[78-L] Any of this sound familiar?

[Bill McClung]

I've been in book publishing all my 35 adult working years and I find the
rush to kindle/e-book land very amusing.

I do love my ipod as well as my vinyl and love the way they interact so this
is not a broadside against new technology.

There is a major battle going on right now between Google and the various
author/copyright groups over Google's digitializing of millions (yes,
millions) of books.  Google wants to be able to sort through all this
material just as it sorts web material now.  Most of the books Google is
digitizing are public domain but many are not or are in dispute.  At risk
for authors and publishers are control of content and issues of
royalties/compensation.  A handful of bestselling authors have refused to
have their books sold in digital format.  Some authors are opting for only
e-book and are bypassing print all together.  Any of this sound familiar?

Amazon and other e-book providers are pricing their product far below what
print providers have been.  That $26.95 print bestseller that is a $9.95
e-book is causing havoc and making publishers rework their profit formulas
and author royalty contracts.  Any of this sound familiar?

Publishers of all sizes are finding ways to sell their books in digital
form.  There are several e-readers of which the kindle (sold exclusively
through Amazon) is only one.  Barnes & Noble has one.  Borders has one.
Apple has one.  Romance publishers have been selling romance novels a
chapter at a time on cell phones.  The book serial is on its way back on
phone applications.  Singles instead of albums.  Any of this ...........?

When I come into contact with someone using an e-reader (usually in an
airport or on a plane) I always ask how they like the reader and if they
have bought a bound book since they started using the reader.   Every single
time the answers are yes and no, respectively. Every single time. This may
just be a new market but I don't think it's just that.   Any of this
..........?

What this means in part, is that mom and pop bookstores are in distress just
as mom and pop record stores were. They were already under stress from the
availability of printed books sold online (Amazon) and from the discounting
of books in the price clubs.  E-books are just another factor with no easy
way for the bookstore to get into the mix.  Book sampling will follow just
as music sampling has.  And book piracy is becoming rampant.  Any of
this .............?

The reason I'm not in full panic over all of this is that the company I
own sells mostly illustrated books-fine art, photography, history, science
and such-which are not in the front line of e-reader or phone capabillity.
So, for a little while I'm ok.  A third of my customers are book stores, a
third are museums, and a third are upscale gift stores.

So, more power to the kindles of the world.  But let's wait a little while
before we fully embrace them.  Analog (print) has it's uses, too.