"Why ebooks must fail"...?

This article attracted some lively debate.

http://www.blackplasticglasses.com/2009/03/30/why-ebooks-must-fail/#more-5

Just noticed that the article is quite old - but I still thought it was worth reading.

From the same blog, a more up-to-date take:

http://www.blackplasticglasses.com/2010/09/27/ebooks-don%e2%80%99t-cannibalize-print-people-do/#more-553

ebook sales are exploding but they are still a tiny fraction of all book sales.

http://www.switched.com/2011/01/28/amazon-sells-more-ebooks-than-paperbacks/


Not on Amazon.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/amazon-kindle-ebook-sales-overtake-paperbacks/2011-01-28

Notice I said "All book sales". Not just amazon, not just paperbacks.

Somewhat related factoid: the fastest growing medium for music: digital sales followed by vinyl.

E-book sales heading for a $billion in 2011 -- that's 1/35th of the $35 billion annual book sales. If the growth remains the same, ebooks will eventually overtake book sales. E-readers will improve and cost less. Hard copy printed books will be vinyl equivalents -- collected not read.

We have to embrace change!

zizban wrote:

Notice I said "All book sales". Not just amazon, not just paperbacks.

You have to look at trends, which support prophesy, not snapshots, which are tomorrow's history.

I don't think ebooks will fail.

I see them increasing in popularity.

Just think, you can get books anytime, you don 't have to drive, park, fight the crowds for a book.

They are cheap and take no space to store

What a deal!

If ebooks fail now what a waste kindle, mobi, ipad etc are all that money spent for a failure.

I'm reading my ebooks on my netbook and my HTC smart phone - so I've no need for those ereaders though I imagine they are lighter in weight than the netbook.

I was one of those who preferred to hold my book. The cost savings and convenience of ebooks have won me over. Go to Kindle Nation Daily blog and see the hundreds of books reviewed that are free, or nearly free (free, $.99 and $1.99).

Also, Amazon.com has brought back the old Amazon Shorts under a new title, Kindle Singles. These are free to $1.99 (hmmmm - sounds like Kindle Nation Daily). The trouble is the need for ebook covers for a free book.....if you can do them yourselves, that's great. I haven't had good luck.

I think that short books are the future. People do not have time to read War & Peace. Books the length of Hemingway's Old Man and The Sea or Steinbecks's The Pearl, that are a quick, yet profound read can stimulate the mind and remain in the readers' memory . . . written more along the minimal word theory of Dick Stodghill are in order.

Love,
Betty

When Ghost Orchid was published at 166 pages, I thought it was quite short. Now it seems 200 pages is the norm.

Betty,

I think you have something there. Tight writers are in and speakers too.
I don't like long rambling books.

I notice I want the speaker to get going say what he/she has to say, then quit.

Blah, The Old Man and The Sea is overrated. Besides, people will always make time to read the books they really want to read, short and long. Took me six months to read The Stand but I did it.

Dear Chris,

I do not have the time to read one book for six months and I cannot think of one that would be worth the effort.

It did not take me that long to read the whole Bible.

Love,
Betty

The Stand is huge and I don't have a lot of time to read. It was worth the effort, great book. The Bible, minus the retro Middle Ages dialogue, is only 181253 words long. Shorter than War and Peace and The Stand.

Quality of word is better than all the surpuls begotten dialog. I am glad that someone enjoyed The Stand. What a lot of unnecessary verbage, though.

Love,
Betty

I embrace some change.

Others I reject.

I embrace "On Demand" and "DVDs" over going to the movies and VHS.
I embrace "iTunes" and CDs over cassette and vinyl. (Although I have some vinyl collectibles)

However, though a microwave is okay for warming up left overs ...
I still think a meal should be cooked on a stove and/or in the oven.
And while I know I can heat water in it, I still choose to boil water in the tea kettle for my tea.

When it comes to books. I enjoy a nice long book.
In high school I read "Gone with the Wind" three times.
I like collecting pretty bookmarks.
I enjoy browsing bookstores and libraries. I lose myself in those places.

To me, while books and music share some similarities in enjoyment, there is just a "feel" about being in a nice quiet bookstore or library, browsing ... exploring ... and finally selecting ... and adding to your collection. I love my bookcases filled with books I've read ... and reread... and will read (or in the case of non-fiction, will refer to) again.

And I think just too many people feel that strongly about their books.

Perhaps for travel and convenience, the Kindles and Nooks are easier to carry, ebooks will get their share. But I think there is just too much love for hardcover and paperback to go out entirely.

Actually, in comparing them to music and movies, I don't think books should really be compared to vinyl. I think it would be more appropriate to compare them to the concert, the live performance. Same with movies. I don't think they should be compared with the video as much as the theater showing.

JoElle wrote:

And I think just too many people feel that strongly about their books.

It's a generational thing. In 50 years today's kids will be wondering how the new generation can abandon the cozy feeling of a warm iPad in favor of the mind implant image creator or whatever they will be using by then.

Al Stevens wrote:

JoElle wrote:

And I think just too many people feel that strongly about their books.

It's a generational thing. In 50 years today's kids will be wondering how the new generation can abandon the cozy feeling of a warm iPad in favor of the mind implant image creator or whatever they will be using by then.

Both funny and true!

Implants are only logical. I guess there's a good reason why this organic body has a terminal date. The world changes faster than the current mind can comprehend. It takes a new creation to stay up to speed. The older models eventually disappear, along with the traditions to which they cling.

I learned the other day that some of my things are considered "antiques." I bought them new in my youth. I'm not even dead yet and my stuff can be sold at an antique sale.

Anybody still have floppy disks? The last of mine are now on some storage "cloud" server in the sky.

I certainly hope that e-books are the future. At the moment, the way e-publishing works, self-published authors have a chance to be heard at a cost that they can afford. What if this modus operandi changes and it becomes just as difficult to publish an e-book as it is to go through a traditional paper publisher? Does anyone have a crystal ball? I was wondering if the e-publishers might start to introduce awkward hurdles, such as having to go through an agent (aarghhh!!).