NEW YORK - Data Guy, the tech and data wizard behind the Author Earnings website and one of the most intriguing and quietly influential figures in the book community, will present on stage for the first time during the 7th Annual Digital Book World Conference + Expo (DBW). The session is titled "Outside the Data Box: Taking a Fresh Look at Ebook Sales, the Indie-Publishing Market, and a Fast-Changing Publishing Business." The DBW '16 main-stage presentation is one of the most highly anticipated sessions at the event, which takes place March 7 - 9 at the New York Hilton Midtown in N.Y.C. Registration and program details are available at digitalbookworldconference.com (@DigiBookWorld - #DBW16). 

 

Data Guy says the industry's largest online retailers do not share data on digital sales. "Traditional industry statistics and methodologies are no longer able to provide a comprehensive view of the market --- they need to be augmented with newer data collection techniques, to fill in the growing visibility gap. The focus of our Author Earnings reports has so far been on authors and their digital earnings, but our raw data and methodology can provide equally useful information to publishers and agents who are seeking to understand the fuller industry picture, so that they can use that knowledge to inform their business strategies as well."

 

During the DBW '16 presentation, Data Guy will provide useful insights into important "known unknowns" and show how creative data hacks can help expand the book, content and technology communities' understanding of the digital publishing business. "DBW represents an opportunity to look at our Author Earnings data from a completely different perspective --- namely that of publishers, instead of authors," says Data Guy. "The questions we'll be asking and answering with that data will be different there; we'll be focusing upon what insights publishers can glean from our data, and then use to improve their own sales and earnings." 

 

Data Guy notes the most recent Author Earnings report shows authors are taking charge of their careers and publishing their work independently, just one of the insights from the data. "Publishing independently is no longer a fallback choice for authors in today's market --- it may even be a far superior choice for most now," says Data Guy. "What was good career advice even a year ago might be poor advice today. Every author, however they choose to publish, should educate themselves about the new shape of the market and make career choices that are informed by up-to-date data on our industry."

 

Data Guy, who produces the Author Earnings website in conjunction with Hugh Howey (@hughhowey), is responsible for Author Earnings' data scraping and analysis. His DBW 2016 session is primarily a presentation of some his latest findings and processes, with an eye towards what would be most interesting and relevant for an audience comprising trade publishers. At the end of the presentation, there will be a short conversation with Michael Cader (@PublishersLunch), founder of Publishers Lunch and PublishersMarketplace.com. 

 

In addition to Data Guy's main-stage DBW presentation, there will be a separate 50-minute open Q&A session, where DBW conference attendees can ask questions and, for the first time, engage in a direct dialogue with Data Guy.

 

"I think [the DBW session] is actually a pretty exciting opportunity to take a step back from our usual focus on author advocacy and author earnings and say, 'Let's look at this --- the raw data --- from a completely different perspective. Let's look at it from a publisher earnings perspective,'" says Data Guy. "Where are there opportunities here? Where are there risks? What genres are particularly conducive to publisher earnings where money is left on the table? How does ebook pricing as a policy affect hardcover sales and print sales? How do those two things interact, and are there any insights that smaller publishers, who maybe don't have as large a dataset to work with as the big guys, can gain from our data that help them go back and crank their own earnings up --- change their policies? Again, it does slide back in to author advocacy, because ultimately we think that will help traditionally published author earnings as well as publisher earnings."

 

Visit digitalbookworldconference.com to register for the event and to hear Data Guy's exclusive DBW presentation. For more insights from Data Guy, read the Digital Book World Q&A here: bit.ly/1Tx0vxG.

 

DBW 2016 is the premier event for book publishers and content providers --- of all sizes and business models - that plan to thrive through and beyond publishing's digital transformation. The event offers an overview of the big changes and new challenges of today's digital publishing landscape, presented by an array of visionaries and influencers --- both publishing leaders and pundits from outside the industry.