James Patterson to give 1 million to indie bookstores

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by kennyc

So Long and Thanks for the Fish.

It's a brave new world out there

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by charmian

1. Prices of e-readers and tablets dropped. Right now e-ink readers seem to have ceased dropping in price, which is unfortunate.

ebook readers aren't going to drop in price until another big market matures and starts buying readers by a few million a year. As is, component costs have remained flat for a couple years now. Part of the problem is that dedicated readers make sense primarily for avid readers and most of the US growth in ebook adoption from now on is going to come from casual readers who do their reading on phones, tablets, and PCs. The economies of scale aren't there for much lower prices. We may see a $49 KSO or Kobo mini but that's it for now. And $49 is no game changer; it's not going to bring in casual readers, just younger avid readers.

As for competition for Amazon... Well, what you see is what you'll get for a while. Avid readers are already committed to Amazon or Nook--Kobo is an afterthought, and Google trickling--so expect no big change there unless Nook implodes and their customers start looking for a new supplier, which I doubt is going to happen just yet.

The competition now is to capture casual readers and that fight is where we may see some surprises; right now it is Amazon and Apple with a bit of Google but there is a lot of room there for other players to leverage their brands. Samsung, for one. The big problem is the price fix conspiracy stunted the growth of indie ebookstores and concentrated the market into two-and-a-half players; Kindle and Nook plus Apple. With Nook bleeding from self-inflicted wounds and indies folding there isn't much incentive for new competitors just yet.
Things *will* change but that will be next year after the current soap operas wrap up. But for now everybody is waiting to see what xmas brings: a Nook recovery or a B&N exit from ebooks.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It's a brave new world out there

A virtual Animal Farm!

[charmian]

Fjtorres:

The economies of scale aren't there for much lower prices. We may see a $49 KSO or Kobo mini but that's it for now. And $49 is no game changer; it's not going to bring in casual readers, just younger avid readers.

What price do you think is a game changer then? You are probably correct about the market maturing in the US, I think. Europe still seems slow to take off, and I'm not sure what's going on in East Asia.

Things *will* change but that will be next year after the current soap operas wrap up. But for now everybody is waiting to see what xmas brings: a Nook recovery or a B&N exit from ebooks.

I guess we will probably see by the end of this month whether Nook is still in the game re: devices. They don't think they continue without new devices and I suspect they're correct.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by charmian

Fjtorres:

What price do you think is a game changer then?

$29.95.
Lower than a hardcover. In a blister pack. Sold at supermarkets and dept store checkout counters.

Something like a cross between a Jetbook lite and Pyrus Mini, an impulse buy you can bring out of the drawer once or twice a year for reading on a plane or at the beach; something book clubs could give away with a 6 book commitment. Or banks. Or dept stores.

Something you could give to a seven year old and not cry if it breaks.

Edit: Try this - no wifi, no touch, 512Mb storage, microsd slot. 2AAA Batteries for power. Two ports: USB and a card-edge dock connector.
The proprietary connector docks at a Redbox style kiosk. You dock it, pick the books you want, swipe the credit/debit card associated with the device's registered account and the books are zapped onboard. The DRM'ed files use eReader style encryption for commercial files so they can be copied out to other devices. For gift card or cash transactions the files would be tied to the device serial number on the back and in ROM.

A similar kiosk at libraries would use ADEPT DRM.

No internet or PC needed so it can be used to close the digital book divide or sold via indie bookstores who could host the kiosk. (Online sales via USB would work too, of course.

Addresses about a dozen issues, no?
And we'll never see its like.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

$29.95.
Lower than a hardcover. In a blister pack. Sold at supermarkets and dept store checkout counters.

Something like a cross between a Jetbook lite and Pyrus Mini, an impulse buy you can bring out of the drawer once or twice a year for reading on a plane or at the beach; something book clubs could give away with a 6 book commitment. Or banks. Or dept stores.

Something you could give to a seven year old and not cry if it breaks.

Think how many 'game changers' you could buy for $1 million. Give those to libraries and school libraries. But that probably is a different kind of game change than what Patterson has in mind.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

Think how many 'game changers' you could buy for $1 million. Give those to libraries and school libraries. But that probably is a different kind of game change than what Patterson has in mind.

33,333

Not that many really....

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 98,817 public schools (U.S.) during the 2009-2010 school year.

For more information, see other U.S. education facts.



Read more: Number of U.S. Public Schools | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/num...#ixzz2fBqGumwB

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

Think how many 'game changers' you could buy for $1 million. Give those to libraries and school libraries. But that probably is a different kind of game change than what Patterson has in mind.

Exactly.

In fact, a million bucks might just kickstart the whole game changer readed and kiosk combo. But the game Patterson and his ilk have in mind is "roll back the clock". Besides, it is easier to moan and curse Amazon than to actually think of ways to adapt to the new world order.

[speakingtohe]

He did donate some money though whether a big help or not, and it's not like he needs the publicity.

Helen

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

He did donate some money though whether a big help or not, and it's not like he needs the publicity.

Helen

[fjtorres]

Here's Patterson's signup sheet for the bookstores:

http://www.jamespatterson.com/booksellers/#.UjmazpDD_MJ

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Here's Patterson's signup sheet for the bookstores:

http://www.jamespatterson.com/booksellers/#.UjmazpDD_MJ

Darn; I thought it was a funding sign up sheet for deserving indies. If so, I was gonna sign up.

nanaBooks
booksellers for the discerning mind

[mycurlylocks]

I'm all for him donating to the the public and school libraries. It won't help the indie book stores much.

If he wants to help the children, aid the school libraries. A lot of parents don't have the time to hunt down indie bookstore and some just don't have the money to buy the books. For many people, books are a luxury.

[Lady Blue]

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

I'm all for him donating to the the public and school libraries. It won't help the indie book stores much.

If he wants to help the children, aid the school libraries. A lot of parents don't have the time to hunt down indie bookstore and some just don't have the money to buy the books. For many people, books are a luxury.

School libraries indeed. The kids are already there. No side trips required.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

As for competition for Amazon... Well, what you see is what you'll get for a while. Avid readers are already committed to Amazon or Nook--Kobo is an afterthought, and Google trickling--

Last I heard, Kobo has much larger market share than Nook, at least worldwide (which makes sense, I suppose, heh). Apparently Kobo even surpasses Amazon in some markets. Surprised me to hear it, actually. They seem to be pretty serious about new device development, and I suspect we may see them gain a bit of state-side visibility over the next few years.

Edit: Try this - no wifi, no touch, 512Mb storage, microsd slot. 2AAA Batteries for power. Two ports: USB and a card-edge dock connector.
The proprietary connector docks at a Redbox style kiosk. You dock it, pick the books you want, swipe the credit/debit card associated with the device's registered account and the books are zapped onboard. The DRM'ed files use eReader style encryption for commercial files so they can be copied out to other devices. For gift card or cash transactions the files would be tied to the device serial number on the back and in ROM.

I like that concept. I cant imagine including an sd slot, though, since that's dying in current devices as it is.