|
Once eBooks become dominant, I believe that full service Publishing Houses will decline. The replacement will be a service industry that serves authors via agents. Author's agents will have a larger role.
For up-front money (if wanted), I suspect there will be an opportunity for something like Venture Capital that emerges.
The Big Publishing Houses are too inefficient. And they pass over too many good opportunities. It is amazing how many who became top authors got turned down by 10 or more - only to have their first book become a best seller. Robert Ludlum is one. J.K. Rawlings.
I think the recent moves by the Big Publishing Houses show how quickly they will become small players. I think that to survive at all they will have to evolve and specialize. They will have to innovate their offerings to both authors and consumers.
And they have shown more interest in market control than innovation.
|