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Please note that since this post was first published Ether have altered their publishing model. Please check www.etherbooks.co.uk for more information.

One art form that has suffered during the move from paper to digital is the short story. Whilst it is true that some very short fiction has found an outlet through new media, traditional short stories have fallen out of favour. Some independent book publishers are still producing collections, but on the whole short stories no longer sell… but will this change?

In the confusion that has formed round the rise of digital-publishing, self-publishing and ‘app’ technology, most publishers have simply ignored short stories. I find this strange since readers have become increasingly comfortable with consuming their content in short form, such as blogs. In fact, digital eReaders are actually the perfect device to consume and read any type of short form fiction. Think about it, reading a 2000 word story on your iPhone would be a pleasure, not a chore.

I suspect the reason that digital book publishers have ignored the short form story is down to money. The marketplaces that have been built (Amazon and iBooks) are literally designed to sell long form books. After all, for a notoriously conservative industry as book publishing, the only way they can shift from book shelves to digital devices is via the safest, least threating and most comfortable route, in essence digitalising what they already produce – books.

The traditional thinking in a changing marketplace has meant that large publishers have failed to recognise the potential of the short story. After all, they will argue that book sales of the pest ten, or so years, have demonstrated that people don’t buy short stories… but is this true? Surely not, surely there is enough fans of short stories willing to pay an appropriate price to read new and exciting work?

Enter Ether Books…

This week I spoke to one of the founders of Ether Books. She explained that they believe they have solved the problem of selling short stories on digital devices. The answer is to create a vibrant marketplace from which short story fans can buy content. Their first step into this market is via an iPhone app.

Before I go on, let me say that I too was sceptical. We have all heard promises of digital platforms democratising writing and giving new talent a voice. Two things eased my worries. The first was an hour long conversation. Ether Books were open, honest and forthright with the way their business works. The second was the fact that they have just been short listed for a prestigious Mobile Entertainment Award in the “best mobile book company” category.

So this is how Ether Books works:

The reader downloads the iPhone app for free, installs it on their phone and downloads the short stories they wish to read. The stories are not free, but we are talking pence not pounds. This means that the price paid for the story can be split, with writers receiving 20% of net receipts. The result is a ready-made marketplace in which readers can find great content and writers can earn some cash in the process.

One of the elements to the set up that left me impressed was the insistence of Ether Books that only the best material is published. They act like a traditional publisher, screening submissions and only publishing the work they feel will find a paying audience. They have already signed up some impressive writers including Alexander McCall Smith, Hilary Mantel and even Paul McCartney. For me, this is an important point; only by building trust with readers that the stories available are of the highest quality will Ether Books be able to develop an ecosystem of buying readers.

Ether Books is now up and running and you can download the free app from here.