The digital dilemma for picture book publishers
Robin Birtle writing for Publishing Perspectives:
Along came the iPad and, with it, apps that are easy to find, easy to buy, affordable and reliable. Although developers have become very adept at converting printed picture books into interactive apps, the most impressive of the Gorgeous Apps on the iPad are original works with no print legacy. This hints at the root of the malaise surrounding the production of picture e-books — moving a work that relies heavily on visual and spatial elements from one medium to another is extremely hard to do well.
He’s right, and it’s why publishers need to make sure that the right people are involved in putting digital picture books together – usability experts, accessibility aficionados and proper technical bods with massive big bonces.
It doesn’t sound very literary though, does it? Doesn’t matter. It’s the end product that counts and if that’s what it takes, then so be it. In a digital world, the writer is only one cog – the most important cog, arguably – in a much larger machine.
