“The rising sea forbade all attempts to bale out the boat.”——Table of Contents

Herman Melville described the hardship of struggling

Digital Publishing And The Web: A Pathway To The Future

2

BinB Delivers 3 Million Books To Consumers In One Month8

in open sea in his master piece

EPUB Production Workﬂow

11

MOBY DICK OR THE WHALE.

What’s Next Beyond Self-Publishing17

After Drifting Along Together For 30 Years, What Now?

20

Kent Rockwell, “untitled”, linecut on paper,c. 1930 (Plattsburgh State Art Museum).
MOBY DICK OR THE WHALE VOLUME Ⅱ
by Herman Melville page 55. Chicago:
The Lakeside Press, 1930.
Rights courtesy Plattsburgh State Art Museum,State University of New York, USA,
Rockwell Kent Collection,
Bequest of Sally Kent Gorton. All rights reserved.

Digital Publishing And The Web: A Pathway To The FutureVoyager Japan, Inc.



Junko Kamata, Vice President❖ The “E” Amulet

Six Elements Necessary To Move fromePublishing To Just “Publishing”
I think that for eBooks to become completely thenorm, and for electronic publishing to become
simply “publishing,” six characteristics (which spellout EBOOKS) are essential.

When I hear the word “mail,” I am struck with therealization of just how commonplace the internet
has become. Thirty years ago, the internet didn’t
even exist in Japan, and even fifteen years ago, its
existence wasn’t well known, with only a small
number of IT aficionados enthusiastic about it.

Eternity: Materials must have capability to be
stored, recorded, and displayed into the future
Borderless: In a global market, materials must beaccessible via any e-reader
Openness: Materials must use open standard
technology and formats
Originality: Publishers must aim for new content
Knowledge: Materials must feature knowledge andexperiences that are worth preserving
Social Interaction: Materials must encouragessocial connections between authors and readersVideo conferencing, digital archives, video on
demand : While these told the story of great
potential, the reality was that the infrastructure
didn’t keep pace with the changes. However, times
have changed, and now, anyone can use a PC, smart
phone, tablet or other data device to access theinternet. Nearly everyone knows that audio andvideo and the exchange of ideas through text can be
had for free via the internet. People have evenbegun to lose their awareness of the internet as aunique entity.

eBooks, having been born comparatively recently,
are still in their infancy. If we are lured just by theirfunctionality, we will end up creating products thatemphasize their difference from paper-based texts
merely through the addition of video and sound. At
this point, I continue to hold tight to my “digital”
amulet, which makes maintaining “permanence” all
the more difficult. Let’s look at a couple ofexamples:Basic communication tools such as letters andpostcards have now been replaced by email, andsoon the “e” itself may lose its significance. Youngpeople on the cutting edge now gravitate toward theexchange of messages via the social networking
services (SNS) such as Facebook, Twitter, GREE,
Mobage, Ameba, LinkedIn, LINE, and others.
But what about electronic publishing? I think that in
the near future, it will just be called “publishing,”
but for now, we still hold tight to the “e” inelectronic as though it is an amulet. The value of
paper-based reading materials is firmly entrenchedin our social and economic lives, and electronic
publishing still has significant barriers to overcome
before it can equal or surpass paper-based
publishing.

❖ Seeking Originality​*E ach clearly reflected the deep knowledge ofWorks Created Before the Dawn of the Internet
Voyager was creating eBooks before the internet
emerged. During that time, I think we can fairly saythat we racked up experiments and failures while
seeking originality and permanence. However, there
was a common thread among the works we
produced:2

I Photograph To Remember (1991)
A CD-ROM Photograph collection by Latin
American photographer Pedro Meyer. A deeply
personal work chronicling the last part of Meyer’s
parents’ lives. The collection includes 100 black andwhite photos, Meyer’s own narration, and pianomusic accompaniment by one of Manuel Rocha .
When this work was shown at the 1991 Seybold
Digital World Conference, it reportedly brought
many in the audience to tears. Meyer has made aFlash version of his work available.
Japanese language promotional video: http://youtu.
be/eJnF56ihev4
Flash URL: http://bit.ly/iptr_flash

various people* Each displayed great creativity* Each sought expression that could only be fully
realized through digital means
CD Companion To Beethoven’s 9th Symphony(1989)A music education software product by UCLA
music professor Robert Winter, this was an eBooklike CD-ROM that preceded the eBook. Using
HyperCard software supplied on a floppy disc, auser could run a music CD in a Macintosh CDROM drive. The software allowed users to analyze
the symphony incrementally, measure by measureor even note by note, by seeing the score andlistening to the music. This would not have beenpossible without Robert Winter’s direct authoring.
The CD Companion series included similar CDROMs for Shubert, R. Strauss, Dvořák, Mozart, andStravinsky.
Japanese Promotional Video: http://youtu.
be/6KmM8Rx1uZI

Contains 5 Parts: A Pocket Guide,
Beethoven’s World, The Art of Listening,
A Close Reading, The Ninth Game.

A Pocket Guide: The user can navigate
around the entire work by clicking on aparticular section to have it play

A Close Reading: By playing theaccompanying audio disc, a listener
can analyze rhythms and motifs

Explanation of dotted rhythms: Thevarious rhythmical patterns are
explained by scrolling over the score
while listening to the music

The Art of Listening: The word
“Contrast!!” appears in certain spots tohighlight that feature of the work.

A Hard Day’s Night (1993)
A 90 minute music movie contained on one CDROM. The script pages turn as the movie progresses
so the viewer can move between the script andvideo and appreciate them together. Contains an
indexing feature and the ability to bookmark pages.
The film was digitized by Apple’s QuickTime andApple’s HyperCard. There was also a Windows
version.
The Day After Trinity (1995)
A CD-ROM version of the documentary film The
Day After Trinity. The project traces the path of J.
Robert Oppenheimer, the driving force behind the
Manhattan Project, and the development of theatomic bomb. Includes outtakes of interviews with
Hans Bethe and other scientists on the project,footage and photos from the project, FBI files, andaudio commentary by director Jon Else. The
Japanese translation was by Michio Tomita (one ofthe principals at Aozora Bunko) and Akiko Tomita.
The interview portion is available through the BinB
store.
Japanese language promotional video: URL http://
youtu.be/mwIq6vKZN-8
BinB store URL: http://tt2.me/13632
Shincho Bunko 100 CD-ROM Version (1995)
Based on Expanded Book technology, this was a
big-budget work containing 100 Japanese books foraround $150. Includes the works of Japanese
literary greats such as Ryunosuke Akutagawa,
Soseki Natsume, and Kenji Miyazawa, as well as
contemporary writers such as Haruki Murakami,
Hiroyuki Itsuki, Akiyuki Nosaka and Yasutaka

The Ninth Game: Game consistsof listening, score and biographicalquestions.

3

Tsutsui. Sold over 30,000 copies. With sales over
$4.5 million, this product set a record for eBook
content.
Shincho Press Release at http://bit.ly/shincho_cd

such as font size, line spacing, margin and the like.
We learned the ABCs of book publishing directlyfrom these experts so we could incorporate theseelements in our eBooks as much as possible. From
our perspective, we also were able to convey thestrengths and attraction of digital publishing, andwe were able to make the CD-ROM technology
more appealing by demonstrating the advantage ofextra capacity and numerous color images.

Voyager has put descriptions of many of its CDROM products into video format and publishedthem to YouTube.
See http://www.youtube.com/user/VoyagerLibrary
Creating From Tools
eBooks require two application tools: an authoring
tool that can be used to create content as well as aviewer to permit reading. Using an authoring tool,
one can create and sell data, while with a viewer, areader can then open that data. When Voyager began
producing eBooks, the basic infrastructure thatwould allow the creation of eBook content that
could be digitally read didn’t exist, and so westarted out by creating the basic tools. In 1993, westarted with Expanded Book, followed in 1998 by.book (Dotbook) and T-Time.

Expanded Book had essentially the same basic
elements as the eBook. These include:
Text can be displayed as one page, and theparticular features of Japanese text, including
vertical writing, ruby annotation (indicatingpronunciation), can also be displayed. In addition,
the technology goes beyond the capability of paper
books by incorporating a search function withstorable results, along with a bookmarking function.
Additionally, video and sound can be linked withwritten text.

T-Time’s Bookstore
Distribution Package
In the beginning, T-Time
was developed as a utility
software for reading digital
files such as a TXT format
file, and HTML. T-Time
was sold both in electricalparts stores as well asbookstores. The design
mimicking university
notebooks was by Koga
Hirano.

