"Imagine: what would happen if every publisher in the world went out of business tomorrow? If every book store closed it’s doors?
"Here’s what I think: I think we would see a flourishing of innovation and the kind of excitement the book business has not seen since the paperback was invented. These companies (sellers and publishers) aren’t all going to close their doors, but a good number might.
"Lamentable? Maybe. Or maybe this is a fabulous opportunity for something new.
"I’m optimistic. New technologies are coming along that change the economics of books: ebooks, ipods, print-on-demand, the web, and more to come yet. The readers are there: just about everyone I know loves books. The writers are there. And let’s face it, if the doom and gloom in the business is right, whatever model these companies were using hasn’t worked all that well.
"So it’s up to us — all of us who care about books — to figure out what the book business is going to look in the next decade or so."
5 comments:
Hmmm, those are excellent points, certainly change is in the air, but I have to admit that many of these things sound overwhelming to me. Not being a techno-anything it's hard to imagine it. Plus, I really like the feel of a book in my hand and hate the idea of losing that. I guess we'll see, let's home I can adjust.
I will never stop buying books. To me the best thing in the world is to curl up under a blanket by our fireplace or soak in a nice hot tub while escaping into one of my favorite books.
I hate audio books and I don't care for e-books (my computer chair is not comfortable). I treasure the small library (over 250 books) I have built over the years and will continue to do so.
I don't think the author meant to imply that books themselves are going away. I think it's a long time coming before we see that. But the current model isn't working. We need a system that is more 'merit based', and more streamlined. I'm convinced that the future of publishing is already here, it's just not quite catching on yet. But it will. We're about to see a huge paradigm shift, and those ready for it (authors, publishers, stores) will be a step ahead of the rest.
Most of us agree about the problem. It's the solution that evades us.
And I like book, no matter what modern technologies exist. I think people should read books.
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