Comments on: The Future of Publishing http://www.publishingbasics.com/2009/01/15/the-future-of-publishing/ Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:59:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: JOAN NELSON http://www.publishingbasics.com/2009/01/15/the-future-of-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-40971 JOAN NELSON Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:10:58 +0000 http://www.publishingbasics.com/?p=528#comment-40971 HOW DO i CONTACT YOU FOR A PHONE CONSULTATION? HOW DO i CONTACT YOU FOR A PHONE CONSULTATION?

]]> By: Dan Oja http://www.publishingbasics.com/2009/01/15/the-future-of-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-39902 Dan Oja Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:09:22 +0000 http://www.publishingbasics.com/?p=528#comment-39902 I think you made some great points in your article. From my experience (primarily in the textbook publishing industry), it seems that the entire publishing model needs some rethinking. The current system isn't working that well for anyone--not authors, not publishers, not the bookstores, and not even the readers who are faced with a limited number of heavily promoted titles/authors while potentially great titles go unfound and unread. I believe that digital publishing is ultimately going to be part of the solution as it resolves so many issues--production costs, returns, profit margins, limited bookstore space, etc. But for digital publishing to take off, we're going to need to create digital products that people really want to read and are willing to buy. Simply digitizing paper pages as in PDF files or first-generation e-books may not be enough. We may need to fully utilize the power of computers and the Internet, perhaps fundamentally expanding our vision of what constitutes a "book" to incorporate other media types such as videos, sound, animations, and Web links. Even Gutenberg would recognize a book from 2008--but I'm not sure if he'd recognize a typical "book" from 2020. We're also going to have to discover or develop cost-effective marketing systems to make up for the loss of visibility provided by physical books sitting on shelves in the local bookstore. Many technologies and digital publishing models are being developed and tried in the market today, from hardware readers like the Kindle to software-only solutions including iPhone e-book readers. Some of those models will fail, but some will succeed and--in the end--I believe that a more efficient, viable publishing model will emerge. I strongly suspect that the next 5-10 years will be an interesting time to be an author, publisher, or a reader. Maybe that's a good thing. ;-) I think you made some great points in your article. From my experience (primarily in the textbook publishing industry), it seems that the entire publishing model needs some rethinking. The current system isn’t working that well for anyone–not authors, not publishers, not the bookstores, and not even the readers who are faced with a limited number of heavily promoted titles/authors while potentially great titles go unfound and unread.

I believe that digital publishing is ultimately going to be part of the solution as it resolves so many issues–production costs, returns, profit margins, limited bookstore space, etc. But for digital publishing to take off, we’re going to need to create digital products that people really want to read and are willing to buy.

Simply digitizing paper pages as in PDF files or first-generation e-books may not be enough. We may need to fully utilize the power of computers and the Internet, perhaps fundamentally expanding our vision of what constitutes a “book” to incorporate other media types such as videos, sound, animations, and Web links. Even Gutenberg would recognize a book from 2008–but I’m not sure if he’d recognize a typical “book” from 2020.

We’re also going to have to discover or develop cost-effective marketing systems to make up for the loss of visibility provided by physical books sitting on shelves in the local bookstore.

Many technologies and digital publishing models are being developed and tried in the market today, from hardware readers like the Kindle to software-only solutions including iPhone e-book readers. Some of those models will fail, but some will succeed and–in the end–I believe that a more efficient, viable publishing model will emerge.

I strongly suspect that the next 5-10 years will be an interesting time to be an author, publisher, or a reader. Maybe that’s a good thing. ;-)

]]> By: Jeff Rivera http://www.publishingbasics.com/2009/01/15/the-future-of-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-39718 Jeff Rivera Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:50:24 +0000 http://www.publishingbasics.com/?p=528#comment-39718 This is a great article, Fern and so true! This is a great article, Fern and so true!

]]> By: Pamela Waterman http://www.publishingbasics.com/2009/01/15/the-future-of-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-39699 Pamela Waterman Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:48:32 +0000 http://www.publishingbasics.com/?p=528#comment-39699 Hi Fern, Just have to say you're spot on with all five points. I've been in publishing just ten years, first as an author with a national publisher, then producing (and marketing!) books on my own, but I so agree. I also have your three books, and have made sure my student interns read the Bestseller and Publish titles. Thanks for getting your ideas out there. Hi Fern, Just have to say you’re spot on with all five points. I’ve been in publishing just ten years, first as an author with a national publisher, then producing (and marketing!) books on my own, but I so agree. I also have your three books, and have made sure my student interns read the Bestseller and Publish titles. Thanks for getting your ideas out there.

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