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Publishers future?
As someone who deals with publishers every day, the biggest issue is the uncertainty of publishers. Like most of us, they genuinely don't know what to do with the whole e-book "problem". Unfortunately, many of them want to hold on to the traditional methods of publishing, which are outdated and in my opinion, obsolete.
I feel that in the future, Authors will have far more power over their titles, retaining/splitting rights in their favour. The arguments for obtaining the services of a publisher are rapidly diminishing, especially with eBooks and Print on Demand where a bookshop can print the complete paperback in minutes, on demand.
For example, an author can sell 10,000 copies of a book through a publisher, receiving 9% of the retail sale of $12.99 = $11691 for the author, plus advance, if any (and many/most authors do not)
The same author, managing their own titles can achieve up to 60% of the sale price of their books. At the classic $9.99 price, selling a modest 2500 titles, the author can expect nearly $15k.
This is the way I feel that the market will grow, giving more power to the authors and the consumer, which is a good thing. If this means that some publishers may dissapear or are forced to change into effectively management agencies to assist authors, so be it. Thats business.
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