Steampunk Tales available on other platforms; Apple approval process partially to “blame”
By Paul Biba
I received this absolutely fascinating email from Steampunk Tales. It looks as if Apple shot itself in the foot again as far as the approval process goes. Note that the new releases will be DRM free. I just wish they’d use another format rather than PDF. The price will remain at $1.99, but they will also be releasing in eBookBase eBook format for $3.99. I must admit that I’ve never heard of that format, and they don’t explain what it is on their website. (Update: the Steampunk people tell me that eBookBase is the publishing platform for Mobipocket files, so really, for the layman, they meant to say Mobipocket.)
Originally available only on the iPhone App Store, the decision to bring Steampunk Tales to multiple platforms ahead of its planned 6 month anniversary was due to several factors. “We were flooded with requests to expand to other platforms. Writers such as Jay Lake and Catherynne Valente have huge online followings. The vast majority of their fans do not own an iPhones,” says John Sondericker III, Steampulp Publishings founder.
Additionally, the publisher found it exceedingly difficult to get through the iPhone App Store approval process. Pulp fiction inherently contains some amount of intense situations, but what was thought to be standard fare was repeatedly rejected by the application reviewers because the content was deemed objectionable. It eventually took 5 attempts before the App Store approved Steampunk Tales #1. “Trying to operate an indy publishing company with magazine release dates that hinge on Apple’s application approval process is far from an optimal way to do business. The difficulties we’ve had with Apple were a great incentive for us to expand onto other devices earlier than we had planned,” said Sondericker.
“We stand at the beginning of a revolution in the distribution of print. The combination of low distribution costs and the potential for high volume sales allows us to provide an astounding value for the consumer. The timing is perfect to re-introduce the world to the penny dreadfuls, and the modern portables are platforms that can truly do them justice.”
July 11th, 2009 at 7:40 am
That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout! Now I can actually read it on my PDA.
Of course, the mobi file is more expensive than the PDF, and you have to activate the file (guess what that means?). But it’s a start.