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The new economy of book publishing

Karin Slaughter: Will eBooks Create An Elite Reading Class?

On one hand, here is a device that can put a limitless supply of books at your fingertips. On the other hand, here is a device that is so expensive that only a select few can afford it. It seems to me that with digitized books, we are taking a giant leap into the past, when access to literature was available only to those of means.

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If we are in the middle of a publishing revolution, I have a few questions. Primarily, which books are we going to offer people who cannot afford readers? That seems to be the Sophie's Choice looming on the horizon. Surely, even with an eBook in every pot, there are still going to be actual paper books in the marketplace. Who wants to bet only a certain type of author will be on offer to paper book buyers? Who wants to bet that education, race, and economics will play an even larger role in deciding who has access to certain types of books?

More importantly, who is going to control access to these books? Digitization represent a boon to censors. How easy will it be for a school district or state to simply wipe out the existence of a book they deem too provocative? Can you imagine what would happen to classics such as "Huck Finn" and "The Catcher in the Rye" if eradicating them from existence was as easy as deleting a file? What is going to happen to these works if we no longer have them on our shelves, in our closets, hidden under our beds? What sort of chasm will be opened up by this Brave New World of digital publishing?
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I think she has one good point and one very bad one. The first is interesting: if paper books become rarer, then yes, like the music industry, they will focus first and foremost on the biggest sellers. The Dan Browns will always be available; narrower or more controversial writers, perhaps not.

On the other hand, the idea that you can remotely wipe all copies of an electronic file is ridiculous. If that were true, there'd be no digital piracy. If anything, it would be more likely to mean a worldwide re-emergence of samizdat literature - except in better quality.
 
Some publishers seem to think pursuing eBooks is yet worthwhile; Macmillan Press put out a blog on March 2nd, announcing that their entire sales model for eBooks is being re-vamped. The MP CEO also indicated they will likely expand to illustrated books and so forth, when the technology "moves beyond eInk screens".

Blio, I think, should be able to help MP out with that. I cannot wait for it to be available.
 
On the other hand, the idea that you can remotely wipe all copies of an electronic file is ridiculous. If that were true, there'd be no digital piracy. If anything, it would be more likely to mean a worldwide re-emergence of samizdat literature - except in better quality.
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An excellent point. There can be more than just one file.
 
I used a Nook today. A co-worker bought one over the weekend. Though it feels wrong, I actually enjoyed the experience. It was lightweight, easy to read, had search and bookmark functionality and was able to hold far more books than I have on my shelves at home. The appeal for travel definitely was there. Plus, the font size and contrast adjusts. Some academic books in particular squash the text into as tiny a space as the eye can detect, requiring an overheated rate of saccadian motion. So, sorry as I am to say it, I enjoyed using it and will likely pick one up in the near future. When I arrived home, I apologized to my books. I still wriggle with guilt.
 
If we are in the middle of a publishing revolution, I have a few questions. Primarily, which books are we going to offer people who cannot afford readers? That seems to be the Sophie's Choice looming on the horizon. Surely, even with an eBook in every pot, there are still going to be actual paper books in the marketplace. Who wants to bet only a certain type of author will be on offer to paper book buyers? Who wants to bet that education, race, and economics will play an even larger role in deciding who has access to certain types of books?
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With the advent of Print on Demand services every author has the opportunity to have their book published (no matter how crap it might be). These new technologies will not limit the access that people have to authors or books.

Further more anyone who still seriously claims that the paper book is in its death throes needs to visit a brick and mortar Chapters/Indigo or B&N on a Saturday.
 
