Top Issues Facing Book Publishing
Inspired by hypebot’s Top 10 Issues Facing Music, I quickly jotted down the issues I see facing book publishing — there are 12…
- Customer alienation. At best our readers are indifferent to us and our imprints. At worst, they think we are ripping them off.
- Disintermediation. Google/Amazon will be to us what iTunes is to music labels. Are we going to freak out?
- The scarcity crash. Electronic works don’t observe territorial boundaries, but our business still does.
- Fear of abundance. File sharing is not a problem in our customers’ eyes, making DRM a non-starter.
- Attention deficit (or diet). With only so many hours in the day can big-box book retail survive if readers cut back on book buying. Can publishers?
- Always on. Great writers are often recluses. What is the quality/quantity ratio when a writer is twittering?
- The rate of change is geometric. Our customers will get there before we do. Can we adapt fast enough?
- Information doesn’t need a container. The ebook is an anachronism. The internet is already primarily text. When are we going to learn to love the net?
- Reading online sucks — in long form anyway. When will e-ink show up on regular computers?
- Inefficient supply chain. This is our albatross.
- The eye of the needle. Getting published is easier than ever. Most publishers (and authors) still see getting published as a coronation. For how much longer?
- Pricing. People will eventually pay for information (if it is worth it) but it will be a while before this shakes out.
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