When a dragon says ‘I’m in’ to book publishing 

A 600-year-old technology has been endorsed by one of the country’s most astute and technologically aware entrepreneurs, namely Steven Bartlett, who has set up Flight Books because printed books are, he believes, the perfect medicine to counter the noise of the digital universe. But this is not a vanity investment because he likes printed books, even though he does. Bartlett is convinced that conventional publishers have become complacent and have failed to lean in to the possibilities of digital technology.

Flight Books will change this by tapping in to artificial intelligence, data and social media to experiment, to devise new books and to reach new audiences. It will be by identifying these audiences and matching them with books, or creating books to suit these audiences that Bartlett believes will shake up a publishing industry that would rather rely on gut feel, instinct and connections than try to seek out outstanding content. He is not the first and will not be the last to take on publishing behemoths, Bartlett, however, is planning to do this not on their terms but on his territory – data, programming and a podcast and social media empire.

Printers of course should welcome this. It is further evidence that the printed book is not only a highly resilient product, but also one that still carries a huge kudos. People who have had a book printed and published are rarely shy about telling others about this. What has been lacking is the opportunity for some of the books that become lost in the quagmire of traditional publishing to see the light of day and achieve the sales that ought to be possible. This has been the promise ever since the advent of the internet, but rarely fulfilled. Digital printing has transformed the way that books can be printed and marketed. Digital thinking may now do the same for which books are published.

Gareth Ward