SMP, Texterity Offer E-galleys

Looking to explore the viability of electronic galleys, St. Martin's Press has teamed up with Texterity, an e-publishing services provider, to offer electronic advance reading copies of selected titles, downloadable in Microsoft Reader, Adobe Acrobat and MobiPocket e-book formats. SMP will issue a downloadable e-galley for Gonzalo Lira's novel Acrobat, scheduled for print publication in May.

Cimarron Buser, a spokesperson for Texterity, said the company is providing back-office technical support for the new service. Publishing professionals may download digital copies of the uncorrected galley for Acrobat from www.bookstk.com/acrobat. Buser also said that Texterity is negotiating with other publishers interested in providing electronic galleys. The new e-galley service is "the next evolutionary step for Texterity, working with publishers on promotion and marketing," said Buser. "We're rolling this service into the rest of what we do."

Texterity chose a range of formats that cover laptops, desktop and handheld computers. Buser also noted that the MobiPocket reader, developed by a French software firm, will operate on virtually any handheld PDA.

Buser said he expects e-galleys to help create buzz for titles, and to help get advance copies out quickly, allowing the publisher to track reviewer downloads and easily provide copies of new titles for the publisher's sales force.

Matthew Baldacci, director of marketing for St. Martin's Press, told PW that SMP was not out to eliminate paper galleys, but wanted to "get the galleys into the hands of additional bookstore personnel and reviewers who may not have received a print galley." But Baldacci also pointed to the possibility of economic savings: "e-galleys give us an almost no-incremental-cost process."