Don't miss
  • 2,232
  • 6,844
  • 6097
  • 134

Penguin will publish my book in 2013

By on October 9, 2012

I have very exciting news: Penguin will publish my book The Curve in 2013.

Regular readers will know that I believe that the Internet has transformed the way we make games. Successful games companies give their products away for free to reach the widest possible audiences while building one-to-one relationships with their biggest fans to let them spend lots of money on things they truly value.

Many people are scared of the “free” end of the curve and fail to explore the “expensive” end. Yet both are necessary for a successful business in the Internet age.

The Curve will explore how the ability to reach a mass, global audience on an unprecedented scale brings new opportunities. I will explain how the nature of the mass-market is changing. How companies whose expertise is “make exactly the same thing for everyone” will be challenged and those who know how to customise, to adapt and to respond will be rewarded. I will show you how to see the huge opportunities in the disruptive force of the Internet, not just to fear that your business is coming to an end.

I will obviously use lots of examples from the games industry, because we are experimenting so rapidly and, in many cases, successfully. I will also draw on books, music and the other entertainment media. But I’ll also go wider than that. As 3D printing becomes a reality, the threat of casual piracy will hit physical manufacturers, who will need to develop their own means of response, ideally not including suing their customers.

The Curve is intended to be a guide and a shining beacon to demonstrate how to make money in the twenty-first century.

Now I must just go off and finish the manuscript.

 

———-

Portfolio Penguin has acquired world rights in a breakthrough business ideas book from a games industry guru.

The Curve by Nicholas Lovell will show how the inevitable shift towards free digital products, rather than destroying content and manufacturing businesses, can instead lead to new era of revenues and profits on a global scale.

“The internet has transformed business by enabling direct relationships with a vast, global audience,” Lovell said. “Customers at one end of the curve are a marketing opportunity. Customers at the other end – a tiny percentage – are the revenue generators. That tiny percentage can subsidise all the free users, and more, to build sustainable, profitable companies. The Curve shows why free digital products are a stepping stone towards making long-term, profitable relationships with your biggest fans.”

Joel Rickett, Editorial Director of Portfolio Penguin, said The Curve would have all the buzz and broad appeal of Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail and Seth Godin’s Tribes: “This is that rare thing: a new business idea that is universally applicable. If you don’t grasp the Curve, you will have no place in 21st Century business.”

Nicholas Lovell helps companies make money from the transformative power of the internet. His blog, GAMESbrief, is avidly read by those seeking to learn how digital is transforming gaming – and how to apply that knowledge to other industries. His clients have included games companies like Atari, Firefly, nDreams and Square Enix (creators of Tomb Raider), as well as Channel 4 and IPC Media. He is a columnist for Gamasutra, a contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and his articles have appeared in TechCrunch and Wired.

Joel Rickett acquired world rights from Jon Elek at AP Watt. The Curve will be published by Portfolio in October 2013.

More information:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Twitter @nicholaslovell

www.gamesbrief.com

About Nicholas Lovell

Nicholas is the founder of Gamesbrief, a blog dedicated to the business of games. It aims to be informative, authoritative and above all helpful to developers grappling with business strategy. He is the author of a growing list of books about making money in the games industry and other digital media, including How to Publish a Game and Design Rules for Free-to-Play Games, and Penguin-published title The Curve: thecurveonline.com