Fortunately, Voyager worked together with theauthors and editors on developing the tools for theseearly works. For example, Voyager worked hand-inhand with the music experts on the CD Companion
series. The authoring tool available at that time
could record the data for the beginning and the end
point of a musical section. Voyager worked with thecontent experts on how to notate the various points
and how to playback. The commentary was, fromthe beginning, in the minds of these authors; byworking together with them, they were able to write
to their hearts content about their ideas alongside
the music.

Screen with Expanded Book Interface:
The software makes text easy to read

Search Dialog: Search results show for
the entire text at once, and it is possible
to jump sections

Text Annotation: By clicking on
the beginning of the annotation,
supplementary information appears inhighlighted form

Video Commentary: Video commentaryfunctions the same as text commentary

Example of the Expanded Book Display Functionality

Creative Works Gone With The OS
Whenever a new OS is unveiled, it is always said tobe the best; inevitably, there are comparisons
between the old and new versions and muchdiscussion about how superior the new version is.
Along with the new OS comes new hardware. Thereis no way to stop new development, and, there arealways limits on hardware lifetimes. Althoughhardware manufacturers may heap praise on a

When Voyager created the Expanded Book softwarethat was used in the CD-ROM Shicho 100 Books,
Voyager consulted with well-known book designers
Kouhei Sugiura and Koga Hirano on basic elements
4

particular product, the fact is that they seek profits
and wish to stimulate the desire to buy new andbetter things. As operating systems develop and the
hardware changes too, no matter how carefully one
goes about creating a product, there are times when
the software isn’t in sync. Physically, the softwarethat is firmly embedded in CD-ROM now has nocorresponding hardware for playback, and withinjust 20 years, we have lost the ability to view them.
As the OS changes, the hardware changes anddisappears. This is how inflexible the digital world
can be.

Bowker Market Research: In 2012, for the first time online booksellers outsold
conventional booksellers, occupying 43.8% of the market compared to 31.6% held by
conventional outlets.

The preceding works were completed underfavorable conditions and were released into theworld. Unfortunately, these works can no longer beviewed. With these shifting-sand conditions, it isdifficult to create for the long-term. For us, we havelost the environment in which to view theseproducts, but, for the future of the eBook, above andbeyond finding a way to create permanence, what isessential is originality.

Voyager Company: An Encounter With A Book
Voyager, in seeking for a way to solve these issues,
found some clues in Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto
published by O’Reilly. The book centers on theexperiences of individuals, mainly in Europe andthe US, who have actively grappled with the eBookbusiness. Voyager quickly secured translation rights
and in February of 2013, published a Japaneselanguage eBook and paper-based version.

❖ Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto
Thinking Outside The Box
At present, the eBook distribution model imitatesthat of current publishing in that there are
distributors and publishers standing in between
eBooks authors and their readers. But, because
eBooks require no packaging, there is no printing
process required; large printing houses have quickly
jumped into digital publishing by taking part in
distribution, seeing it as the next great business
opportunity. As sales have increased, they havebecome, in effect, eBook wholesalers.

We realized that, by adjusting our sights to be more
entrepreneurial, we could potentially tap astounding
business potential.
Here is one good example. The founder of thereview site Goodreads, Otis Chandler, titles his
article in Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto “How Do
Books Get Discovered.” Chandler’s Goodreads
began services in January of 2007, and by 2012 hadover 7.5 million users, with over 280 million bookreviews. In March of 2013, it was announced that
Goodreads had been bought by Amazon for areported sum of 200 million dollars. Amazon is aninternet-based bookseller, and Goodreads has bookreviews; there could be no better tie-up. As of June,
2013, the readership was up to 18 million users and570 million reviews as the business continues toexpand.

Between 2012 and 2013, Amazon, Apple, Google
and other global IT enterprises have entered theJapanese eBook market. The eBook market
continues to grow year by year, but the publishingindustry peaked in 1996 and has continued toshrink. If we consider eBooks as one part of the
publishing business, the eBook business will also
eventually shrink. Emulating an outdated model
will mean that ultimately, the eBook business too
will remain small. In order for the eBook to
succeed, we must look to a completely different
approach.

In this way, eBooks have expanded their businesspotential via book review sites, as well as throughsearch and distribution services. There arecompanies that support book communities, andpublic libraries beginning to provide new services.
These various opportunities are sometimes very5

small, yet, without looking for them, they won’t bediscovered; what is plainly evident is that expanding
the eBook business requires actual effort.

will need to share this context with readers. Readers
will thereby reach content that is not in books, via
authors, and via critics, as well via this surrounding
context. But the question is, how to create thiscontext?

The Content Business Must Move FromContainer To Context
Let’s examine the assumption that readers buy
books in order to access information (content). The
assumption is that people have a problem and they
are willing to pay money for information on how tosolve it. Stated this way, it seems that books are theonly means to get information, but in fact, there aremany different ways. For example, I might call or
email someone I know who potentially has theknowledge I need. I might also access internet tofind information.

❖ In The Beginning, Was The Network
Readers And Authors Interactively Connected
The entire environment around books is going tochange, and in the near future, the publishingbusiness model will shift away from having
publishers and distributers intervening between
authors and readers.
However, it isn’t as though once content is put intoa digital container, the eBook, that it will magicallyfloat up to readers. The instant one steps foot into abricks and mortar bookstore, several hundred
thousand book titles instantly fill one’s eyes. eBooks
don’t have this kind of appeal. The prerequisite
behind internet-based distribution is getting readers
to locate their books; in other words,“discoverability” is the issue.

Readers are seeking utility. If a book is the easiest
way to get inexpensive information, then a reader
will buy a book. However, if there is a substitute fora book, and moreover, the information can be hadfor free, people will not always buy books. There is
no doubt that authors are at the origin of
information, but there is nothing that says that
information must be held within a book (thecontainer). Until recently, the publishing businessperceived readers as consumers of the container, but
the eBook has made that perception vanish. Now
that the necessary infrastructure is in place, we needto change how things are monetized.
Authors and editors know that there is much more
information (context) to be had by adding music
and images to surround a book. In the future, we

Sites such as TOKYO OTAKU MODE and COOKPAD are succeeding in getting users
by uniting information producers and consumers in the core.

Of course, one can rely first on search capabilitiesof the internet. Voyager is diligently working toprecisely insert eBook content on the web.
Normally, book content is not single faceted, so we
include book reviews and critics’ comments.
Additionally, beginning with 2013, we are holding
face to face events monthly for around 30 people.
We record and edit the event and post it to the web.
We are hoping, to the extent possible, to create
interactive communication between authors andBrian O’Leary, diagram showing the complexity of content and the frequency of reuse.
This points to the notion that content becomes increasingly more complex, it becomeseasier to chunk and thus there are greater publishing options and genres.
From Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto. Eds Brian O’Leary and Hugh McGuire. Voyager.
Access this at BinB store（http://tt2.me/15294）(also available elsewhere)6

readers and thereby, to connect people around theworld.

directly into a book. With this idea in mind, in 2011
Voyager introduced the BinB reading system, and it
is now being used by several eBook sellers. Before,
there was a barrier between readers and eBooks
because the reader application had to be installed,
but this is now no longer necessary. The BinB
viewer is an ideal one because it is transparent tothe user. From now on, the world standard EPUB
format can be used, so it will become simplified on
the technical side as well.

Once we are no longer bound by the word
“publishing”, when we look around the web, we see
sites that are already succeeding at creatinginteractivity. With content as the mediator, thesesites unite information producers with consumers on
the other side. For example, if someone wants
information on otaku, that person could accessTOKYO OTAKU MODE (https://www.facebook.
com/tokyootakumode). There, one can find the best
information on otaku. Japanese who enjoy cooking
have most likely accessed Cookpad (http://cookpad.
com), in which users can see ingredients and namesof dishes as well as popular recipes. It is a verypractical site. In addition, on both of these sites,
users can also contribute their own voices. Users areconnected by discovering the sites, using them, andthen making their own independent contributions.

As this kind of basic infrastructure solidifies, we
can test out various possibilities. Earlier, I outlined
how, among the six elements that spell out EBOOKS,
Originality and Knowledge are at the essence ofgood projects. Everyone has times when they havesomething to say. Putting that idea out via an eBookin the internet era is a form of small media, likemimeographing a leaflet. One can choose one’s
topic freely, and with the internet, one can tellpeople in Japan, Asia, or the entire world about it.

