Digital Children’s Literature: How Much Visibility Does It Have?
With the emergence of electronic format and digital channels, distribution and sales platforms such as Amazon, Google Play or Kobo have become the primary channel for purchasing books. However, when we go into these distribution platforms, the books that appear first or featured are often adult books. It is possible to find children’s and children’s literature with a specific search.
This leads us to a non-trivial question: why is there so little visibility for this kind of books on digital platforms? Let’s deepen the topic.
Children’s literature and platform visibility
The presence of titles intended for children or young people is reduced if compared with other sections or categories. Just take a ride on any platform to realize it.
After a search in the main distribution channels, we get the result with the total number of titles available. It is sufficient, therefore, to compare these numbers.
Literature for children and teenagers, all together
One aspect that draws attention, and which affects most platforms, is that children’s and children’s literature fall into the same category. This is a serious mistake to eradicate, since books intended for children or adolescents are very different and therefore deserve two distinct categories.
This state of affairs, on the other hand, leads the user to get confused when buying a book, a purchase that is often not fully aware.
To this we add that this aspect is to the detriment of the young audience. The adolescent reader often dislikes being compared to the child reader, having a feeling of “maturity” emerging at this stage.
Covers and previews
A key element, speaking of the visibility of children’s literature, is to give children and young people the opportunity to see the cover and read a small fragment.
The platforms have been able to give the right importance to this aspect. Many offer book cover images and a preview, as well as a small summary. The more data is available on the book, the more confident the user will feel when purchasing.
The importance of buying advice
Word of mouth has always worked when it comes to buying a children’s book or product. If a friend or acquaintance recommends us a book that they liked, we have an added security. It is not necessary, however, that this person is in our circle of acquaintances. Just take a trip on the net to realize that there are many forums, youtube channels, reading groups ready to offer reviews or advice on books.
The platforms are aware of how crucial it is for a customer to read good or even bad opinions on books. Many, therefore, include specific sections reserved for evaluation or advice, through:
- Scoring systems.
- Ability to leave a comment.
- Symbols and emoticons to express appreciation.
- Ability to share titles and reviews on social media.
What are the platforms that offer more visibility to children’s and children’s literature?
None of the current platforms for the distribution and sale of books in electronic format. Although some have begun to make efforts in this direction, none meet all the requirements for children’s and youth literature to have good visibility.
This conclusion underlines the low importance that the sector attaches to digital literature for children and young people. One possible reason could be good sales success in the print industry. While progress is being made to increase visibility, much remains to be done.
