Repent! Repent! The end is nigh!

Maxinquaye · Nov 27, 2009

http://www.spectator.co.uk/susanhill/5575828/theres-bookshops-and-then.thtml

Whilst I do love the physical book, and will be the last one dragged out of my bookshop, with my nails firmly buried in the carpetry, I do not see the great danger of digitalisation.

The music industry went through it, moving from vinyl to cd's. The vinyl market is still pretty strong, and gives room for lots and lots of really wonderful music stores.

I can't help but feel that digitalisation is inevitable, and that we as writers must adapt to it, and learn from the mistakes that the music industry did, and then face the future from a much better position.

The end is not nigh. Digitalisation is not evil. It can broaden readership (when the ereaders get much cheaper). It will more difficult to find a readership whilst being a drop in the flood of text that will be produced, but at the same time it will allow us to sell more books.

What do you think?

Wayne K · Nov 27, 2009

I think I'll be dead before it happens.

KTC · Nov 27, 2009

From the article:

Perhaps the biggest concern for us all is the e-book. These have their place, just as audio books do but publishers are rushing like gadarene swine over the cliff to predict and even encourage the demise of the printed book. They want to replace real books with e-readers and downloads whereas they should be thinking of those as additional means of reading books which are useful in certain circumstances. But ordinary people who are passionate readers love the physical book. That is what they buy. The book is a perfect piece of intelligent design. Bookshops, especially the best of the independents, are a joy to visit and long may they be so.

Hear, hear. This discussion has been raging on AW since before I got here in two-o-five. I will never stop buying books. Never. I don't do the e-book thing or the bullshit Reader gimmick things and I almost never do the audio book thing. And the industry will never lose diehards like me. And there are MILLIONS of us. So fuck the Chicken Littles of the world. I mean, really.

Rhys Cordelle · Nov 27, 2009

So... the sky's not falling?

KTC · Nov 27, 2009

Rhys Cordelle said:
So... the sky's not falling?

No. It's on tethers both from above and below. It's very secure. It may even be books that hold it up.

Wayne K · Nov 27, 2009

If it's on tethers from above and below, they're erotica books holding us up.

That would put the world in SP's hands.

Yipe.

Maxinquaye · Nov 27, 2009

A little less emotional analysis:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/nov/26/borders-closure-stores-amazon

And no, the sky is not falling - though they'd have you believe that.

Lady Ice · Nov 27, 2009

Physical books win out every time.

Slushie · Nov 27, 2009

I just could not look a screen for 300 pages; my eyes would bleed. I mean, the feel of paper, the smell, the physical act of turning a page...none of that can be replaced.

Wayne K · Nov 27, 2009

I like the new book smell.

Slushie · Nov 27, 2009

mmmm...new book. Yummy.

I wonder what a brandnew Kindle smells like? Plastic and liquid crystal?

Maxinquaye · Nov 27, 2009

Books will still be around, but I honestly think digitalisation will be good for writers.

1) Production costs will be reduced
2) Audience will be larger
3) Consumption of literary works would increase

That would mean:

Book length will cease to be so important - it will probably be the age when the novella start to shine, as a quick snack in the airport

If quality vetting can be preserved, then there will be more room to experiment with fiction.

Look how much more music is consumed compared to only twenty years ago. That could be true for fiction as well.

No, I refuse to be a luddite about this.

Digitalisation is good for writers.

I love books, but i could care less about the medium through which my stories was published, as long as there was a quality assurance so the bottom scrape of the slushpiles wasn't shoveled out together with my books.

Slushie · Nov 27, 2009

You Brits and your funny words..."luddite". pssh.

Rhoda Nightingale · Nov 27, 2009

If/when I get myself published, it'll be to see my years of agonizing hard work put to PRINT, on a real live bookshelf, with a shiny cover. NOT for a clickable download link on Amazon.com. Screw that noise.

stephenf · Nov 27, 2009

Unlike most outdated technology,video tape,seventy-eight records etc.Books are independent of any other devices .So, as long as the books actually exist people will be able to read them.