The connections between users and interaction
between them is important. eBooks can help foster
this. At bricks and mortar bookstores, store-createdpoint-of-purchase (POP) ads are much more
effective in promoting sales than newspapers andmagazine advertisements, which may be because
there is so little distance between authors andreaders. Since eBooks are not physically lined up inbookstores, we must look at marketing themdifferently. Most likely, burning up an advertisingbudget by buying an internet banner is probably not
the best solution. Rather, emphasizing interactivity
as the base and developing opportunities as theyarise is the best approach.

Voyager intends to continue the work of Book: A
Futurist’s Manifesto by focusing our publishingefforts on the present and future of eBooks.
Fortunately, Voyager has many colleagues in both
Asia and beyond with whom we can partner. For
example, we are working with friends in Taiwan
and Korea on eBooks. We share the same concerns
and issues, and through a lively exchange of ideas,
we can surely make advances in the concept of■digital publishing.

The Wealth Of The Internet
I have already discussed Voyager’s creating of an
eBook viewer and file format, and how challenging
that is to transfer between OS. If we focus just on
eBooks it might seem as though there is no future
for them, but that is not the case. Recently, webbrowsers, which are at the core of the internet, haveadvanced. It is important to note that thesedevelopments in browser capability have also
resulted in greater potential for reading systems.
When the web browser itself becomes the reading
system, one can seamlessly connect to internet
content, as if the wealth of the internet had flowed
7

BinB Delivers 3 Million Books To Readers In One Month

Voyager Japan, Inc.



Junichi Hayashi, Development Department Manager❖ SHUEISHA Website Delivers 3
Million Books In One Month

More than half of accesses to the campaign sitewere made by mobile devices such as smartphones
and tablets. The majority of them were throughSocial Networking Services (SNS) including
Twitter and Facebook. Readers of “Kingdom”
posted their thoughts through Twitter, Facebook, orother SNS, and then others who read the comments
clicked the links and become new readers; chains ofreaders were repeatedly developed through SNS, so
the 3 million “Kingdom” readers were actually
chains of readers.

In April 2013, the Japanese publishing company
SHUEISHA launched a limited, two-weekcampaign making 10 volumes of “Kingdom,” acomic published in Weekly Young Jump (a Japanesecomic magazine), viewable for free. “Kingdom” is a
popular comic version of the historical Chinese
drama centered on the Spring and Autumn and
Warring States periods before unification of China
by Shi Huang-ti of the Qin dynasty, which has been
adapted into animation. Out of the full set of 30
volumes, Vol. 1-10 were available on the web andfound a huge response, so that a second free reading
campaign was carried out in May. As a result, morethan 3 million comics were delivered to readers in a
total four weeks.

This shows how the connections of the web canlead to the spread of a book. The system of BinB,
which enables readers to go between the Web and abook with ease, realises such connections.

❖ What Is BinB Like?
Voyager Japan’s BinB is a book-reading system thatuses Web browsers. The idea of using browser as abook viewer arose from the Books In Browsers
conference. This conference started in 2010 and isheld every year at the Internet Archive in San
Francisco. Voyager Japan has been participating in©Kingdom, Yasuhisa Hara/ SHUEISHA“Kingdom” Ten volume free reading site (limitedly on view until May 26, 2013)“BinB (Books in Browsers),” Voyager Japan’s
reading system, was used for this campaign. It
enabled readers to start reading “Kingdom” by justone click on the campaign site. Most likely, thereaders of these 3 million comics were able to enjoy
this title just as easily as they might view any
regular website.

The 2010 Books in Browsers held at the Internet Archive in San Francisco, when aworkshop on browser type viewers was held.

8

it as a founding member.

Using the latest HTML5 technology, Voyager was
also able to build capability for mobile devices suchas iPhone, iPad and Android, as well as several
Windows and Mac browsers.

With application type viewers such as iBookstore or
Kindle, it is necessary to purchase a particulardevice in which a proprietary application has
already been installed, or to download a proprietary
application in the reader’s device in order to read abook. In addition, after purchasing a book, filedownload is necessary; it takes a long time, much
effort and IT knowledge after readers find a bookthey want to read.

BinB’s greatest merit is that it needs no proprietarydevice or application. Devices presently available
have an HTML5 capable browser installed so a user
can sample, purchase, and then actually read onnearly any smartphone, tablet or PC. One advantage
of a browser-based system is the ability to look up aword in a book through Google Search, or to use
social function to tweet your favorite phrases on
Twitter, etc.

On the other hand, how about a movie share site
(YouTube etc.), music distribution site or news site?
On sites such as these, anyone can watch a movie,
listen to music or read an article as in an instant.

Using BinB services can bring some advantages topublishers, too. In the past, developers have to pay
30% of iPhone/ iPad application eBook sales toApple, but if they use BinB, they are not restricted
to a particular platform; similarly, publishers havealso had to deal with outright rejection of theircontent from companies who possess the platform.
In addition, BinB needs only to upgrade some files
maintained on a server to update books or systems.
And, we have already seen the strength of the Web
connection including Twitter and Facebook in theexample of “Kingdom.”

It was Voyager Japan’s desire to make it possible toread eBooks in the same easy way and thismotivated the company to develop a browser baseviewer.

Brad Flickinger
eBook requires a viewer that allows a reader to read a book as soon as the book is
selected from the touch screen.

2012©Tetsuya Mihara, ©Voyager Japan.Inc.
The “BinB” reading system uses the latest HTML5 technology, which enables a reader
to read a book with only a browser.

However, in order to bring up the business quality,
there were various problems to address. For
example, the viewer needs to capable to handle
several eBook formats (EPUB 3, dotbook [.book],
PDF etc.). In order to improve the look and speed ofdisplay, which affect readability, we exploited ouroriginal rendering engine and image compression
engine. We also created our own original DRM(Digital Rights Management) system by combining
several different technologies to protect books fromillegal duplication.

❖ Yahoo! JAPAN + Yahoo! Bookstore
Shifts From Proprietary Application
To BinB
Since BinB was released in December 2011, eBook
stores and book PR sites in Japan and othercountries have started to introduce BinB. Yahoo!
Bookstore began offering the BinB service as partof its store services at the 16th e-Book EXPO Tokyo9

held in July 2012.
Yahoo! Bookstore has shifted from relying on
proprietary applications to using the Web-based
BinB to make it possible to do all sample reading,purchase and full version reading on a browser. Dueto an easier update method, the number of available
titles is increasing. Also, the system is so easy to usethat inquiries from users have decreased and theburden on the customer support division has
become lighter.

How do you feel if you are required to download anapplication or to make an account while the book
you want to read is so close at hand? Imagine ascene where you find that your device is not capablefor the book you have just found; you may have togive up reading it.
Now is the time to grab the chance for moreencounters and discoveries through BinB, whichhelps to realize a world of books where readers canopen and start to read a book the minute they find it.
■Initially this service was available through both aproprietary application and BinB; however, becauseof the large number of readers who prefer BinB
over the proprietary application, distribution of
application has been closed for the PC and theservice has been completely shifted to BinB.
In May to June, 2013, a free reading campaign
called ‘MASTER OF SQ COMIC FESTIVAL!’
which is part of SHUEISHA’s monthly comicmagazine Jump SQ (Jump Square) was held, andlinks to several bookstores including Yahoo!
Bookstore were introduced, with the following
information:
You can read these comic directly on yourdevice only through the Yahoo! Bookstore!
*Please be aware that unless you go through theYahoo! Bookstore, your device may not work toread these comics.
*Please be aware that unless you go through theYahoo! Bookstore, you may have to make a new
account.

©SHUEISHASHUEISHA MASTER OF SQ.COMIC FESTIVAL! (Limitedly available until June 4,
2013)

10

EPUB Production Workflow
Voyager Japan, Inc.



Toshiaki Koike, Project Manager❖ Introductioncommon eBook format. EPUB, which itself has along history, is now arguably the eBook standard
and this is very positive news. At the very least, it
enables us to move forward from having to focus on
selecting a format to publish eBooks, toconcentrating upon the content itself without having
to spend time on format selection.

How are EPUB format eBooks produced?
In this chapter, I first explain the ‘open format’characteristic of EPUB; then, I discuss the benefitsof openness and how EPUB can be produced bymaking good use of these benefits. Finally, I provide
a description of practical EPUB production
workflow and conclude with a few points about
eBook production.

