Day 5: Sunday, Session 1

On Sunday, my brother, Keith, and his wife, June, met us in the hotel for breakfast. They were leaving from New York on a cruise later in the day. Breakfast was fabulous! If you ever go to New York, I highly recommend the Sheraton New York on 7th street.


Breakfast!

That morning I went to three more sessions. The first was Writers and Mobile Apps: The Big Opportunity by Al Katkowsky.

As an iPhone/iPad app reviewer and an author, I was extremely interested in this topic. Katowsky talked about why we should consider building a book app: money and exposure; what books are best for an app (any that lend itself to multimedia or tech books - example is iPhone Missing Manual); and what he used to build his app.

Most of his session was way too complicated for me to write here. Basically, he suggested finding a good app developer unless you feel competent to do it yourself and be prepared for your launch by have preselected downloaders (people who will download your app the first day). This is to ensure that your app will get noticed.

As an app reviewer, I would like to add that getting your app reviewed by a major magazine (such as iPhone Life) is a good way to get publicity. Also, create a press release. Reviewers get these to find apps they want to review. (Keep your PR simple! Personally, I hate long PRs. Keep it short and to the point; give me links to photos and videos.)

I'd also like to add that picture books and YA novels can be successfully done on an app. But don't merely put text, static images, and some music in your app and think it will sell. Personally, I'd rather read the actual picture book, itself, than read that. But if you can create one like these: Jack in the Beanstalk by Ayars Animation, Icarus Swinebucket by Michael Garland (created by Giant Atom), and Bram Stoker's Dracula (the Vook version), you'll have a winner!