However,the number of book shops in the UK has crashed.If you look on Amazon there are thousands of books for sale for not much more than the postage.The fact is, the number of books for sale is outstripping the demand.For the small book retailer,the future looks grim.

The down loadable book is a godsend for publisher and on-line retailers,as long as they can stop file sharing.I think there will be a big drop in the price of the book-readers and the paper book will no longer be produced for the mass market.

kaitie · Nov 27, 2009

Wayne K said:
I think I'll be dead before it happens.

Ditto this.

Phaeal · Nov 27, 2009

I don't have an e-reader yet -- I always wait a few generations on the new tech, to let others complain the early bugs away. I also like the price decline.

I will eventually get one as a research tool, and I imagine that once I get used to it, I'll start reading fiction on it, too. I'll also be likely to sample a wider range of fiction, since if I don't like a novel, I won't have a corpse to dispose of or an unfairly slaughtered tree to mourn.

But I'll still buy the books I love in physical form.

A combination of print runs, POD and ebook formats should satisfy everyone. Hold onto your sabots, people.

ChaosTitan · Nov 27, 2009

E-book supporters: Paper books are done for!

Paper book supporters: E-books are a fad! Bah!

People who like both: To each his own.

E-books aren't going away, but for now, I think both mediums will find a way to co-exist, as they have done for years. Your average Joe still can't afford an e-reader, and a lot of people still won't sit at their computer long enough to read a book that way.

Maxinquaye · Nov 27, 2009

I don't think paper books are done for. I hope not. I'm not very emotionally attached to the medium, however, and recognize that my interest lie in interacting with the reader's brain when telling a story. If that is done by paper, an ereader, or a fifty-foot hittite cuneiform inscription stone in Iraq is quite beside the point for me.

I do think that digitalisation will be good for writers, and I'll stubbornly hold to that.

Cyia · Nov 27, 2009

This discussion has been going on on Nathan Bransford's blog for a week or so. From one of the threads there:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/11/economics-of-publishing.html

From Reuters: (I don't know how to make a link, but you can cut and paste.)

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS123534+19-Mar-2009+BW20090319

Barnes & Noble store sales were $4,525 million for the full year.

Barnes & Noble.com sales were $466 million forthe full year.

So... rougly 90% in store, and 10% online.

$4.5 billion vs. $466 million

$1 out of $10 is being spent on line, gift cards would be a big part of that, I'd imagine. Then there's the books only available at B&N .com, like POD books. There are large orders, like school required reading and manuals that are ordered online and delivered. Then there's the people who buy online and then go pick up their books at the store.

colealpaugh · Nov 27, 2009

Maxinquaye said:
Digitalisation is good for writers.

Maybe some. What drives many aspiring novelists is what also keeps them from being dissuaded by Nathan's blog post regarding a NYT bestseller earning $24k. It is the physical book, which can no more be replaced to that sort of artist than a poster print would replace a painting.

Cyia · Nov 27, 2009

"bestseller" is also subjective.

There's no baseline for that distinction. There are books that earn out (and would thus create royalties) and never hit that list.

DrZoidberg · Nov 27, 2009

IMHO, this can only be a good thing. As always new technology makes the world a better place. Luddites always fear change. Let's do our best to ignore them.

Rarri · Nov 27, 2009

E-books have their place, but i think too many people like books without batteries. Plus, it isn't the same problem as music; however you listen to music (LP, cassette or CD), you need power (batteries, mains etc), books don't need a power source in order to be enjoyed and they're already portable.

But now, all i want to do is find my copy of Chicken Licken!

a_sharp · Nov 27, 2009

My daughter is taking an online finance curriculum from U. of Phoenix and uses a Kindle and loves it, especially for notation and quotation during homework assignments. For her purpose the e-reader is a time-saving convenience. Attempts to apply the same to fiction will attract a certain market segment, but I doubt they'll replace paper, at least in their present state.

Imagine a virtual paper invention combining both, with virtual pages having the look and feel of real paper, complete with virtual cover and binding...hm-m-m.

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