Tchaibov-I know you are passionate about this and are blazing a bit of a trail so don't get me wrong-I'm not here to knock you but I don't see how e-books are going to revolutionise writing. Most writers would not really want to involve themselves in the "traditional" book manufacturing process-our job is to deliver a finished MS to the publisher which is fit to print. After that, if you're luck you'll get media coverage etc. The process of producing the book doesn't change with e-books. To get to the point of publication the author needs to go through the same process and will need to involve others-preferably professionals in the production process. I don't doubt that e-books are taking off but our job as writers has to be to produce as high quality a piece as possible. I've seen some god-awful pot-boilers being cobbled together both in non-ficition and fiction and I do feel as if the bandwagon is already heaving with misguided opportunists. Sure, it's a new medium and that can only be good & more democratic but look at the way music's gone-why are so many millions queueing up for BGT & x-factor when they could be putting out their own stuff at the tap of a key? I would say that if you're a good writer & have got your book in the best possible shape it can be & you're new media savvy, prepared to learn & put in lots and lots of work promoting yourself & your wares, then go ahead. But if you're good at writing, you'll be happier doing that.
Quote: tchaibov, Wednesday, 11 May 2011 15:49The following has just been released. May 11.
Full post at http://goodereader.com/blog/e-reader/world-e-reading-congress-consensus-says-ebooks-hurting-print-publishing/
During the last few days, London hosted the World e-Reading Congress. Many publishers and companies were in attendance and the big discussion going on was the fact that eBooks are gaining in leaps and bounds, while traditional print publishing is beginning to suffer.
The CEO of Harper Collins Victoria Barnsley said today that “In recent weeks, HarperCollins has seen its ebook sales growing five to 10 percent, week-on-week. The paperback fiction market this year is down seven percent in trade value – I put this almost entirely down to ebook sales … the mass-market paperback is the thing we’re going to cannibalize most.”
Meanwhile the CEO of Random House Ian Hudson added that “We’ve seen e-book growth outstrip our (total) sales this year by a factor of 10. 2010 UK growth in consumer e-book sales of two percent could exceed eight percent this year and 15 percent next year… U.S. e-book sales will more than double in 2011, taking the total sales in excess of $2 billion this year.”
Only an "s" stands between laughter and slaughter.
Harper Collins e-book sales "growing five to 10 percent week-on-week."
11 May 2011, 15:49
