A press release from Caroline Perny of HarperCollins:
This may sound totally science fiction, but it’s happening for real at the HarperCollins booth: Harper Voyager hosts a futuristic digital book signing on Friday October 11, at 6 pm at their booth at New York ComicCon. Readers can get complimentary signed e-books by C. Robert Cargill, Alison Gaylin, Richard Kadrey, Adam Mansbach, Wendy Corsi Staub, and David Wellington. This singular signing will be powered by Autography™.
EVENT DETAILS
Harper Voyager Digital Signing
TIME: 6:00 PM – 7:00PM
AREA: Jacob Javitz Center, HarperCollins Publishers Booth #2118-2119
PARTICIPATING AUTHORS: C. Robert Cargill (Dreams and Shadows), Richard Kadrey (Suspect Zero), Adam Mansbach (The Dead Run), David Wellington (Minotaur), Alison Gaylin (And She Was), Wendy Corsi Staub (Nightwatcher)
Why e-Books? Why Now?
Genre fiction has taken off in the digital sphere; readers switch easily from device to device, embracing new vehicles for books like tablets and smartphones with gusto. Harper Voyager, interacting with its space-age authors and readers at events such as New York ComicCon, has heard the astronomical desire for science-fiction, fantasy, thriller, horror, and mystery content delivered in e-book format. So, just for swag-hungry NYCC convention attendees, Harper Voyager has partnered with Autography LLC to deliver promotional content digitally.
I was confused by the above press release. I went to Autography’s web site, trying to figure out just how this thing works. It’s a slick web site, making their product sound rather appealing both to the reader in me and the small-press publisher I also am. But I couldn’t figure out exactly what they were doing. Fortunately for me (and you), the company’s co-founder, Tom Waters, instantly responded to my request for some help. His simple answer to “what the heck is it you’re doing?” is:
The author signs an iPad based application — that signature page goes to our servers and is inserted into the ebook. An email sent to the reader lets them download the book and/or email it as an attachment to their eReader device. The signature page can also be sent out to the reader’s social media (FB, Twitter, etc) at the push of a button if they wish. Depending on the event, the reader can get their picture taken with the author and have that on the signature page as well.
Simple, no?
He also sent me a sample: it looks just like I’d expect a signed book to look, except that it’s an electronic image on my e-reader screen, rather than ink on a paper page. I’m very impressed.
You don’t get the signed book to walk away with (although at something like ComicCon, that’s actually an advantage), but an e-mail allowing you to download your now-personalized e-book. Cool stuff.