Some Things To Note
However, there are several problems. With an open
format, it takes time to develop and popularize
viewers and tools once a format is standardised. In
particular, EPUB 3 is now in a transition period andboth viewers and tools are still under development.

❖ Proprietary And Open
What Is An Open Format?
A format that someone has its rights andspecifications for is called a “proprietary” format.
Since it is owned, only those companies that haverights can freely develop viewers or authoring tools
for it.

Under the present conditions, it is possible that a fileostensibly correctly made as EPUB 3 cannot becorrectly displayed on a viewer. In order to avoid
such problems, publishers should keep somemeasures in mind. At this point, it is important tomaster how to produce a simple EPUB file which
can be distributed to any viewer, or any eBook store
without problem.

On the other hand, a format whose specifications
are open and anyone can use for free is called an‘open’ format. EPUB is an open format, which ismanaged by IDPF (International Digital Publishing
Forum), a non-profit organization working tostandardize eBooks.
There are a number of companies developing EPUB
viewers, including Apple, Amazon, Google etc.
Voyager Japan is also one of them. In addition,
IDPF itself is providing a viewer named ‘Readium’.

In some cases, all of the text
in a horizontal table is not
displayed when inserted invertical text layout.

Most eBooks have historically been produced withthe ‘proprietary’ format until recently. This wasneither good nor bad, but it was a fact that themarket itself was not so large, and the ‘open’ format
emphasizing global standardization had not beenbrought into the spotlight. Recently, however, themarket has solidified and people are now seeking a

An example of an EPUB ﬁle supposedly
properly made but not displaying
correctly.

11Structure of documents
How to insert images
Text decoration

Such a situation does not last forever. The day is not
far when viewers and tools are fully developed sothat everyone can take advantage of open format tochoose freely. Developers with common interests
are now actively exchanging information throughworkshops, listserve discussions, and so on. Also,
the information about such activities is available for
us. As a result, it won’t be long before this issue issolved.

Those who intend to produce a manuscript on theirown for the first time, or those who want to try
eBook publishing, should note several key points. If
these points are missed, display quality willradically differ depending on the viewer; or, in theworst case, the text will not be converted to EPUB
properly. This is more important for text-centered
EPUB known as ‘reflow type’.

❖ EPUB Production Workflow
A concrete explanation of EPUB production
workflow follows.

Composition Of An Entire Book
Let’s consider a completed eBook. Generally,
composition of the whole of a book will be as
follows:

Generally, using an authoring tool is the easiest
production method. Unfortunately, however, EPUB
authoring tools of are still under development, while
a number of companies are now in the development
stage. One main reason for this is that the viewer
itself is also still under development. In what
follows, I describe typical points of eBook
production, and then provide examples of what I
recommend with actual samples.

*Generally cover is an image

Cover*‘Preface’ and ‘Postscript’ can be omitted

Body Matter
Preface

Heading 1
Paragraph
Heading 2

Typical Points In eBook Production
Typically, EPUB production methods can beroughly divided into the following two categories:

Table
of
Contents

・Production with an authoring tool・Conversion from structured text

Body
MatterParagraph
Paragraph
Heading 3
Paragraph
Image
Paragraph
Heading 2
Paragraph
Image

As mentioned before, authoring tools have notprogressed enough, so only conversion fromstructured text will be explained here.

Postscript

Heading 3
Heading 1
Paragraph
Heading 2
Paragraph

Colophon

The word the ‘structured text’ is common in theeBook industry but in general, it is not a common
term. Simply speaking, it means using captions andother semantic text elements to produce correct
semantic text. This text can be produced by adding
marks for conversion to text, or producing with text
word processor software or DTP software (XML or
HTML).

Standard composition of eBooks

Structure Of Documents
When body matter is written, it is important toremember to structure the document using‘headings’. You can use the ‘Style’ function in word
processing or DTP software. In terms of eBookpublishing, it is easier and you’ll get better results if
you have acquired the habit of using the ‘Style’
function when you write the manuscript.

Regardless of which method is used, there areseveral points to note. These will be explained in
the following order:

I recommend that you produce a structured
document by using different heading levels

Composition of an entire book12

layout images as they like. On devices that have a
big display such as tablet, the display may beattractive. However, in the case of small display
such as a mobile phone, it may happen that, even if
the publisher is careful with the layout (including
floating text around image), it is possible that theimages are too small to see. In a sense, this problem
can be solved only by making a loose layout.

including ‘chapter’, ‘section’ and ‘paragraph’.
These might also be called by numbers such as‘heading 1’, ‘heading 2’ etc. In this article, thewords ‘heading 1’, ‘heading 2’ and ‘heading 3’ areused.
When you write a text, it is necessary toconsistently follow the order of the level ofcaptions; that is, you must start with ‘caption 1’ andcannot skip.

Text Decorations
Text in a paragraph may be decorated for emphasisor other purposes; also, in Japanese, rubypronunciation guides (also called furigana) may be
added. In a foot or endnote, material in brackets
may be set to a small font size.

When using a word processor or another text editor,
many people probably set captions only bychanging text decorations such as the font size orboldface. However, this will not complete thesettings. You must complete the settings byselecting ‘caption 1’, ‘caption 2’ or another style in‘Style Settings’ when you use a word processor anddo this consistently.

Reflow Type EPUB Production
In this section, reflow type EPUB production
workflow is explained using Voyager Japan’s‘EPUB 3 Maker.’(Note) Why should you avoid setting captions with text
decoration? Large font size, bold font and the like
affect only the superficial appearance. As readers, we
can interpret them as captions; however, electronic
devices cannot made that determination. Many viewers
have a function to jump to the next caption, but proper
caption settings are necessary to use this function. You
can also see the benefit of setting captions properly
when you use text-to-speech (TTS) software.

‘EPUB 3 Maker’ is a Web service to convert adocument to EPUB 3, and it can create both text
and comic illustration content. The conversion
format can be selected from either EBPAJ (TheElectronic Book Publishers Association of Japan)
EPUB 3 File Creation Guide or the General guide(for Kindle/ iBooks/ Google/ kobo/ Yahoo!).
Converted EPUB 3 is simple, and without wasteful
tags; it has a proper structure and professional
quality.

A point to note with paragraphs: do not set indents
using spaces and new lines.
For example, if you want to indent an entire
paragraph by 3 letters, you must not indent byinserting 3 spaces, writing a sentence and inserting
3 more spaces after the start of a new line. If you
are using a word processor, you should use ‘Style
Settings’ to set an indent.

At present, this service is for companies, but aservice for individuals capable of conversion fromMicrosoft (MS) Word is planned for launch thisautumn.
For details of EPUB 3 Maker, refer to the following
URL: https://pro.dotbook.jp/mkepub_man/manual.
html

Inserting Images
Many eBooks may include illustrations or figures
for explanation or enhancement. When you insert
them, be aware that there are various display sizes
in EPUB viewers, and readers may change font sizeor hold the viewer vertically or horizontally. It
probably better not to worry too much about theexact layout of the images and to merely place theimages between paragraphs.

Document For Conversion
The first step is to prepare a document for
conversion. Take care to follow the structure
explained above.
‘Body text’ is composed of ‘captions’ and contents(‘paragraphs’, inserted images and etc.). Eachparagraph can be either centered or right-align (andbottom-align in vertical text layout). In addition,

PDF fixes layout tightly so that publishers can
13style you like for paragraphs.

paragraphs may be indented for lists or quotation.
Sentences in a paragraph may have added ruby,specific font style, font size and font color or haveemphasis through circle marks or lines. Inserting
hyper links is a specific function of eBooks.

Conversion And Conversion Logic
With ‘EPUB 3 Maker’, the table of contents andcolophon are automatically produced when adocument is converted to the final EPUB file. For
the cover, a prepared image for cover is used as thefirst page of EPUB (and as a cover image for an
icon on a bookshelf). The index is automatically
produced from the points marked as captions. The
imprint is automatically produced from preparedbibliographic information such as book title andauthor name.

EPUB 3 Maker has an unique format called as ’DP
Mark Up’, which is a mark up format based on
Aozora Notes, used in Aozora Bunko.
(Note) Aozora Bunko is a free library of Japanese
literary texts on the Web which are free from copyright.

‘DP Mark Up’ enables headings, images, paragraphindentation, alignment, addition of ruby, text
decorations (font style, font size, font color, verticaltext in horizontal text and emphasis circle mark orline) and hyper link insertion.

