Turning a long-neglected classic into an e-book requires one brutal step that makes any lover of literature squeamish: the book is ripped apart, the pages cut from the binding so that they can be scanned. But it\u2019s a step well worth the end result, which will give a book new life and new readers. And it\u2019s just one step in a complicated process \u2013 steps that Swedish book publisher Bonnierf\u00f6rlagen is now taking for a thousand books from its archives under a new project that will increase the number of available e-book titles in Swedish by up to 20 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 1,000 Project is about digitalizing and publishing the best and most important books we have ever published, books we think will be in demand long into the future,\u201d says Magnus Nytell, head of Bonnierf\u00f6rlagen Digital. The publisher picked books, many of which have been unavailable for years, from a list that spans 200 years of publishing books and 84,000 ISBN titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started, we didn\u2019t have the rights anymore for most of the books,\u201d says Nytell. \u201cSo it meant a lot of work, everything from contracts with heirs who have no idea what an e-book is, to tracking down physical copies of books that we didn\u2019t have in our archives. The majority of the books we ended up having to buy from used book sellers throughout Sweden.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once the books are tracked down, they are pulled apart and sent to India for scanning, conversion and proof-reading. Then the files go through several more rounds of proof-reading in Sweden before they are ready to be published as e-books.<\/p>\n
The books have been published as soon as they are ready, and the plan is to be finished by March 2013.<\/p>\n
While Bonnierf\u00f6rlagen\u2019s sales of e-books has doubled, the numbers are still very small. The e-book market just hasn\u2019t taken off yet in Sweden when compared to the U.S., for example. There are several reasons for this, according to Nytell. One is that Amazon, the biggest driver of e-book sales not just in the U.S. but in other countries where it has established itself, hasn\u2019t entered Sweden yet. The e-reader market is also small, with online book retailer Adlibris\u2019 Letto the only Swedish e-reader on the market, aside from the iPad. \u201cLibraries are another issue,\u201d says Nytell. \u201cThe fact that you can sit at home at your computer and download a book for free without any restrictions makes for a really difficult situation for a retailer who needs to make money. Some 90 percent of all e-books read in Sweden come from libraries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite these challenges, it hasn\u2019t stopped the 1,000 Project. \u201cI\u2019m incredibly proud to be part of publishing so many masterpieces that so many Swedes will have the chance to read,\u201d says Nytell. \u201cAnd the books will never end up in a warehouse or need to be destroyed. Now Arne Dahl, Selma Lagerl\u00f6f, Ellen Key, Vilhelm Moberg, Ana\u00efs Nin, Guy de Maupassant and Emile Zola and many others will always be available, forever. We\u2019re creating a treasure chest of Swedish books!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Turning a long-neglected classic into an e-book requires one brutal step that makes any lover of literature squeamish: the book is ripped apart, the pages cut from the binding so that they can be scanned. But it\u2019s a step well worth the end result, which will give a book new life and new readers. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3564,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tags":[1091,164,639,791,823,524,603,523,235],"class_list":["post-3563","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bonnier-books-en","tag-bonnierforlagen","tag-books","tag-digital","tag-e-book","tag-e-reader","tag-jesper-ims-johansson","tag-magnus-nytell","tag-sweden"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n