Writer Post – Publishing is Dead, Jim…Again
I apologize for not getting this up yesterday. It’s been a week…
Over the last few weeks, there’s been a lot more Death Knelling over Traditional Print Publishing. OMG! Print is dead. Ebooks rule. Long live the ebook. But is that really the case? There are arguments for and against. JA Konrath made waves when he announced he’d be selling his next book exclusively through Amazon and Kindle. Dorchester publishing recently announced they were dumping their mass market paperback line for ebooks and POD tradepaperbacks. For some this means the End is Nigh for traditional publishing. For others, it’s an interesting case study. Who’s right? Everyone and no one.
Is traditional publishing in trouble? Very likely, yes. Is this news? No. Publishing has been in “trouble” since the invention of the printing press for one reason or another. Publishing has had the same issues as many industries over time – technology changes a heckuva lot faster than hearts and minds. Hidebound and traditional business practices are hard to overcome. Can Publishing do it? Maybe. Maybe not. But regardless of what the techno-savvy say, I don’t think print is dead, long live print. Yes, print is in trouble and needs to rethink what they’re offering, why and how, but it’s not dead yet.
Why would people want to continue buying books? They’re not interactive or enhance able. They’re not “green”. They take up space. Ebooks can offer a much more intriguing reading experience that has nothing to with reading. There can be pictures. You can carry dozens on a device the size of a phone – if not actually ON your phone. What’s not to love?
In my opinion, a lot. Books – honest to goodness paper books – have advantages over ebooks. One: No dedicated reader – you can read any book without worrying about DRM. Two: no battery. You don’t have to worry about your book going out on you in the middle of reading it because you forgot to plug it in. Three: expense. No matter how much people gripe about how much a book cost these days ($7.99 for mass market, $9.99-$14.99 for Trade, and $25 for hardback – ish), it’s STILL not the $150-$500 for a Kindle, Nook, or iPad PLUS however much for the eBook itself. THREE: You’re not out all that money if you accidently knock your reader off the counter and into the toilet (don’t ask).
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not “anti-ebook”. In fact, I’m all for selling your book (my book, anyone’s book) in every format possible. Do I think ebooks should be priced the same as print? No. Do I think they should be sold as dirt cheap as some people do? No. There’s a lot of knowledge and work that goes into producing a quality ebook, just like a quality paper book.
And for those who point at Amazon’s report of ebooks outselling hardbacks? Show me the hard numbers. Amazon just issued the story. They didn’t share the data. I have no doubt ebooks are here to stay. But so are “real” books. The MP3/iTunes didn’t kill cd sales. The music industry didn’t implode with the advent of music downloads. Publishing will have to readjust, but I don’t think it’s dead yet.