Output Format‘Output format’ means the format after conversion;of course it is EPUB 3. As mentioned before, EPUB
3 can be read on any different device. ‘EPUB 3
Maker’ can produce documents in two output
formats: Kindigi (conforming to the EBPAJ EPUB
3 File Creation Guide) and Kindle/ iBooks/ Google/
kobo/ Yahoo!. Kindigi (conforming to the EBPAJEPUB 3 File Creation Guide), true to its name,meets production specifications of Kindigi and is
the same as EBPAJ EPUB 3 File Creation Guide.
Preset CSS (Cascade Style Sheet) is available forthis format.

In addition to this method, I will introduce anotherexample of how to produce a manuscript for EPUB
conversion using a word processor. The manuscript
can be produced using MS Word or LibreOffice.
(Note) LibreOffice is an open source office suite whose
native save format is OpenDocument Format (ODF). It
can open and save MS Office documents (OOXML).

Using the ‘Style’ function, create the settings. In
particular, be sure to set captions as Caption 1 andCaption 2, etc. Both MS Office and LibreOfficehave a standard ‘Style’ menus for captions. Oncethe captions are set, you can chose whatever naming(Note) Kindigi is an abbreviation in Japanese for the‘Urgent Content Digitization Project’ sponsored by the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

‘Kindle/ iBooks/ Google/ kobo/ Yahoo! capable’[Document for Conversion][Display Layout of Converted EPUB]◎ Setting DP Mark Up to text
Caption setting by multi-byte
black square (■)

EPUB 3Maker
Ruby setting

Conversion◎ Setting by MS Word

Caption setting by Style

Ruby setting

Each method results in the same output.
EPUB conversion flow by EPUB 3 Maker

14conforms to to EPUBJP (EPUB 3 Japanese BasicStandard) http://www.epubjp.com/home）
and canalso add meta-data necessary for iBooks or Kindle(KF8). When converting from a word processor
manuscript as mentioned above, this is the selected
format.

If a navigation function is necessary, prepare antable of contents page using clickable map or use
the navigation function of EPUB.
Preview
There is a tool called “epubcheck” that validates
EPUB file format is correct; so use this tool tocheck immediately after conversion. EPUB 3 Maker
includes in its conversion process a step to validate
the file by “epubcheck”, so if a file is properly
converted, there are no file format problems.

Fixed-Layout EPUB Production
The previous explanation deals with text-centeredeBooks, which use the ‘reflow format’. In contrast,
image-centered eBooks including comics and photobooks are ‘fixed type’ or ‘fixed layout format’.
Production workflows for the reflow format andfixed layout format are completely different. The
reflow format has already been explained in theprevious section; this section explains the fixedlayout format.

In addition, EPUB 3 Maker has a preview function
to check converted EPUB to be sure it has been
converted correctly. Because it is a Web-based
service, you can check not only via PC but also by
smartphone or tablet. You can check for omissions
and errors, layout settings and so on; if there is aproblem, correct the manuscript and convert again.
If there are no problems, download a file andcomplete the process.

Every page of the eBook discussed in this section ismade up of images.
Fixed layout format content means merely thatimages are lined up in order, but for the facing
pages to display properly, the following settings arenecessary.
・S etting of page turning direction (‘from right toleft’ or ‘from left to right’)・Setting of odd and even page numbers (right pageand left page)

Preview on PC

Preview on
Smartphone

Preview Function of EPUB 3 Maker

7

6

5

4

3

2

❖ Future Of EPUB

1

Advanced/ Hybrid Fixed Layout
When text type reflow text and fixed layout are
mixed, this is also defined as ‘fixed layout’ in
EPUB. At present, only a few readers, such as‘Readium,’ can handle this format, but in the future,these will probably increase.

Page Progression Direction
Example of facing pages layout

BinB

Give My Regards to Black Jack by SHUHO SATO
Manga on Web：http://mangaonweb.com

Google Play Books

In addition, ‘Advanced/ Hybrid Fixed Layouts’ arealso being created. This format enables scrollingfrom frame to frame so that one can read comics ona mobile device, make the words in a comic balloon
bilingual, and create reflow formatted text within
fixed layout pages in magazine-type eBook.

Kinoppy

Examples of Navigation Functions Give My Regards to Black Jack by SHUHO SATOManga on Web：http://mangaonweb.com

15

develop multi-function tools. Others may develop
tools with few functions but which are stable anduser-friendly. Do you want to distribute rich content
for specific eBook store? Or do you want stability
and the ability to distribute an eBook to every
bookstore? The most suitable solution will likely
differ depending on the need. If the best solution is
not available, you can try to develop your own.

Future Benefits Of Open Format
In this article, I have introduced production
workflows, accounting for the differences in devices
and considering that there is presently much underdevelopment. This may have left the impression that
there is a lack of unity and much confusion. But thissituation will not continue for long. Open andstandard formats provide ground for companies andindividuals to freely develop solutions. We expectthat better services will be developed and provide us
new possibilities.

It will not be long before such a day will come. We
should remember that there is a long history of trial
and error, but these countless trials have connected
us across the globe. I encourage you tocourageously challenge yourself to create something■new.

Of course, we still have the freedom to select thebest one. Some developers may focus on trying to

VOYAGER TIMELINE
1998.7

T-Time Internet Vertical Writing and Reading Model (Hybrid edition), a software which converts HTML files into book-like text in a vertical layout,
was released.

1998.10Adapted TTZ format into T-Time, a predecessor of dotbook format (.book).

2000.6

Adapted .book file format.
Adapted T-Time Plugin: a .book/vertical reading system for web browsers. Made it possible for distributers to administrate the reading time on web
browsers.

2000.9.book was adopted as the standard ebook format in the PABURI electronic library, the collaborative electronic bookstore of four major publishingcompanies (KADOKAWA GROUP PUBLISHING, Kodansha, SHUEISHA, SHINCHOSHA Publishing).

2005.3

Announced T-Time 5.5, with a new function which allows exporting on-screen images.

2006.2

Implemented low-brightness mode in T-Time. Made it possible for visually impaired persons to read .books by providing choices in font size,brightness of screen and a magnifying glass.

2006.10

Made T-Time compatible with Denshi-Kataribe, a text-to-speech software, which made it possible to listen to .books.
Cooperated with CELSYS and INFOCITY. Adapted BookSurfing, a reader for mobile phones. Started distributing .book files in BookSurfing format.

2008.5

Announced T-Time Crochet. Started distributing encrypted .book files in increments for faster access. Realized a distributing system for highcapacity content, such as comics, that can instantly respond to users’ requests regarding display mode.

2008.7

Released T-Time for iPhone. Started providing comic books for iPhone and iPod touch in App Store.

2008.11

Made .books compatible with PC-Talker, a text-to-speech software for visually impaired persons using PC.

2010.6

Adapted Risoh Shoten to iPad and released Voyager Books, a viewer app for iPad.

2011.10

Released the “EPUB3 Japanese Basic Standard” in Japanese and English. Jointly launched the EPUB Japanese Standard Study Group (EPUBJP).

2011.12

Released “BinB”, a new reading system by Books in Browsers. At the same time, opened “BinB store” running on this BinB system.

2012.3

The reading system “BinB” started supporting comic books. Realized the right-to-left page progression and the mirror-margins layout without any
application or plug-in for web browsers.

2012.7

Started providing the “BinB” reading system to Yahoo! Japan Bookstore.

2012.12

Provided the “BinB” reading system to Shueisha’s “Ultra Jump Magazine Official Website”.

2013.2Published “Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto – Japanese Edition –” edited by H. McGuire and B. O’Leary, originally published by O’Reilly Media. Provided
the “BinB” reading system to Kodansha’s special bookstore site “Denponya San (Mr. e-Bookstore)”.

2013.4

Provided the Chinese-compatible “BinB” reading system to Taiwanese e-Bookstores, “eCrowd Media Inc.” and “Wanderer Digital Publishing Inc.”.

16

What’s Next Beyond Self-Publishing?


Chief Editor of the digital magazine, Torutaru

Yasushi Furuta❖ Digital Publishing And Self-Publishingcomputer, I had complete freedom to do it myself.
For someone like me, who makes his living at
writing, this was tremendously attractive. I had been
captivated by the allure of self-publishing.

