5 Ways to Revolutionize the Book Business

Dwight Silverman (@dsilverman), tech blogger/columnist and blog editor for the Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron), says, “The book business is not changing fast enough.... Most of the changes still involve readers paying a publisher for one book, written by an author. Digital formats can enable more creative and reader-friendly innovations. Here are five things I'd like to see book publishers and retailers do that would really kick off a reading revolution.”

·         Let me subscribe to my favorite authors….

·         Keep books updated for one price….

·         Buy a print copy, get an electronic copy, too….

·         Give more of my money to authors….

·         Indie bookstores should sell ebooks….

Read this in full.

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1 response
Some very intriguing ideas here. Not brand-new ones--I've heard, I think, each of these five ideas bandied about in other places. But this is a thoughtful presentation of them. One of them seems more like a rant--giving more money to authors. I'm sure publishing houses that are already struggling to remain profitable have heard plenty about that one already--from authors and agents! And it will happen, of course, one way or the other, even if only by authors releasing some of their own writings in electronic versions through their own websites, as Silverman mentions Michael Connelly is doing with his short stories.
The other four, the first three in particular, are intriguing ideas arising from the many changes sweeping through the publishing world. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of those three emerge in the next two or three years.

David Lambert Editorial Director, Somersault www.somersaultgroup.com 616-446-8042