Comments on: Why I would worry if I was a book publisher

By: 8 digital media trends to watch in 2010 | BetaTales

8 digital media trends to watch in 2010 | BetaTales — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:24:23 +0000

[...] changes are so far driven by book reading. Personally I think e-readers will revolutionize book reading and pose a significant threat to many traditional players in the book [...]

By: Why e-readers may be a great platform for newspapers | BetaTales

Why e-readers may be a great platform for newspapers | BetaTales — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:27:02 +0000

[...] sure e-readers are great for reading books. But what will it take for the technology to succeed with newspapers and magazines as [...]

By: John Einar Sandvand

John Einar Sandvand — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:08:14 +0000

Fredrik,

I think you are right about the need for editorial quality control, and that will be the main value added by publishing houses in addition to the "brand" and promotion. But to some extent it depends on how the publishing houses act in this changing landscape. For instance: If their main strategy is to protect the existing product, by keeping digital prices high and distribution difficult, they are going to loose. I am confident that customers and authors will find alternatives then.
On the other hand they have a good chance of success if they take proaktive action and embrace the new platforms as they emerge.

Regarding hardware: I am sure prices will drop significantly. The e-reader I have tested costs about 5000 NOK (USD 750) in the Norwegian market. I don't think many people will buy it at that prices. But if we are talking USD 300, for instance, it is a different situation.

John

By: Fredrik Mandal

Fredrik Mandal — Mon, 11 May 2009 06:33:08 +0000

Very interesting points here, and I agree on most of them – even if I haven't tested an e-reader myself yet. And the point about us students – imagine! And there is another interesting fact to this point, which merges it with the point of lower cost. When I was to buy a book I needed for a class I took last year, it would have costed me about NOK 1200,- in the local book store on campus. I ended up ordering it from Amazon, costed me NOK 300,- or something – including postage. Add the savings of getting it electronically, and I'd be a happy student.

But there is one key factor that still remains, namely, the start cost. Today, the start cost of a good e-reader is quite humongous as well, making it a big investment. But then again, we're at an early stage of the technical development, and I still remember that the first 486 my family bought costed us some NOK 16.000,-. Pay 16.000,- for a computer today, and you'd get a monster. (Or a Mac, which I prefer. Anyhow.)

But there are some issues here. There will most likely be less action for the publisher business, and that might as you point out be a bad or a good thing. It might be more money to the author, but it might also be less quality to the reader, thus less money to the author in the long run. The editors are often essential, as is promotion to most authors. Thus I do not believe the publishers will run out of business any time soon, but they will eventually have to rethink their business models. The times they are a-changin'.