My name is Yasushi Furuta, and I publish Torutaru,
a digital magazine. I am a writer by profession.
Beginning my career in 1995, I have hardly
experienced “writing” with a pen. That is because,from the beginning, I “entered” my text digitallyusing a word processor. I think that printing presses
had already been largely digitalized at the time , but
communications was not fully developed and there
were compatibility issues, so there were plenty of
editorial rooms that didn’t have computers. For thatreason, we commonly printed out our manuscripts
on home printers and faxed the pages to an editor.
Later, emailing became commonplace, andmanuscripts were then printed for the first time at
the editor’s office, instead of at home. Even then,there were probably still points in the editorial
process where someone looked at a printed versionof the manuscript and reentered data digitally. Now,
however, we have made progress in digital editing,and this two-mode process have finally disappeared.
I think we can generally say that at this point in
time, the only place where something should beprinted is at the actual printing press facility.
In much the same way, the form of the book itself
has changed, and we have arrived at a new type ofbook where even readers do not have to touch
paper. As this becomes more widely accepted, we
will see tremendous changes to the “stage” that was
the essential performance space for the publishingbusiness.

❖ It Is Difficult To Create A “Good Book”
All Alone

Nearly anyone can create a digital book fromscratch. This is really true. But, it isn’t long before
one realizes the limits of going it alone.
For example, take book covers. Because one doesn’thold a book in one’s hand, the cover is an evenmore important part of the appeal, and so, I needed
to ask someone to help. Moreover, when I had
problems with the layout or design, I needed to ask
a programmer or designer to assist with these
aspects. I also realized that in order to promote mybook over the internet I needed someone with thatexpertise. Finally, what I wanted most of all was an
extra pair of eyes. In traditional publishing, editors
and proofreaders have a firm grasp of the projectplan, and, by serving as the text’s “first readers,”
they raise the quality of the text through carefulreading. Actually in my case, I rarely receive muchcorrections to my manuscripts. Perhaps it is due tothe recent publishing slump that there have been
cutbacks in the proofreading business. Still,
however, editors read and make comments.
However, in true “self-publishing” no one checks
over a text; for me, this was a source of anxiety.
So, it is quite difficult to create a good book allalone. My long-standing connections to the
publishing world might have made me feel thisparticularly deeply. Perhaps a strong will, and more
extensive knowledge and technology might have
solved the problems, but I found that it wasessential to get support from others engaged in thesame endeavor while leveraging the inherent
nimbleness of self-publishing. At that point, I hit on

Specifically, what will change? I wondered thismyself, so, beginning in 2010, I used Amazon, iOSapps, and Puboo (http://p.booklog.jp/), and tried
publishing several books. Sales were modest, but,even with this completely different approach, I was
still able to publish books. In particular, I was struckby the casual nature of the process. The“publishing” part was almost the same, but, with17

creating a subsequent draft which could be
rechecked. This process could repeat as necessary
until the final product was completed. Once therelease date was determined, team members would,
as time allowed, promote the magazine by posting
the material via Facebook, Twitter, blogs and soforth. This was our basic process.

the idea of collecting serialized columns on various
topics into a “digital magazine.”
The basic idea is like that of a rock band. I assemble
the instruments, various lyrics, songs, and so forth,and then on a regular basis, produce a digital
magazine. Since a digital publication can contain all
kinds of content, I decided to let people who wereinterested create whatever they wanted, withoutworrying about their areas of specialization or
expertise. In other words, like a sign in a local
record store that used to say: “Looking for
professional and part –time musicians,” I posted asimilar type of notice in Facebook: “Looking forpeople to work on an digital magazine.” On April 1,
2012, we debuted our digital magazine called
Torutaru (http://bit.ly/toru_1). Since then, we have
had four issues and two special editions; all
combined, we have had a total of over 12,000
downloads as of late May, 2013.

Of course, it was the SNS function that made thiswork process possible, but the rapid development ofcloud-based storage and the possibilities it opens up
for editing and creating material also played acrucial role. Just two years ago, group of individuals
like ourselves could not have done this. Even one
year ago, I think the process would have been much
more confusing. In that sense, the development of
the web has really made today’s digital publishingpossible.
This production process was born naturally out oftrial and error, but many people found it quite
interesting. So, I named it “crowd publishing.”
Using cloud-based services, a team (crowd) works
to publish collaboratively. This kind of grouppublishing will take self-publishing to a new level.

❖ Collaborative Digital Publishing Using
Social Networking Services (SNS) And
Cloud Computing
Torutaru is published using EPUB 3, but it is notjust the format that is digital. In fact, one of its
hallmarks is that everything related to the
publication is digital. First, the authors I assembled
via Facebook live in various locales, from Hokkaido
in the north to Kagoshima in the south, to Franceand America abroad. As a result, it wasn’t possible
for us to physically get together or to exchangematerials face to face.

❖ The Significance And Possibilities Of
Crowdsourced Publishing
Torutaru is currently distributed free of charge at(http://bit.ly/toru_k) so the business angle still needs
to be developed. In the future, we intend to again
proceed via trial and error, and to possibly publish
some of the material in a book. We don’t know if
we will succeed or not.

Our editors used the Group function in Facebook
and kept documents and progress reports in Google
Drive. Google Drive’s strong point is the ability toallow editing and proof reading to take place in thecloud. Large files, such as images, video and audio
files were uploaded to SkyDrive, a cloud-basedstorage site, and we had separate folders for eachmagazine issue. We also stored completed
manuscripts there, so it functioned as an archive.
Then, programmers and engineers could download
the files and mark them up. Next, using “gepub”, an
EPUB generating software made public on GitHub,
we created our first draft. The Facebook editors
would then download their portion and edit using
their own terminals and OS. If there were changes
or bugs, these could easily be shared and fixed,

However, I feel strongly that there is substantial
merit in crowdsourced publishing. Of course,
creators can contribute their skills to help one
another, but, more than that, there is the marketing
effect that comes from engaging social media. It is
often said that web-based promotion is essential togetting digital content to people, and crowdsourced
publishing offers an excellent avenue for thatthrough the everyday activities of its participants
sharing and retweeting.
The greatest value, however, is the inclusion of third
parties into the creative process. we introduced theeditorial function into our work with Torutaru, butother contributors too could have a substantial share18

in the creative process. Anyone with interest canengage. Thus, from unexpected places, one mighthear a new idea coming from someone suggesting,“how about doing it this way?” and if one includes
Twitter in the mix, then some excellent idea mightcome from a completely unknown person. Of
course, there can also be contributions that are notterribly helpful, but in general, there is a lot to begained from this type of creative style that, by itsvery nature, incorporates the unexpected into its
structure and doesn’t depend solely on meetings andbrainstorming sessions.

by working with creators with whom we havepreviously not had contact. For example, one of ourcolleagues who is in the fountain pen business andcurrently writing a column in our magazine, has an
idea about the “next generation writing interface,” apen that works like an app and connects with theinternet. This new technology may represent a
second major shift in digitizing text, following thefirst shift when text was “entered” via word
processing. Other examples include some young
New York dancers still in training recently sent a
short dance film. They are imagining events held on
stage or in the street that feature both film images
and dance. A writer also a “shougi” (Japanese chess)
instructor, recently connected with the president ofa picnic group and together they have planned“shougi and board game picnics” that are being held
at various places across Japan. Those types of
events can also be considered “content” will appear
as a “book” and can be “read.” I dream of “books”
in the future that rapidly incorporate these kinds ofideas.

Since I have been continuously working in thisflexible environment, I have come to see new
possibilities in how teams are assembled. In termsof publishing models, if we are able to assemble
professional teams for text, drawing, photo, editing,design, typesetting, and programming, then we canhave the smallest possible units. And, if we could
add someone with web marketing expertise, itwould be the best. But, this idea is only extending
the traditional publishing. It is merely “digital (lycreated) publishing.” I think it is a real waste to use
the development of the web just to publish digitally.
In order to imagine the future media and “book of
the future,” we must open the door wide, and createa place where many different people can join us
inside.
At present, Torutaru has about 80 contributing
members, including musicians, composers, video
creators, and dancers, many of whom have had no
previous connection to publishing. Because of their
participation, it is possible to screen film series andto make promotional videos. People in printing and
DTP operator who until now have not had a role incontent creation, will definitely play a role. Beyond
thinking about books that are “born-digital” thesemembers provide a valuable resource for us to the
traditional skill of book creating can be of help increating “born-digital” books. Experiments withoriginal fonts created by designers especially for
digital publishing are also possible due tocooperation by various members of the group.

