OMF Lit braces for the digital publishing trend

CEBU, Philippines - Although physical bookstores are seen to continue to exist, full-service publishing company OMF Literature is preparing to embrace the digital publishing trend to take advantage of the growing eBooks consumers around the world.

OMF Literature Inc. (OMF Lit.) publisher and distributor of largely inspirational, and self-help books in the Philippines, is now working on several partnerships with eBooks dealers like Amazon.com to move up into the modern publishing trend, the digital publishing.

In an interview with OMF sales and marketing director Aleks Tan, he said that while OMF Lit.’s business is taking a leap, while the trend of wellness that includes boosting the spiritual well-being is part of the multi-billion-dollar health and wellness industry, it has to immediately grab the opportunity of taking in the growing number of readers that are now embracing the eBook trend.

For OMF Lit., to take advantage of the modern publishing trend, the organization, which is a non-stock, non-profit institution, is seriously going into the Digital Printing, and eBook distribution.

Tan said the emerging good business in digital publishing is not going to create threat to the convention bookstore type, or the physical book publishing and distrubution, as it complements and serve different markets altogether.

In fact, in the last two years, OMF Lit., has been able to grow its retail and distribution outlets nationwide to 10 stores.

In Cebu, OMF has two outlets one in Ramos Street, and in Banilad area.

Unlike in the past, the consumers for inspiring books, and even “religious” type of books, are not as popular as it only attracted a few market segment. This time, Tan said popularity of inspiring books have grown significantly.

The introduction of “Purpose Driven Life” book in 2009, authored by Rick Warren, has contributed to the awareness of Filipinos to embrace the importance of reading “inspiring” books available in the market.

In the Philippines alone, which OMF Lit., got distributorship deal and re-printing rights with the book’s publisher—Zondervan, it sold over two million copies. Worlwide, the book sold over 20 million copies.

This particular best-selling book has pulled up the awareness of Filipino reading public across segments, cultural and religious background to appreciate the importance of inspiring and self-help books, Tan said.

Significantly, the health and wellness craze, has also brought about strong interest for people to seek help from books, that are will not only provide health to their body, but also for the “soul.” — (FREEMAN)