|
I think they do have an incentive to see them succeed - survival. The guys in charge just don't know it yet, and as with any big shift in an industry, some people will get lost between the cracks. pbooks won't go away, but in tech-rich societies, I see them becoming specialty items for collectors etc. And in tech-low societies, ebooks may also come to dominate as CHEAP readers become available. I feel for people in remote communities who have, if they're lucky, an old RV functioning as their library. Many have no libraries...book stores etc.
The publishers could/should be excited because they now have a mechanism to cut out the middleman - the retailer, the distributor, etc - and setup their own vending options. If they do this fast enough and effectively enough (pricing, format, etc), then they might retain some of their authors who otherwise will learn to do this for themselves.
There has been a rise, as I understand it, in individuals renting out space in an office environment. This environment may be shared by others doing the same type of work, or greatly different work. They share costs, however, on building maintenance and staffing (secretarial usually). This allows them to have a business space, with the perks of such a space, without having to support a complete infrastructure on their own.
What's to stop a consortium of authors from hiring skilled staff (editor, publicist, etc) in addition to contracting them on an individual basis? There are many, I am sure, skilled individuals who'd welcome such a setup.
Are there other ways of doing business. Yes...it's time to pursue some that haven't been shown to be broken in our current time.
|