Of course, it may be that my vision is just too big tobecome reality. But, when we think of “where thebook is headed,” we don’t actually know what thatwill end up looking like. It is worthwhile to try out
new ideas. I think this effort will not only expand
the concept of the “book”, but it will also expand
our notion of what think of as “content.”
To recap, “digital publications” are not just books
that have been digitized. Creators from various
places come together, and show us the promise ofchanging what we think of as production, and how
we think about content. Working with Torutaru hastaught me this. It may be audacious, but I am
planning to keep going in this direction.
■Yasushi Furuta

Born in 1969 in Aichi Prefecture. A writer bytrade, in 2010 he started the private label
digital press Kanakana Books. In April of2012, he founded the digital magazine
Torutaru using EPUB 3. Kanakana Books:

However, I strongly feel that this is not enough.
What we presently call “content” is really just apackage, and nothing more. And this is just notinteresting. Presently, the Torutaru editorial team isworking toward developing completely new ideas

http://kanakanabooks.com/

19

After Drifting Along Together For 30 Years, What Now?


Voyager Japan, Inc.



Masaaki Hagino, President❖ A Chance Meeting Marks The
Beginningunderstand the grandness, I said, but when I asked,“but how do we actually do it?” Bob quickly
responded, “You don’t understand – what we needis money, money!” he said, and then he tempered it
with, “well, more politely, capital, you know?” I
didn’t really understand English well. But, at any
rate, I think he said something like that.

There is a reason why I stand here today. There issomeone upon whom, for many years, I depended,or, perhaps more frankly, to whom I clung. For me,
Bob Stein has been my colleague, my partner, and,at times, my life support. Without this man, I
wouldn’t be here today.

If Bob was trying to persuade me to cough up cash
like a trickster, he was gravely mistaken, since I
didn’t have it. But, regardless, if he wanted topersuade me, or anyone, to provide funding, he’dneed to show some actual plans that could make his
grand idea actually work.

Bob is oddly insistent that that was 32 years ago.
Maybe he doesn’t want to neglect even a single
year. Because for Bob,
our meeting was the
beginning of his journey
too. Our ships did notleave a clear wake, notby any means. We
floated along, drifting
here and there, in ourlittle boats. As wecrossed the seas, weperiodically hollered out
encouragement to one
another. It ended up
being a rather desperate
Illustration by Takeshi Kojima
ocean voyage of which
neither of us can forget even a single hour.

“So, let’s talk about making the plan,” Bobsuggested. Then, he continued, “There’s no reason
why we can’t become the future Random House,right?” He was a really strange guy, I thought.
Didn’t he have any common sense? Ultimately, thiswas as far as our conversation went. But, because ofthis conversation I was knocked out of my rut andfound myself wanting more than anything to dosomething along these lines. That was all thecontact I had with him at the time. In a way, it
wasn’t bad that I had found a worthy challenger. It
was that chance meeting that marked the beginningof our unusual, almost karmic, connection.

I still remember when we first met. It was in LA, ata crummy fast-food joint. We ordered only drinks
and talked for a short while. Across the street, I
could see a newly built shopping mall. Looking at
the non-stop traffic of cars going in and out of themall, I could smell the joys of consumerist
indulgence, even from across the street.

Thirty-two years later, with the reality that we didn’t
become “the future Random House,” our goal has
become much more complicated than it first was,Bob says, his eyes characteristically half closed. Hesays he has realized that becoming a “publisher ofthe future” is not enough. However he wants to put
it, from our launch long ago, we had years and yearsof drifting ahead.

Bob was wearing a shirt with worn-out collar He
held his head, already balding at the time, high andtalked grandly of doing what had to be done. I
20easy to understand just how big a barrier there wasin creating synchronized sound. It took a very longtime to synchronize image and sound in film. Whenit was finally achieved, it is hard to imagine justhow people must have felt when they firstexperienced the new world that opened with the
freshness and reality of moving images. Thatfeeling is now probably impossible to recapture,
given our current age of digital cameras that havemade such things an everyday occurrence.

❖ Before Becoming A Publishing House
But, in order to proceed, we needed to be ready. We
needed tools for our trade, and pens and paper
wouldn’t suffice. But, it wasn’t that we just neededsomeone who could use computer technology, since
it would be stifling to have to get instruction eachand every time. We needed to be able to use the tool
ourselves, freely. We needed technology that didn’t
require a lot of technical knowledge. What weneeded to be creative was a robust tool that we
could use to break through the status quo and build
our base.

My conversation with Bob touched to Joris Ivens’
film Song of the Rivers Das Lied der Strome. I
realized that it wasn’t that he and I saw things thesame way; rather, it was that we both were looking
in the same direction and enjoying a very niceillusion. But, while our eyes were on the world, ourhearts were in our respective homes. Without
realizing it, we’d become close friends.

“You know Gene Youngblood, right?,” Bob asked.
Youngblood’s book, Expanded Cinema, provided a
detailed introduction to various kinds ofexperimental movie that challenged film’s potential.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that, before thedevelopment of the Hollywood movie industry,
there were a number of film pioneers who fadedaway in indignation.

“To tell the truth, I didn’t think I’d be hearing about
Cinéma vérité and visual anthropology from you, aJapanese guy,” Bob responded, and I could see that
he found Japanese people surprising. But with themention of Gene Youngblood, there was no way I
could leave it with just a nod of agreement. I
definitely didn’t want him take Japanese lightly.
Eventually, using the “expanded” from Expanded
Cinema, we named our tool “Expanded Book.”Thus, even before we thought about publishing, we
tried to see the future through the history of film,
and in terms of tools, transferred printing to thecomputer.

When I first met Bob, I was head of a laserdisc
production company, and was producing the “Visual
Pathfinder” series that included these kinds ofexperimental videographers. I myself had never had
much interest in major recreational films. I was
more interested in probing the depths of thesepioneer filmmakers’ intent through laserdiscs, whichallowed me to examine the film frame by frame, andI came to believe that this was the direction media
would go. In the more than one hundred years offilm history, a new form of creativity emerged
through these experimental techniques designed tocreate illusions.

❖ Absurdity And Sadness
We used all our energy in developing the tool.
Exhausted is probably a more honest way to put it. I
don’t really want to call it a waste, but the truth iseach day was a struggle.

Bob and I talked about the history of film: theFrench Cinéma vérité＊1, the British Documentary
Movement＊2 and the German Encyclopaedia
Cinematographica (EC) ＊3, among others. Aroundthe world, various movements developed aroundcinema. These movements were not just in theimaginative realm either. Reality was also a
messenger. Yet, for film images to capture reality,
they had to carry only what the eyes saw but what
the ears heard, as well.

As usual, we promoted “Expanded Books.” Ourslogan, “Anyone can do anything, easily” is still
circulating. In reality, though, those who can use thetool are few, and those that can use it manage only
by plowing through some real challenges. Of
course, if we had financial capital, were blessedwith well-intentioned backers, had lots of patience,and could do a case-study over the long term, then,we might find out our slogan was for real. If there

Thinking about starting point in silent films, it is21

was ever a long term case study done, then wemight find out that our slogan was for real. But, thatkind of luck doesn’t just float down from the sky.
Ultimately, our slogan was just a gimmick that will
eventually die out.

apartment you were housesitting, where you got a
big dog, and sat at your table night after night
surrounded by intellectuals.
I was also invited several times to that table. At
times, I had to run to the window in my disgust at
being surrounded by such difficult English. Below, I
could see Washington Square Park. Hey, isn’t thisthe absolute center of New York, I thought tomyself?

It is not just users and readers who may feeldeceived. At Voyager, we do everything with, by,and for computers, and we of course carry out ourdevelopment based on computer standards. Thesestandards are clearly determined by private
enterprise, and they can change the standards at
will. But, we can’t complain just because at one
time our own ideas were unknowingly undercut by
these changes.

What was I to do? Like a kid disinherited by his
parents, it was like I was destitute. I had no
qualifications to sit here shamelessly talking about
the future, when all I could think about was how myrice bin was empty and I had no next meal. It is ok
to be poor, right? I thought. At any rate, I am okwith that. If you, Bob, can get something done withother people’s money, then please offer me some
comfort with those words. I silently yelled thesethings at Bob’s turned back and had no choice but toleave.

We have to develop our business by depending on astrong leader. But, the leader can change quickly,
and our ideas can be overturned in an instant. Whenthat happens, there is no point in expressing futility,
or in holding on to feelings of hardship, absurdity orsadness.

