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Winged Chariot Press, which last month published Europe's first picture book as an iPhone, has already achieved sales of nearly 1,000 units said publisher Neal Hoskins. Sales of The Surprise (Sylvia van Ommen) were recorded in the UK, US, The Netherlands, Belgium and Poland.
The company marketed its picture book app via its Facebook website, Twitter and consumer-based website advertising. The Surprise is retailing at 59pence but this price could increase for future titles as more features are made available, said Hoskins.
Hoskins believes that mobile platforms are opening a valuable market for smaller, independent publishers like Winged Chariot. He said: "It has given us a level playing field where we don't have to compete with the big publishing houses because we are not weighed down by inefficiencies in printing and delivery."
The Surprise is also now available for the Palm Pre phone, whose paid-for store is currently available only in the US, and the publisher is exploring other providers including Blackberry, Nokia and Vodaphone.
Winged Chariot's first bilingual picture book for the iPhone, The Red Apple by Feridun Oral. Hoskins, will be published in November with text and audio, enabling users to read or listen to the story in English or Turkish. Other languages are planned. In the New Year, Winged Chariot will also publish its first fiction book, a 12+ illustrated novel called The Duckling Chronicles by Emilie Christensen.
The company is now exploring opportunities in the educational field and this will be a major area of focus in 2010, said Hoskins.