Ewomack:
Soon a really cool one will appear and the publishers will push it. They will pull something HUGE such as "NEW HARRY POTTER BOOK AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY ONLY!!!!" and everyone will rush to buy it. And BANG!! e-publishing will emerge from its now festering fetus like naked Venus on the half-shell.
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After re-reading some pithy thoughts here, I was really struck by this observation. A few years ago, my workplace announced that we would no longer receive a paystub in the mail, everything was going online and it was your responsibility to check and make sure everything is correct. I'm not certain how much money they saved doing it, but I would imagine it would be a pretty penny. I believe you are on to something here Ewomack. All it will take is Grisham, King, or someone like that to announce that a book will be electric only(much like I had an announcement about my pay stub) and then WHAM!, technology's 2x4 will plunk us straight between the eyes. An excellent prediction on your part sir.

sparkchaser:
Biblophilia is not a crime!
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:lol: Sparky, I know that guy in the trench coat hunched over peeking out of alleys is you asking people if they want to a discussion group.

"Pssst!, hey buddy!, wanna read the new Martin Amis book?, I got it right here!"(pulls out a book from trenchcoat in a secret manner.)

More than a few posts have dealt with conversion issues and the like. As Ewomack intimated in a different post that I quoted, the original libraries had scrolls and such, we still have the works that were converted to traditional paper, and I would imagine, we will still have Beowulf and other works on a laptop or other mechanized surface.
 
Looking at the B&N Nook and actually holding it recently, and then seeing the price of the Borders Kobo, sure gave me the feeling that a huge flood is coming that will quickly overcome all sentimental considerations -- look and feel of paper, turning pages, smell of ink, childhood memories, etc -- and even overcome most practical thoughts, such as technical features, size, weight and, yes, even price. Issues such as book ownership/control/erasure, title selection and availability, and even pricing will be engulfed completely by general consumer acceptance, and the new technology will become a usual fixture of the landscape. As natural as breathing out and breathing in, as Professor Higgins would say. And much quicker than one might expect, as I am inclined to say.
The coming revolution is staggering, and I am probably completely wrong, as most forecasters usually are -- but usually also in the direction of underestimating the future.
Think Galileo, Copernicus, Gutenberg; then think wrist watches, cell phones, I-Pods.
 
SFG75 said:
All it will take is Grisham, King, or someone like that to announce that a book will be electric only(much like I had an announcement about my pay stub) and then WHAM!, technology's 2x4 will plunk us straight between the eyes. An excellent prediction on your part sir.
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King already tried that, twice even, with The Plant and Riding The Bullet. He never managed to finish the first, and the second soon appeared in print anyway. E-publishing is definitely on a very sharp rise, and I'm sure there's going to be some exclusive material out there to test the waters, but it's still very small compared to traditional publishing, and no publisher in their right mind would take a potential best seller and say to 90% of the audience "Sorry, we don't want your money." What I do think we'll see more of pretty soon are things like the e-book getting published a couple of weeks before the print one, the e-book having bonus material (like the extras on a DVD), serials, "a la carte" selections where you can edit your own collection of stories, etc.

Peder said:
And much quicker than one might expect, as I am inclined to say.
The coming revolution is staggering, and I am probably completely wrong, as most forecasters usually are -- but usually also in the direction of underestimating the future.
Think Galileo, Copernicus, Gutenberg; then think wrist watches, cell phones, I-Pods.
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Very true. I've heard the saying attributed to a lot of people from Stephen Hawking to Steve Jobs, but it goes something like this: We always overestimate in the short run and underestimate in the long run... except the long run is getting shorter and shorter all the time. It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users worldwide. TV took 13 years, the Internet 4, and it took less than 9 months for Apple to sell 1 billion iPhone apps. Now try the iBook store...
 
beer good said:
What I do think we'll see more of pretty soon are things like the e-book getting published a couple of weeks before the print one, the e-book having bonus material (like the extras on a DVD), serials, "a la carte" selections where you can edit your own collection of stories, etc.
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Here's one example: Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Nicole Galland, Mark Teppo, "and a number of other great authors" are collaborating on "something of an experiment in post-book publishing and storytelling": The Mongoliad, a serialized story to be distributed via iPhone/iPad/Android apps and the Kindle.

Subutai Corporation
 
I had the opportunity to use a Sony E-reader over the weekend. I read several articles from The Nation on it. I really liked it, I think it's a darn good device, though I would have to use the kindle to have something to compare it to. The price is still prohibitive for me, though I'm certain there are a few people in a garage somewhere working hard away on that.
 
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