[eGeezer]

I suspect that few of those who commonly buy hb books will become ebookers.

I suspect the first tidal wave of ebookers will be folks like most of us -- seldom purchase a new hb at any price but never at full price, buy new pbacks at discount, and shop the used book stores for the majority. And, of course, trade with friends.

Hardbacks from the select best-selling authors will continue to support the industry pricing with publication of pbooks and ebooks not seeing much differentiation (eventually), but with ebooks hopefully reflecting significantly lower pricing.

The point has been made that hb's financially support the rest of the industry, with popular-author hb/pbooks helping to ease the losses from the "common-folk-authored" books.

I suspect that after all the ballyhoo, hair-pulling, and ashes-and-rag-cloth heart-wrenching funerals for the publishers' business model, it will come down to ebooks making more money for the publishers at lower prices than pbooks, thereby bolstering the hb monetary support for the lesser known newer authors.

That's what I think, and I'm sticking to it...

...at least until tomorrow morning.