Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
Displaying your book in a big chain bookstore... these days, that's about the only thing the "professional" publisher can do that the small or amateur writer/publisher cannot. Every other marketing technique--media ads, recommendations, lists, social media, TV and library appearances--can be accomplished by anyone with enough time, influence and/or money.
And that's why the big pubs are holding onto the physical bookstores: It's the only area in which they can isolate themselves from other products.
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I agree, and I also think that it is a pretty BIG advantage the big publishers still have over the indies.
It's not just the physical bookstores either -- the big publishers also get their chosen few books into Walmart, Target, Sam's Club, airports, supermarkets, etc. You can't go anywhere without seeing the Twilight books for example. This is a form of marketing the Indies can't touch. If your an author and want to sell tens of millions of books then you need to get your book into these physical outlets, and you need one of the big publishers to make this happen.
However, there are only a few authors a year that get the all out blitz treatment of a book. Most authors are lucky if they sell tens of thousands of books, but it is this pool of authors where the blockbuster authors are found. It is also this pool of authors that the big publishers will be trying to retain while Amazon, et. al. will be enticing them with 70% commissions/royalties.
As more people start owning ereaders this draw will only become stronger and stronger. In the coming years I'm not sure how the publishers are going to hold onto their midlist authors. However, I can envision the publishers mining new ebook authors in hopes of finding the next blockbuster book.
My question is how long will paper based books still continue to sell? What happens when the cost of an ereader makes it down to, say, $25? Will Walmart, Sam's Club, supermarkets, etc. even bother selling physical books anymore? I certainly don't have all the answers, but one thing I can tell you is that I'm not going to be buying any stock in MacMillan, Hatchett, Simon and Schuster, etc.