tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14547775.post149996373885570261..comments2023-08-31T06:35:46.670-07:00Comments on Yapdates: A Spiritual Odyssey: Predatory Pricing - Slow Demise of Book Publishing?Conrade Yap, (Dr)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12256834680709396244noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14547775.post-76857698248220130502009-11-05T14:40:00.830-08:002009-11-05T14:40:00.830-08:00Rosie,
Somehow I tend to agree with your observati...Rosie,<br />Somehow I tend to agree with your observations, esp the one on self-publishing. I enjoy good books. The question is, will self-publishing without the conventional guidelines and check-n-balances make the grade?<br /><br />Small book retailers will be hit hard, as they get steamrolled by Big retailers on the left, and non-traditional competition on the right. For many, including our own Regent Bookstore needs additional revenue from non-book sources to sustain their current model. Soon, I believe book sales alone cannot fund new books. They need other sources of income.<br /><br />cConrade Yap, (Dr)https://www.blogger.com/profile/12256834680709396244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14547775.post-74737251891232124472009-11-05T13:53:26.803-08:002009-11-05T13:53:26.803-08:00It might not signal the end of publishing as we kn...It might not signal the end of publishing as we know it. After all, the publishing companies still get their 50% of retail from Amazon.com and the like, it's Amazon.com that's taking the loss on book sales, not the publishing companies. But small book retailers have no way to compete in this type of marketplace. Even the beloved landmark Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle is facing an uncertain future. There are rumors it is planning to uproot from its historic location in Pioneer Square near Elliott Bay (for which it is named) and move to a neighborhood with cheaper rent -- and lower tourist foot traffic, I might add, so I think a move like that would seal its doom.<br /><br />I think what will push publishers out of business isn't so much the WalMart and Amazon.com sales model, but the self-publishing model. Now that it becomes so cheap to publish a book, more authors are choosing to go that route. (The wildly successful book <i>The Shack</i> was self-published.) Why would people want to pay more for books that have been vetted by real editors at a real publishing company with a real marketing budget?<br /><br />And of course e-books are finally catching on. It took a decade or so. But this will also be devastating to ink-and-paper book publishing. Not that that's altogether a bad thing, as it will save trees. But it will be sad to see the traditional book become a small niche market for esoteric collectors.<br /><br />There will still be sales of used books for a long time to come. But even used book sellers have a hard time making it, when online book buyers are growing to expect second hand paperbacks to cost about $0.01 plus shipping.<br /><br />Here's a fascinating video on how the perceived value of any sort of content is approaching zero, and how this is affecting (or will affect) universities:<br /><a href="http://utdemac.blip.tv" rel="nofollow">http://utdemac.blip.tv</a>Rosie Pererahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09554035581795923555noreply@blogger.com