in the world of self-publishing have agreed to sell their books as eBooks in the DPPstore. Ready for some shameless name-dropping: Dan Poynter, Marilyn Ross, and Judith Briles - to name a few! Brad Grochowski of AuthorsBookshop.com, a online retailer of independent's paper books, is working with Genene to find ways that we can combine our efforts. We will also be selling Brad's book in eBook form!

We'll continue to, "hew away," as DPP takes shape.

Just a Blurb for My Blog

2006-03-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder what kind of craft goes into a blurb? You know, the little snippet of text to tell you just a bit about the book, the movie, the product - A BLURB.

I am of the mind that a well crafted sentence can be more difficult to produce than a shoddy epic novel. Now, I do not claim the kind of acumen of such craftsmen as my own... This is a blurb, not a boast. No, I am of an excessively wordy nature. In fact, I believe that the first time I had to look a word up in the dictionary was while reading "Ethan Fromme." I came to the word,"taciturn," and my mind shook ...

taciturn \TAS-uh-turn\, adjective:
Habitually silent; not inclined to talk.

I have a hard time conceiving of just two things:

1) INFINITY - It is just that big.
2) Taciturn - Not inclined to talk? I can't imagine!

The point is (that's one of my favorite phrases, because I am forever having to point out that I am FINALLY coming to a point), that I LOVE TO TALK. So, the idea of putting something in as few words as possible truly boggles my mind. The craft of the blurb, the greeting card, the reader's digest version of the whole sordid tale does not come readily to me.

So if, while shopping at the DPPstore, you should find our blurbs to be unusually wordy ... I am truly, very, deeply, hopelessly, obnoxiously SORRY. I can't help myself.

If I ever rewrite the novel in my own words and call it a blurb ... then you can tell me I've gone too far!

HAPPY BLURB READING EVERYONE!

eBooks Are Happier Here

2006-03-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Whether you want to buy, sell, or publish eBooks: DPP is the Key.

We have the DPPstore where our customers can find a wide array of eBooks for their ereading wants and needs.

We have DPPpress to bring your eBook to our eBookstore and give you a place to feature and sell your title.

We have Digital Pulp Publishing - the place to publish your book as an eBook!

We offer free conversion services to people who want to create eBooks, and we offer free listing services to people who want to sell eBooks... Visit our publishing site or our press site to find out more.

We offer eBooks for every budget, even FREE eBooks, at the DPPstore. We also offer generous rewards points for every dollar you spend at the DPPstore that can be used toward future purchases... Visit our store site to start shopping now.

WELCOME TO DPP! -- Where books grow up to be eBooks!

How do you really feel about it, Catherine?

2006-03-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Celebrate Read An E-book Week from March 5 - 11th. Read an e-book!

The upcoming week is Read an eBook week. Really, my kind of holiday. But I've got to be honest. If it is "Black History Month," I am suddenly less inclined to read books by black authors. Not normally a smoker, I really crave a big fat cigar every time "The Great American Smoke Out" rolls around. When my children's school celebrates "Red Ribbon Week", I feel the sudden urge to get some liquor, a few hookers and hole up in a local motel room. O.k., maybe that one's a bit of an exaggeration... I'd probably stick to one hooker (everything is more expensive with inflation, and some things just can't be expensed).

The point is, these jump-on-the-bandwagon-holidays just offend my American Individualism. I am terminally unique. But even I, synthetic holiday supercrumudgeon, cannot avoid the fact that I will be reading eBooks this week. I don't even want to boycott this holiday. I am more of a hopeless geek than an ingrained anarchist... I really like technology. Especially good technology. I hope that everyone gets a chance to read an eBook, because it's cool! The options offered by ereading DO enhance the experience of the reader; you can search text, you can optimize the font size for your viewing preferences, many devices are backlit allowing you to read in low light, and you can carry hundreds of books in a device the size of a single book!

So, do read an eBook. I really think you'll like it. But I understand if you want to wait until the 12th.

HAPPY READ AN EBOOK WEEK EVERYONE!

DPP Scores By Keeping It Simple

2006-03-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

From a conversation between our C.E.O, Genene Miller Cote, and our newest publisher (who is preparing to distribute through the DPPstore), Gene Grossman ... the following dialogue was relayed to me:

Genene: Do you have any questions about the contract to sell your books at the DPP store?
Mr. Grossman: It seems pretty simple to me. It reminds me of the story of the South American soccer player who came to play in the US. When he was interviewed and asked what he thought of playing soccer in the states, he said the only two English phrases he knew, "Kick Ball. Cash Check."

