Crowdsourcing is Catching On
Bookbee is really nailing it with some great posts about what's happening in the world of eBooks. Crowdsourcing the Expanded Book takes a look at how clever authors can take advantage of the eBook format to incorporate reader feedback and contributions into rapidly-revised eBook versions of recently-released books. As an example, Jason Vuic, author of The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History is adding his favorite reader contributions to a new version of the eBook. This is something you just can't do with traditional print publications.
However, with FastPencil you can actually incorporate the best of both worlds, by incorporating reader comments into print and eBook simultaneously. Because you're printing books only as needed, you don't have an inventory of old versions that need to be sold before you can move on to the next version. Your readers can choose print or eBook and always receive the latest version of your work. Nice!
Speaking of crowdsourcing, we're already using our simplified crowdsourcing online form for one Ivy League university's alumni organization, and for Heroes in Our Midst: Stories from Afghanistan and Iraq collaborative book project.
