MANILA, Philippines - Since Amazon introduced their first e-book reader, Kindle, in 2007, bibliophiles have rallied for print and ignited a romanticizing of an endangered medium. However, the growing allure of reading on handheld devices — gadgets that have become extensions of ourselves — still became a force that print had to contend with. Digital books experienced a surge in sales in 2011, even surpassing hardcover and paperbacks as the preferred format in adult fiction, according to several publisher surveys. We’ve heard of bookstores closing, revenue from e-book sales doubling, and more e-book reading platforms being introduced on the market. But are these telltale signs of the decline of print also indicative of the market here in the country?
“The e-book market in the Philippines is in its nascent stage. If we talk about retail, as the only operational retail e-bookstore, I can tell you that though we have increased sales per month, it’s still a small amount. If we talk about e-books being used in schools, the market is slightly larger, though most schools are really just experimenting with the technology for now,” says Honey C. Peralta, vice president and general manager of Flipside Publishing Services.
Flipside is the operator of Flipreads, the premier source of e-books from and about the Philippines and Asia, our closest answer to a local Amazon Kindle store. Some of the books in Flipside’s e-bookstore include works by Cirilo Bautista, Jose Dalisay Jr., and Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo. These e-books are payable via Smart Money, Globe Gcash, Paypal or 7-Eleven outlets.
Exclusive titles
Being a Filipino-run e-book company, Flipside has been active in promoting local literature in the e-book format. It has even released e-book exclusive titles from local authors such as Dean Francis Alfar, Eliza Victoria, and Mervin Malonzo, books that could probably have a hard time getting a print deal. E-books have definitely helped younger and emerging authors gain steadier footing in getting their books out to the market.
“This is one of the things I love the most about our work: the ability to provide more content quickly, easily and efficiently, and thus empower more authors to publish their texts and find readers,” Peralta explains. “We can argue that e-books have allowed for a wider selection of books, have allowed more writers to find readers for their works. We can see that even in the way that traditional publishing houses have picked up on independently published titles and given them print book contracts. It’s a fantastic time to be a writer.”
E-books are not only cheaper, they also eliminate the heavy requirements of getting a book distributed outside the country. It has made shipping costs non-existent. It’s just a matter of clicking a button and downloading a book in your device. Putting books in the Kindle store like Flipside does has certainly helped Filipino writers develop an international audience.
“We’re getting the word out regarding our e-books to readers outside of the country,” says Charles Tan, Flipside’s online marketing manager. “For example, one of our best-sellers is the Philippine Speculative Fiction series originally published by local speculative fiction champion Dean Francis Alfar. I think it’s a great way to spread the word of how amazing local literature is. Other best-sellers include the comics Kubori Kikiam co-created by Michael David, and Tabi Po by Mervin Malonzo. These are talented comic creators and it’s great to see that their original Filipino work is being read and acknowledged elsewhere in the world.”
Classic Filipino books like Noli Me Tangere, Ibong Adarna and Florante at Laura have also seen their digital incarnations via Vibal Publishing’s digital publishing division, Vee Press. Their digital edition of Ibong Adarna is more interactive like e-books these days, complete with animation and “read me” function, making it more attractive to younger readers. They also have Vibe, their own electronic bookstore.
Local market
Getting e-books published is one thing, but it’s another to actually tap the local market, especially in a country where a lot of people don’t really have the luxury to buy e-book readers. The majority of readers here still go to brick-and-mortar stores to buy books. But as developers find new ways in introducing electronic reading to a bigger market, such as making e-book apps available for smartphones like Android and iOs devices, it’s probably just a matter of time before we’ll see a growth in the local e-book market.
“I think that will have less to do with the e-book publishers or writers themselves, and more to do with the hardware that is available for reading digital works, and how easy the creators of that hardware make it for publishers to place their books on that device,” says author and editor Paolo Chikiamco, who has dabbled in publishing books electronically. “When phones have easy access to a dependable library of e-book titles, and payment is facilitated without jumping through too many hops, that will do wonders for the local e-book market.”
So will we see a future when pocketbook romances are being read in smartphones or tablets? Maybe there’s a big chance we’ll do, especially now that these devices are becoming cheaper and more accessible to Filipinos.
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Visit flipreads.com for more information. You can also check out their Twitter (@flipsidepub) and Facebook pages (Flipside Publishing).
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