The History in an Hour series takes a specific subject, ranging from 1066 and the Battle of Hastings to Nazi Germany and Adolph Hitler, and provides a concise, yet thorough, coverage of the topic in an iPhone app or eBook. Priced at $2.99 per download and incorporating text as well as pictures from historical archives, the series was created by Rupert Colley. Colley spoke with Suite101 about the History in an Hour series and discusses the project, the challenges of being a small electronic press, and forthcoming titles for 2011.
Suite 101: What gave you the idea for the History in an Hour series?
Rupert Colley: I originally had the idea in 1999. I was buying so many history books, wanting to read all of them and ending up only reading a few. I wanted to read about the Romans in Britain or the Russian Revolution or the War of the Roses, etc but didn't have the time. That's also when I came up with the slogan "History for busy people." So in 1999 I started writing a short book about the Romans but it petered out. I never did finish it. Also I thought the chances of getting a publisher on board were slim.
Ten years later, the idea still seemed relevant. Yes, there's Wikipedia but excellent although it is, it's not designed to be read as a narrative with a beginning, a middle and an end. History In An Hour is.
After my youngest child started school, I returned to the idea. Now, I realised, I didn't need a publisher - I could do it myself. So I finished the first one, World War II In An Hour, set up a website, and quietly launched in December 2009.
I started selling it on a couple of self-publishing platforms and, at the same time, met Mike Hyman of Collca, an app developer. Through that chance meeting the apps came about.
Now, a year on, I have eight titles, a site with a decent number of articles on it and grand plans for 2011. Two of the titles have been written by people who have approached me with a proposal and taken it through to publication, and there are another five authors currently working on future titles. I care very much for these titles because I feel people have entrusted me with their work, which I find a great honor, and it's for me to find an audience for it.
Suite 101: How competitive can these apps be as eReaders and eBook formats for smartphone gain more market share?
Rupert Colley: There is a lot of competition out there so I make the titles as widely available as possible. As well as apps, they are available as eBooks from lots of different online stores and also from Apple's iBooks store. Next on my list is the Kindle and the new Google eBook platform.
I purposefully sell them cheaply because obviously it encourages people to buy them and helps spread the word.
Suite 101: Which app is your most popular?
Rupert Colley: Hitler In An Hour and Ancient Egypt In An Hour have only just been released, but from the first six the most popular is the one you've reviewed - Nazi Germany In An Hour
Suite 101: How do you plan to engage HIAH readers? As a small press, what tools do you use to build a customer base?
Rupert Colley: Being a small press it's always difficult. I add new articles to the site on a regular basis so that it's always fresh and hopefully that encourages people to come back. The articles will often include extracts from one of the books as a taster.
I have a few regular contributors to the site now and I like to think it has a community feel to it. In the first year we posted exactly 100 articles on the blog and I'd like to keep that momentum going. The bigger the site gets, the more it gets picked up by the search engines and the more inbound links it gets and the greater the authority it has. It takes a lot of work. But History In An Hour is only a year old, it's still early days.
I use Twitter a lot and many of my customers and contributors have found me through Twitter. I love the immediacy of Twitter. I should use Facebook but haven't as yet.
I will often approach a site or a blog with a particular interest with one of my titles. For example, Kaye Jones, who wrote 1066 In An Hour, was interviewed on a site dedicated to medieval history, and I got Black History In An Hour mentioned on a few black interest sites.
With each new title I send out a press release to dozens of potentially interested sites. Some pick up on it and that always helps.
Word of mouth is important and teachers in particular are always receptive to History In An Hour. The trick is - how to let every history teacher to know about it!
Suite 101: What are some upcoming titles readers can expect?
Rupert Colley: I managed to get eight titles published in 2010 and hope to have another four within the first two months of 2011: American Civil War (to coincide with the 150th anniversary of its start); The Wives of Henry VIII; the Black Death (the second title by Kaye), and Afghanistan (from the Anglo-Afghan wars of the 19th century to the present day).
Further on I hope to have Charlemagne, the Reformation, the Seven Years War and World War I. So hopefully something for anyone interested in history. And new ideas always welcome.
2010 was a busy year. I hope 2011 to be even busier.
Melanie Zoltan - Melanie Zoltan is a former college professor and administrator who has written for About.com, PCWorld, Brain Child, Thomson Gale, and ...
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