[darryl]

One of the effects of the internet and ebooks on the publishing industry generally has been the near reversal of the supply and demand for books. The barriers to publishing and distribution have gone from formidable to inconsequential. I have not looked at the statistics relevant to either supply or demand, and, as has been pointed out in other threads, the information on which such statistics must be based is commercially sensitive and much of it is not made available for this reason. Nevertheless, I think it is non-controversial to say that the supply of books has markedly increased. Nor do I think it controversial to say that the demand for books has also increased, but mainly if not exclusively at the lower price points. These lower price points tend to be the almost sole province of the “Indies”, many of which are self-published, and most of which would not have been published at all before Ebooks and the advent of the cheap self-publishing platforms. And it seems to me that this particular market, arguably a new one, is dominated by Amazon. I will refer to this as the new market.

One of the most valuable roles performed by the large publishers, who I refer to (because of my own bias) as the BWM (Buggy Whip Manufacturers) is that of gatekeepers. Often this function is not performed very well, but can be of great value, both for imposing some sort of quality control and for providing a much smaller selection of books for readers to pick from than would otherwise exist. In the case of the new market, the benefits of the gatekeeping function no longer exist. Personally, I began to look seriously at the new market during the period of price fixing after deciding that I would not pay more than $9.99 at that time for a fiction ebook.

What I think is worth discussing in this thread is how we as readers are adapting to this new market, and in particular to the much wider choice and the lack of quality control. Are you purchasing new market books? If so, have you found the lack of quality control a problem? How are you selecting your books from the new market? What steps are you taking to ensure reasonable quality? How would you rate the quality of the new market books you have purchased?

One obvious choice is to ignore the existence of the new lower priced market and only buy books from traditional publishers. This choice need not be rigid, and could extend to buying the odd book from the new market when given a good reason to.

For the rest of us, it is a question of how we adapt to this new market. I of course can relate only my own experience. Where, years ago, all of my purchases were from traditional publishers, my more recent purchases are predominantly from the new market, with a few purchases (or sometimes library borrowings) of books from the large publishers, mainly from established authors whose books I have enjoyed over the years.

My experience with books from the new market has been very positive. Overall, I would say the quality of the books I am now reading is comparable to those I used to read from the BWM. Yes, I have been caught with a few terribly written books, but that was mainly when I first started purchasing from this new market.

So how have I adapted to selecting books from this new market in the absence of BWM quality control and the very wide choices available?

In the old days when I was looking to buy paper books, I would browse through the bookshop (or library). Sometimes in the library I would look through the books just returned and waiting to be shelved. I would look at the sale items and the new books on display. I would rarely look through bargain bins as I always found the lack of organisation frustrating. I would look for authors whose work I was familiar with, and for genres in which I was interested. When browsing generally or within a genre, I would read the blurb, usually on the back cover, which was very important to me. I recall that I would be quite frustrated when the blurb consisted simply of reviews or endorsements, as what I was looking for was a synopsis or at least a brief description of the plot. Funnily enough, I would rarely read any of the book before purchase. Of course, sometimes I would visit a bookstore for the purpose of buying a particular book which I had been recommended, or read about, or perhaps acquiring more books from an author whose book I had just read and enjoyed. I payed little regard to reviews, which I found to be too dependant on the tastes and preferences of the reviewer.

Buying new market ebooks now, many things remain the same. Amazon's recommendations are worthwhile looking at, but can be quite erratic and puzzling at times. The same for their recommendations of similar books. Featured books and new releases and best sellers can be a good starting point. Books with reasonable and climbing sales may also be worth a look. I remember thinking “What is this Wool from Hugh Howey?” If you haven't read any of Hugh's books you should do so immediately. The blurb to me remains very important, whilst the cover is of even less significance than with paper books, though my attention can very occasionally be attracted by a good or unusual design. Searches for genres and plots of interest are also very useful. To use an example from another recent thread, if you are interested in military science fiction a search will bring up a variety of choices. I also found that over time I discovered a list of new authors whose work I liked, and I keep a list in a Firefox note taking app and make a point of checking occasionally whether they have released anything new. Unlike paper books, I have found it very worthwhile reading the excerpt of the book which Amazon at least provides. There is usually enough there to be able to tell if the book is appallingly written. Also, if spelling and punctuation and minor grammatical errors drive you mad, you will likely see enough in the excerpt to deter you from purchasing. Sadly, reviews must be taken with a grain of salt. This is a shame, as many new writers rely on reviews to reach a wider audience. Unfortunately this has lead to cheating to such an extent that it is difficult sometimes to tell a genuine review from a marketing piece. Websites such as Goodreads can be a useful guide, and their lists of books can be very helpful. Even threads on mobileread can provide some excellent recommendations. Best seller lists and award nominations can also be a useful starting point. But if you do buy a bad book, it has almost certainly cost you significantly less than $14.99. Not good, but not the end of the World.

How have others adapted to this brave new world? Any useful tips on selecting books and ensuring quality? And, more controversially, any suggestions for the BWM Publishers on how they should respond to the new market?