Mr. Grossman summarized our strategy succinctly... If you want to play ball with us, all you need to know is "Kick Ball. Cash Check."

We will be selling Mr. Grossman's multiple detective stories along with his non-fiction self help title, "Female-to-English Dictionary," which offers men misleading and hilarious interpretations of what women really mean. I will be sure to blog when we get these up on our site for sale!

Check out DPPstore for our new listings added regularly.

If you are interested in the Kick Ball, Cash Check method of making money from your books, visit us at DPPpress.

Acknowledgement

2006-02-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

Octavia Butler, a pioneer in speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, horror) died Saturday. Her write up in the LA TIMES made me think. A family friend died a few days earlier, and we shut down our offices at DPP to attend the service this morning. These events congealed in my diseased brain (having a cold that I am convinced is bird flu) into the following idea:

Pick your favorite author, and write their eulogy. Say the things that sound so fanatical, so gushing, that we would usually await their passing to put pen to page or fingers to keyboard to acknowledge them. Then rewrite and send a good old fashioned fan letter.

The authors I have loved have impacted my life, my very thinking, in ways that make them seem most intimate to me. Yet I have never acknowledged their contribution. Our friend who passed away was beloved to us, and I know we told her early and often. Yet Ms. Butler will never know what a "Kindred" spirit she truly was. A little too late, I tell you Ms. Butler, your voice will be missed.

Sell Your eBooks at DPPstore!

2006-02-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

Cowboys & Indians read eBooks too... It's lonley out on the range
Invitation from DPPpress –
Mossyin’ along, lookin for a horse to ride…
I discovered your site…a real eBook Stud Farm!
I loved it! Your eBooks are exactly what my customers are looking for.
I have a new eBookstore and I want to sell your eBooks.

If you’re lonely out on the range:
Cowboy Up at DPPstore.com

Dr. Spock & Captain Kirk sell eBooks
Invitation from DPPpress –
“Deep Space…the final frontier”? - No way! The vastness of the internet is the new frontier!
I discovered your site…the planet of the eBook!
I loved it! Your eBooks are exactly what my customers are looking for.
I have a new eBookstore and I want to sell your eBooks.
Don’t be a lonely star, be a part of our galaxy!

King Arthur Sells eBooks

Invitation from DPPpress –
I am on a quest to find quality eBooks from independent presses that I can offer my customers at DPPstore.com.
I saw your site…The Holy Grayle!
I loved it! Your eBooks are exactly what my customers are looking for.
I have a new eBookstore and I want to sell your eBooks.

Join the Crusade!

"To The Pain," No Longer

2006-02-17T09:38:00.000-08:00

William Goldman, known to my generation as author of the script of "The Princess Bride", says he will be best remembered for, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Which, I never before associated with him (oops...I will flog myself immeditately, then rent it tonight!)

Luckily, he understands the inherent burden of being human is that we are inexorably tied to our own perspective: "...I wish I liked my own writing more, but like all of us, I am trapped inside my own skin."

That's O.K., William. There are plenty of us out here to be an audience and to appreciate what you cannot. I love Goldman's writing - his sardonic humor mixed with a wistful, hopeful, even romantic ideal.

While playing "qutotable banter" with a friend - after I had rattled off a long streak of Eleanor Roosevelt one-liners, I came to the following quote from Goldman:

"One way an author dies a little each day is when his books go out of print."

The title of this post, "To the pain," is another Goldman quote, from “Princess Bride”. This is the punchline of a GREAT speech. The point is that the character threatens to fight, "to the pain," rather than to the death... dismembering his opponent, leaving him a hideous beast, with chunks sliced from his flesh, but leaving his ears to hear, "the cries of little children upon seeing his living remains,"... A most horrifying idea. I remember watching this as a child and being awed and fascinated by this description.

"One way an author dies a little each day is when his books go out of print." is from the same deep understanding as, "to the pain." The root idea of both is that there are fates worse than death.

With the technology of eBooks growing up and becoming daily reality, authors need suffer, "to the pain," no longer. eBooks need never "go out of print." We can maintain an infinite number of eBooks at the ready for book lovers, consumers and eBook aficionados to download 24/7/365. eBookstores never close. eBooks never go out of print. eBookshelves never need to be cleared to make room for new titles.

DPPstore is pleased to offer FREE conversion and listing services to any authors who hold copyright of their out of print work. Give new life to your backlist and leave "the pain" to the unimaginative, uninspired, technophobic few who refuse the new life and cleave desperately to "ink on dead trees".