❖ My Favorite Word: “Resignation”

Expanded Book originally depended on Apple’s
Hypercard. After that, the focus was on Apple’s
Quicktime, and we moved toward that, but whenApple management’s decided to dissolve the
QuickTime team, we lost our bearings and got lost.

All right, I thought, let’s quit the dependence.
There’s no choice but to go it alone. I’ll do it myself
even if it means that I sacrifice myself. I’ll focus onwhat I can write, what I can say, and, I am only
going to think in Japanese. Who cares about the restof the world – it can do as it pleases and so will I.
The only thing that really exists is the language,
Japanese, that I can use. If you ask me what myfavorite word is, I’d say in Japanese it is akirame,“acceptance”. That is all there is.

Expanded Book came to a dead end. But Bob did
not give up. The plan was to “publish on the web”
so he deepened his efforts and developed TK2/TK3(ToolKit 2/3). With a team consisting of a
production team in New York, programmers in
Bulgaria, and designers in San Francisco, wemanaged to create a stunning product. Time was
required for development. What sustained us
economically was the funding from an easy-goingfoundation that, for those who were successful
anyway, spared nothing in terms of support orfunding. Bob was to act as our fundraising “guru.”

I felt like everything was for naught. Nonetheless, I
couldn’t stop thinking. I still had spirit. Seeing that
it was impossible in Japan to get money from aneasy-going foundation or funds from somesuccessful person, I’d just have to depend on thesimple tools that I had. If what Bob did was boilingup a rich and nutritional beef stew, I was going tohave to answer with soba noodles boiled in water.
Who knows which is better?

Where is that money going to come from? Bob,aren’t you the laborer and soldier who has crossed
the rough media seas? You worked with sweat on
your face, and in the evenings, frugally, you sat at
the kitchen table, becoming a thinker. Watchingfrom the sidelines, it seemed so refined. At somepoint, you became a professor at a famous
university, and became gradually enshrined in the

So, I threw the grand ideas away. There was only
one thing that truly mattered: it was letters,
characters, script. I wanted to take that faithful tool,
constantly been in use since ancient times, and hook22

it to the most advanced technology we have today. I
haven’t forgotten that those with nothing still havepower. Let people laugh at me, but I didn’t care. I
would believe in the power of script.

❖ No One Understands
Over the years, the digital publishing world has
seen dramatic changes. Amazon has managed tosecure a top position in the market. Now, everyone
realizes that there are very big differences between
booksellers, who stand in between publishers anddistributers. For example, we have realized thatwhen we sell through large internet booksellers suchas Amazon, aside from sales figures, the reality isthat we get no additional information from them.

I thought it would be sufficient if the Japanese
language could be read on the web as it is meant tobe read: to have a passage display in Japanesescript, first, vertically and then, at will, to convert itto display horizontally. Above and beyond this basic
requirement for Japanese, it was important toprovide a means to display ruby pronunciation
markers, and to follow the rules for hyphenationand indentation. If we could maintain these basic
elements, then we could let go of other, somewhat
unnecessary trappings, and chalk it up under“acceptance.”

After the failures of TK2/TK3, Bob started talking
incessantly about the “social” component. In aphysical book, the essence is trapped in a stagnant
package. He realized that when a book goes onto
the internet, the form of the information ceasehaving a set and defined form. The infrastructure
must therefore be independently constructed.

We called our new reader software T-Time. Then wecreated .book (Dotbook) as a file format that would
allow the most natural display for reading books,
particularly those written in Japanese. .book wasused by numerous publishers, the main one being
Kodansha, and it also made market inroads as theformat for ebooks sold by publishers.

By loading up a text online, readers can get together
to talk, share, and collaborate, even taking notes in
the margins. In order to help realize that vision, Bob
developed SocialBook. Simply stated, SocialBook
is a system for readers to read together. SocialBook
has been used by experimental English literatureclasses, high school Spanish language classes, for
discussions on German bestselling fiction, and on
how to “read” a film.

On the other hand, Bob, in making his beef stew,
ended up choking. Thinking he could do this andthat, he ended up doing nothing. With several
boiling pots in front of him, he kept thinking it
wasn’t quite ready, but would be soon. We just haveto get to the next version, he kept saying.

However, these uses all seem to have an educational
purpose behind them. But not everyone wants to be
educated in cinema, or watches a movie with theintent of getting some valuable information. These
are just films with the goal of education. Do people
really want that, I wonder? Even if people do have
opinions and perspectives on movies, I think that in
actuality, there are relatively few movies thatsomeone would want to go back to a specific scene
and leave a comment for others to see later. Afterall, movies are really just a product people
consume, and not much more. Bob, don’t you
agree?

In the end, TK2/TK3 was not completed. “I am too
ahead of the times. This battle is being fought in too
short a time frame. Just give me a little more time,and little by little, I’ll definitely make progress…”
Bob said. The lack of success was a tough fact toface. In the end, all the money invested in thedevelopment was really just faith and expectations
offered up by the “guru.”
One of us made a fantastic bet and learned thecruelty of fate. One of us struggled along in the mudand starved. Which one of us was right is hard tosay. But what is for sure is that neither of us really
succeeded the way we would have liked.

When Bob started developing technology andlooking around for funding to get into the market,
he realized a couple of things. Bob constantly said
to me that he believes that SocialBook is anincredible platform, but, at the same time, he23

recognizes that it may take time for users to actually
begin using it. It is a steep road to get to that point.
It may be that, for investors, the timeline to success
is just too slow. Hearing this from Bob, I thought,“What is it with this guy? He certainly is obstinate.”
And, at that point, Bob mumbled, “No one
understands.”

all the big, often undulating waves of change thatseem to trifle with us, lies a human being, floating
like seaweed, just a tiny being. But we don’t need tobe crushed; we can stand tall and know our worth.
Bob helped me, and I helped him to see ourrespective dreams, shining faintly, and to accept ourhearts made of steel. The two of us were one.

❖ We Two Are One＊1 C
 inéma vérité: In French, “truth cinema.” A documentary technique in whichfilmmakers interact with the object of filming. The elimination of the presenceof the filmmaker in conventional films was denied as a fabricated trick. The

I wanted to hug him. He says no one understands
him, but here I am, aren’t I? No matter how
different our viewpoints or situations, we have beenworking together all along. There were times when
we didn’t see each other. But, somewhere in theworld, I have thought that all along we were bothout there battling as though our lives depended onit.

French visual anthropologist Jean Rouch was a well-known proponent.
＊2 B ritish Documentary Movement: A movement led by documentary
filmmakers Paul Rotha and John Grierson that advocated the use of film forpropaganda and education to inspire social revolution.
＊3 E
 ncyclopaedia Cinematographica (EC): In Germany, at the Göttingen Institutefor Scientific Film under Professor Gotthard Wolf, an archive of scientificfilms for use at the university level and for international scientific study.

Hachidai Nakamura, the songwriter behind thefamed “Sukiyaki Song” (actually titled in English “I
shall Walk Looking Up”) wrote a song toward theend of his life that contained a message for those
who are exhausted by life. This song is not on any
CD. I tried to remember it.

Illustration by Osamu Naruse

Digital,not as a Technique, but as a Ray of Hope

Life is borrowing from someone.
Life is paying someone back.
Get someone to do that for you.
Do that for someone else.
I have no interest in continuing to talk about thebudding of this new digital publishing business. I
simply wanted to do something out of the box, andat that point, I met Bob, and we both sailed off. We
set off on a voyage without much knowledge, andhad no choice but to deal with pounding rain, wind,and even drought.
Situations like this are not limited to digitalpublishing. In this world, regardless of whatchallenges you take on, there is ultimately only
oneself to take responsibility and have pride. So, for
Bob and for me, even if we drifted far from thework of publishing, I thought we’d still both besincerely engaging with our work, whatever it was,and we’d each hope the other one was there. In
terms of this new age built with technology andbusiness, it comes down to the starring role thateach individual’s quality of character plays. Behind

DRIFTING in the INFORMATION SEA
Original Edition (Japanese) first published on July 3, 2013
English Edition first published on October 25, 2013
Cover Design: Koga Hirano
Translator: Gretchen I. Jones, Narumi Sato*T-Time, .book, .press, and BinB are registered trademarks of Voyager Japan, Inc.
*Other product, company and service names may be trademarks or registeredtrademarks of their respective owners.
Voyager Japan, Inc.
5-41-14 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
http://www.voyager.co.jp
tel. +81-3-5467-7070 fax. +81-3-5467-7080

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