I happen to be in a very unique position when it comes to book publishing. I may be one of the only people in the world to be doing three book projects all at once, and all in different publishing models. I am doing one with McGraw Hill in a traditional model where they pay all the expenses, give me a small advance, and then pay me a small royalty. The other two books are with Greenleaf Publishing with one being done in a hybrid model where I retain the rights to the content, pay them for the editorial, and marketing, then share the profits on retail sales and keep any profit on what I sell. The third book is the most interesting in that we crowdsourced the entire process, from cover design, to content generation, and publicity. All of this has led me to give many hours of thought as to what will happen with the whole concept of publishing books in general.
Last week I read an article by a well-known blogger who was postulating that books may disappear as a medium all together. Although this could possibly happen at some point way in the future, I do not believe books will be gone any time soon. I do believe strongly that what we consider to be a book, and how they get released and used by the public will change dramatically. I also think that we will get many different variations of books. After all, a book is simply a long form version of a story, or a large collection of thoughts on a specific topic. It is not necessarily a 300-page structure made of paper and bound on one side. We know this because we have audio books that provide the same value as a paper book without ever being consumed in paper form. We also have eBooks now and this category is exploding in growth at this vary moment. So there are three categories of books right there. We also have enhanced books now being delivered in eBook readers so we have further mutations on the way.
So maybe the question is will the traditional paper bound book go away? Just for fun, let’s try to make the argument for and against.
Against them going away:
- Not every one can afford an eBook reader and paper books are pretty cheap so we will always have paperbacks at least. The does not count textbooks which are a total scam at prices in the hundreds of dollars.
- There are certain situations where paper is dependable and electronics are not. Like on a plane that is taking off or landing. Or like a desert island where you cannot charge your eBook reader
- It is easier to find a book you might like when you have shelves and shelves of choices. I am not sure I agree with this one, but some people will say this.I have always read paper books. I like the smell, I like the feel, they are not digital files that can get lost, and I can pass them on to other people easily. OK, you got me on this one – I cannot argue these.
- The author can write a note and sign a paper book – try that with a digital version!
For them going away:
- All that paper is killing trees and not very environmentally friendly
- The cost to print books is a wasted cost that I don’t want to pay for when I can get them as digital files
- Digital is lighter and smaller. I can carry 100 books on my device as easy as 200
- The can be searchable for any specific word or phrase
- They can be linked to other content including videos, chat rooms, survey questions, etc. This extends the books reach and value
- It takes work to turn those pages by hand
- I have to go to a book store to buy paper books, or have them shipped in
- eBooks can be backed up so they are not destroyed in a fire, or flood
- Once they are printed, there is no way to correct any mistakes. eBooks can be corrected at any moment
One thing is for sure is that the book publishing industry is getting ready to undergo wrenching changes. Not only will what we consider a book to be change, but how they are marketed, constructed, and consumed will be changed as well. A tertiary question that is interesting is to think about who will eventually win. The traditional publishing companies that are struggling to hang on to the old model (ala the music industry) or a new interloper that comes in and gives people what they want and takes the content market away from the incumbents (ala the music industry and Apple.) I suspect it will be someone from the outside that is not afraid to pioneer new ground. Maybe even someone like me 😉