Here we will discuss a business & revenue model for authors that use systematized content commons in the e-books they write and publish.

Thanks to the lulu.com and scribd.com platforms which allow the distribution of e-books to over hundred countries, this business model offers opportunities to authors worldwide, both from rich and poor countries.

The use of systematized content commons in the e-books enables authors, especially those from developing countries, to focus on content that works for their peers and neighbors, especially also the poor, and practitioners working in socio-technical niches. By being authored around (freely accessible) content commons, content that is to the point, of high value and high quality can be offered for tiny prices and tiny effort, with revenue going to the authors, and reader benefits deriving from applying the low-cost, yet actionable knowledge. Knowledge work thus becoming a win-win interaction.

The business model will be explained using the canvas of business model generation (1) (Figure)

A low cost structure is possible thanks to the use of web-based systematized content commons, content management solutions, and web-stores.

As she or he develops an e-book, the author working under the atria.us label (which is being developed), commits to use and contribute to the systematized content commons, whenever this is feasible. By recognizing and contributing to the knowledge and content that is in the public domain, the authoring of atria.us e-books becomes also a social enterprise.

The use of the content commons, alongside the atria.us label, will guarantee a time and cost effective reading and learning experience to the reader.

A revenue creek for each author has the potential to grow into a revenue stream that is proportional to the effort invested. By the web-enabled access to a global readership in the myriad poorly-served niches of the socio-technical fabric, and by the collaborative building up and relying upon cumulative systematized content commons.

(1) Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., 2009. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers.