So is this, finally, the death of the book? If so, it may be a death that heralds a rebirth of reading – most people will be tempted at least to dip into those 100 free classics. It’s more likely, though, that these devices will mean a substantial shift in the way books are published. Conventional publishers of treeware will be under pressure to create every title in e-book format at the same time as on paper; they’d be crazy not to. Soon the e-book market may overtake the other. And in that case, who really needs the publisher?
Writer’s agents are the principal quality-filter these days, as well as increasingly responsible for the editing that most British publishers no longer bother with – so what is to stop writers and their agents doing deals directly with (say) Sony/Waterstone’s? And if a few libraries and Luddites and the author’s mum want a paper version, that can be easily arranged in small-run special editions.
Treeware!
Previously here:
eBooks And Pricing
Books 1.0: Where The Money Goes
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