And a belated Happy New Year to all. In case you’re wondering where I’ve been, well as you can see from the photo above, I’ve been busy. Yes, that is an Amazon Kindle. And yes, that is Torpedo you see onscreen. I’ve been assisting Amazon in testing the DTP software for international publishers and as of later this week, the first 5 issues of Torpedo will be available to purchase for $4.99 in the Amazon Kindle store.
So if you own a Kindle anywhere in the world, you can now read Torpedo on it. Also, if you own an Apple iphone, you can download the free Kindle app, browse the store and download Torpedo to your iphone.
Thus Torpedo is the first Australian magazine or journal available on Kindle and iphone (you will also be able to read it on ipad when that comes out). We are also, apart from the guys at Electric Literature, the first fiction quarterly in the world to have all its issues on there. Granta, The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, none of those journals are available in this format yet.
What does this mean? You can read short stories from the best writers in Australia and around the world directly on your Kindle or iphone, that’s what. No expensive postage (which should make a lot of American Torpedo fans happy) and no more massive print costs for us. The printed version of Torpedo will be put on hold indefinitely, as we simply cannot afford to produce it. However, Torpedo will continue in the Kindle/iphone format, so you can expect to see issues 7 through 10 appearing over the coming months.
I have been testing the Kindle extensively this week, particularly in regard to comics and how they look onscreen. Whilst some of the comics we have run in Torpedo look ok, most of them do not display terribly well, so the Kindle versions of Torpedo will feature short stories only. That is why issue 6 will not be on sale via Kindle, being as it is almost entirely graphic. The Kindle is a monochrome platform that does not have Apple’s touchscreen ‘pinch and zoom’ technology, at least not yet in any case. If future generations of Kindle incorporate colour and touchscreen technology, we’ll be all over it. Needless to say once Apple open their ibook store internationally later this year, we will convert Torpedo to that format too.
Short form content is perfect for these platforms and I hope Torpedo will thrive on Kindle/iphone. I’m delighted technology is finally catching up with what I want to do and it will be exciting to see what other mags and journals appear on these platforms as the devices themselves become ubiquitous. The tech is still a little behind what I would like and I’m looking forward to being able to incorporate colour illustration and comics, video links and the blog so readers can have a more interactive experience. It’s a little sad to see the print version grind to a halt, but before anyone gives me a hard time about that, it’s worth pointing out that with print costs running to thousands of dollars, expensive postage and a saturated lit journal market, it has been literally killing me to produce it. I could have bought a vintage Mustang with the money I’ve poured into Torpedo these past three years. That would have been much more sensible.
A new version of the Falcon vs. Monkey site will go up later this week with a page directing browsers to the Amazon store. Until then, welcome to 2010. It’s the future!
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12 comments:
onwards and upwards! this is a very exciting direction for Torpedo - the potential is massive. congratulations! now, all I need is an iphone...
yesssssssssss
hi chris,
how are you planning on catering to non-iphone, non-kindle owners who want to read torpedo's future issues?
i ask cos i'm one of them.
Thanks guys.
And yes Adam, there's the rub. Torpedo will only be available on those formats going forward so unless you have one of those devices, you won't be able to read Torpedo. I'm sorry about that but even a tiny print run costs several thousand dollars that I just don't have and print sales were simply awful last year. You are one of the very few people who bought print copies, unfortunately. Kindle ebook downloads cannot be copied or read on other devices to prevent illegal copying (they're in a very specific .azw format unique to that device). I'm reluctant at this stage to make a normal downloadable pdf available due to copy protection issues. This is going to be one of the primary concerns of publishers this year if they are to prevent a repeat of what happened to the music industry with open source mp3 formatting that one person can download and subsequently distribute for free to thousands of others, although Apple may well use an open format on their ibook store and wreak havoc.
Ironically, if these ebook versions of Torpedo sell, we'll be able to pay contributors for future issues for the first time, as any monies made can be channelled into that rather than paying for printing, postage and promotion. If writers are to make any money from their work in this new digital age, open source ebook formats must be avoided. The margin for authors will already be vastly reduced in ebook format - Amazon take 65% of the 'cover price', which means $3.50 out of each $5 Torpedo sold.
But again, sorry mate. I'm trying to give Torpedo some sort of audience rather than no audience at all, which is essentially what it had in print format, more's the pity.
At least you don't have worry about wrangling $$$ out of independent bookstores any more. Good stuff, Chris. Are these apps hard to set up?
It's not a standalone Torpedo app like the McSweeney's or Electric Literature one Carolyn, that ain't easy to do unless you're an app designer and I don't know anyone who is. Getting books on the Amazon Kindle store involves quite a lot of work though, yeah. Tricky for an individual, a bit easier for a registered Australian company (which we are).
Have you looked into / thought about POD as an option for the non-gadget having?
If you can generate the required files from the same source then it would _seem_ like it could be a good way to keep people like theotheradamford happy.
WOW, you brave thing, you. Sounds sad about the print issues, but on the other hand, to go where no fiction journal has gone before... astoundingly brave. Best of luck with it all, I would love to read Torpedo on a iPad or similar gadget one day. For now, I'll chase up some back copies.
Good news, Chris. Definitely good place for shorter form content, because these devices cater for reading that falls between the gaps and it's an international audience for Torpedo. Hope you produce some formats other than .azw though to cater for new devices. Do you think you'll do new issues on the Kindle? Congratz - it looks great.
ATTENTION!
I have just discovered that a free Kindle app for PC is also available, direct from the Amazon site. Do a google search under 'Kindle for PC' and it is the first option listed. So anyone who wishes to read Torpedo on their PC but does not have a Kindle or iphone, voila!
Mac and Blackberry versions will be released shortly, and Amazon are changing their 65/35 split to 30/70 in favour of publishers on June 30th, in line with Apple's model. Good news.
Torpedo 1-5 should be live on Amazon by Wednesday or Thursday, and yes George, we will be doing new issues solely on Kindle (and if any other devices grab a significant chunk of the market, those too, but I think this is enough for the time being.)
that's great about the kindle app.
i think this is very exciting too, chris - i should have said that first time around. i share your concerns about print journals. as an author it almost feels like sometimes i'm DENYING my writing an audience by having it published in print. not sure how i feel about that, but that is how it feels sometimes.
Good stuff Chris, I've been rather head in the sand about e-reading etc, knowing that someone as smart, savvy, passionate etc as you is forging on and embracing it makes me feel ... not so scared any more. Look forward to Torpedo in its new form (which is MASSIVELY preferable to Torpedo in no form at all).
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