Sometimes it makes sense for a book to be transformed into an app. Forbes wrote a piece back in 2012 about whether the future of books will be as apps. Two years later, and it doesn’t seem to be true, but in some cases it could work.
New tools have made it easier for authors to create their own apps. Karen Robertson, creator of the book app Treasure Kai, said in a Good Ereader article, “I chose to turn my book into an app book in order to reach a global market without having to manage inventory or shipping. I’ve sold my app book in over 30 countries in the past month and each customer was able to download their app immediately and pay in their own currency. Plus my production costs were lower and my profit margin much higher than with the printed version of my book.”
She also has a report, “The Top 5 Things You Must Know About Creating Book Apps for Kids,” to help authors make the decision about whether or not to turn their books into apps.
For children’s book authors, tools such as Authorly can really help. 30 Day Books posted a Q&A with Authorly, which explains that creating a children’s book app can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Finished apps can be sold in the Apple App Store, Google Play App Store, and Kindle Fire App Store.
Examples of Book Apps
In 2012, there already were some books being produced as apps, such as The Gift and Chopsticks, both mentioned in the article. Chopsticks is an interesting one, because it allows users to interact with the story via elements, such as pictures, songs, and newspaper clippings.
Another app, not mentioned in the article, is Beside Myself, a free app in the iTunes store that revolves around the question, “What would you do if there were three of you?” According to the official site, the app was designed “specifically for the iPad, the contents of Beside Myself can be shuffled, chapters can be programmed like a playlist, or the reader can follow one Jeff at a time throughout the story (with the ability to read the story again from the point of view of a different Jeff, seeing the novel’s events from another perspective as well as being served up an alternate ending).”
What do you think? Have you come across any book apps you love?
