|
Interesting article. Of course, the biggest issue is content. Most here are ebook readers and I suspect that most here get frustrated by favored books not being available. I suspect that the ebook market will eventual standardize on one or two formats that most devices will be able to display as well as a disappearance of DRM, much like the music industry. There will, of course, have to be changes in the business models, both for the publishing industry as well as the authors.
Many established authors are use to getting a steady income for re-releasing older works, much like the movie industry cycled older movies on TV for years. I've read one author call his back catalog his 401-K. They fear that ebooks will cut into that income stream and that as soon as a book is released as an ebook, they will sale 1 copy and then that copy will be pirated by everyone else. My answer is that with scanner technology as it is, if their books aren't already out there on the dark net, it just means no one wants to read them, so they really have nothing to lose at this point. As Eric Flint has said, the thing that most authors should fear is obscurity, not piracy.
Publishers see their business models crumble and most don't have a clue about how to react, much like the music and movie industry.
In the ebook industry, I see a number of opportunities out there for people willing to seize the chance. I suspect that rather than huge publishing firms, we will see a lot more of the smaller publisher, such as Baen who put out perhaps 3 or 4 books a month. The big thing that Baen provides for the authors in the ebook market is editorial services and an established market. For readers, it provides a certain known product. If you, the reader, like the type of books that Baen publishes, then it's a one stop shop where you don't have to wade through a bunch of drek to find books you want to read. I suspect that we will see a lot more niche publishers like Baen in the future.
I also think that we will see a lot more web pages, rss feeds and the like for readers to use to find books they want. Right now, I have to scroll through page after page after page of self published books and PD books just to find a couple of new ebooks that I might be interested in on Amazon. Personally, I find it a miserable experience and that is the big reason my ebook buying has slowed down. My current solution is to go buy my local Barnes and Noble, scan through the just published shelves and write down the name of books and authors that look interesting. Then I look them up on Amazon. I'm actually more likely to buy from Sony than Amazon, simply because it's easier for me to browse and find books that I'm interested in.
Last, I can see ebook stores having lots of room to improve the shopping experience for customers. Let me set up a list of authors that I like and send me an email whenever a new book buy one of those authors is available. Give me recommendations based on what I buy, but let me fine tune those recommendations. Amazon does this, but it needs more fine tuning.
|