Ebooks Follow The Trail Blazed By Paperbacks

[gb18]

"It doesn’t take a genius....."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2012/08/20/ebooks-follow-the-trail-blazed-by-paperbac...

[bobstro]

Isn't it fair to say that publishing flourished with the advent of paperback publishing? History shows that business must evolve to survive, but in the end, I expect the results to be positive for all. The mistake that publishers seem to be making, along with the music and movie industry, is that somehow they're guaranteed the same revenue streams they've seen in the past for the same old media.

I am wondering whether ebooks will replace paperbacks, or grow a new, as-yet untapped demand in addition to paperbacks. Do people collect paperbacks with the same passion the old hardcover collectors did "back then" when paperbacks first showed up?

[patgolfneb]

I think paper back books will be available in even fewer locations. The number of times titles, and the length of time they are available will shrink also. This is basically what paper back books did to copy hard cover books. The change in distribution method is the big change obviously. Without the need for pre determined press runs books can sell in small amounts for a longer time. Will ever smaller niches result? How will the attention of potential buyers be drawn? The current e book browsing and recommendation process is primitive at best. I think the real failure is that publishers and book retailers are still locked in to their dependence on a few best sellers for the majority of their profits. The insistence on using the p book marketing model and failure to assist and reach out to buyers in new ways with any effectiveness is proof that the past not the future is still being embraced.

[bobstro]

Way back when, I remember reading about how the "future of publishing" would include Print on Demand kiosks at the local bookstore where any title could be had in hardcopy, and nothing would ever be out of stock. Of course, I also thought we'd go down to the local Tower Records to load our digitial music players up, so perhaps that wasn't a realistic expectation.

If paperbacks go away, how do we get a hardcopy low cost book? Do publishers provide a Lulu-like PoD service?

[Toreth]

It's interesting to watch the change in the ebook market.  People weren't going to invest hundreds of dollars in and ereader, but since the price has come down, more people are open to them. I like to spend my vacations sitting on the beach reading. This year I noticed that probably 25% of the readers had an ereader. I even had people approach me to ask me about the Nook. 

I don't think they would ever replace paperbacks especially with DRM involved. A paperback can be passed from person to person without much trouble. With ebooks it's different. Most popular books aren't lendable and therefore, the DRM would have to be removed which is illegal. I understand why publishers use DRM but I also believe that if I bought a book, I should be able to lend it to anyone I want or read it on any type of device I have. 

I think there will always be a market for each type of book. My brother will only read hardcopies. He has a library and likes to collect books. I have kept a few paperbacks that I loved but I'd rather have them in ebook format so they don't take up space or collect dust. I just wish the shelves on the Nooks were easier to use. Maybe an app or a program to just drag books to a shelf. 

[keriflur]

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bobstro wrote:

If paperbacks go away, how do we get a hardcopy low cost book? Do publishers provide a Lulu-like PoD service?

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If paperbacks editions go away, then I don't think there will be a hardcopy low cost book.  I don't foresee PoD with the big pubs, although right now I think they'd go along with anything if the market pushed them to it.

The way to keep paperbacks from going away is to buy them.

I don't see PB going away completely, regardless.  There are a lot of books that come out in PB only, or PB and ebook only.  I don't see those books going to HC, so if there's going to be a physical copy in existence it will be in the PB format.  But I could see books only coming out in one physical format, versus now where if a book comes out in HC it pretty much always also comes out in PB.

[gb18]

This past weekend, I bought four hardcover former best sellers on clearance; two at B&N, two at Hastings.  All cheaper than paperback, before the paperbacks are out.  

Just an example of problems the publishers do not have with ebooks, and someting they must resolve.