|
There's plenty the smaller publishers can do and we're working on it. I think the bigger publishers also want ebooks in more formats than Kindle so they can get to more parts of the world, so they can sell on more websites, and also so that they can give more competitive prices. Amazon has too much control and publishers are looking for ways out of that.
We will all keep working with Amazon too - it's not a case of either/or. But I think this year you will see ebooks sold in ePub on more platforms. It's about to take off. Amazon has a few weaknesses which are letting competition in, and which will let the competition really take off. One is that they don't get to all parts of the world - we have potential customers complaining to us about this because they really want the ebooks. The other is their demand for exclusivity and so much control, and publishers don't want that.
I've been contacted by various companies and organisations offering ways to sell and loan our books using ePub. We can stay with Kindle and also offer our books on other platforms. Amazon got into a strong position, but they have built interest and success for ebooks, while shooting themselves in the foot by not providing what publishers, authors and readers really want. To be able to sell their books to as many countries as possible with an industry standard system that also lets us sell from our own websites and via other services.
People also stick with Kindle because it feels like an easy way to download ebooks, in what is actually quite tricky for many new ebook users. One of the main challenges is to make this as easy as possible for them on other devices and from other websites.
|