[78-L] Any of this sound familiar?

[David Lennick]

The reason we SHOULD be in a panic over this should have been evident last year 
when one of the purveyors of e-books deleted everyone's download of George 
Orwell's books in a copyright dispute. Also deleted were the notes and study 
aids students had been adding.

There is still time, brother..

(What? Mass kindle burning?)

dl

Bill McClung wrote:
> 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.
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