Will Books Die Out? Will Apple Destroy the World? Will Publishers Become Extinct?

Will Books Die Out? Will Apple Destroy the World? Will Publishers Become Extinct?

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Amazon Drops Price of Kindle

A great day for word nerds. Amazon has slashed the price of the Kindle. I can't help but wonder if they decided to take Seth Godin's advice. With the iPad invasion, have they gone far enough?

My view is that tech experts are jumpy. They want the next, shiny, thing. Whatever comes up next, they turn their backs on the last thing and big up the new one. Readers are not all tech experts, however. Kindle owners buy LOTS of books. Amazon has been clever about making Kindle accessible on different devices. Even though Kindle books are fenced in with DRM, there is a Kindle app that lets you read them on iPad, for instance. Some people want computers. Some people want the experience of the iPad. Some people want a dedicated reading device. Some people want all of these things. I think Kindle is here to stay, and the price drop is a really good move from Amazon.

What do you think?

Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device - www.businessweek.com

KINDLE - wish I'd had one of these as a student. Would have saved many trips to chiropractor. Have you got yours yet, US chums?

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Amazon Drops Price of Kindle

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Who's Steering this Thing?

This year has been intriguing.  A year or so ago, we all had a rough idea what the book industry was.  In fact, the premise of the blog I set up a year ago was that my words would eventually end up on a bookshelf.  As I gave my blog a make-over today I was aware of this.  How likely are my books to end up on a bookshelf now?  It is by no means certain that actual, physical books will be made from my words.  They could become best selling novels and never go near paper.  With every month, it is more clear to me that writers are not the only ones fumbling through a maze whilst wearing a blindfold: everyone is doing it.  

Readers are confused.  One minute, books were physical things.  The next minute, you could download PDFs for free - or for pennies.  Suddenly, ebooks can sell for as much as, or even more than, physical books.  I laughed at the idea of paying $75 for an ebook the other day, when I saw it being discussed on Twitter, only to be pulled up by someone who had thought nothing of spending $150 on one.  Meanwhile, independent shops have been forced out of towns by big book stores and they, in turn, are now being forced out by supermarkets and Amazon.

Ah... Amazon.  How convenient it is.  I love Amazon - there's even a little carousel of wonderful writerly things I lust after at the bottom of this page - but I am a little startled by their newest offer.  It is something wonderful for writers: utterly liberating.  We can finally grab our careers by the lead and march them through the park of profitable endeavour.  That said, it is a cloudy day for publishing.  What am I on about?  Well... you know that writers can now self-published through Amazon?  Their very generous royalty calculations have just exploded.  30-ish% is now 70%!  A fair share for writers will be exchanged for a fair price for readers and exclusivity to the Kindle.  Is this the best thing to happen for writers and readers in an age?  Should we all buy Kindles and publish our books with Amazon?  What would that do to publishers and book shops? How will the Apple iSlate change the literary climate?  Should we wait?  What do you think?

Who's Steering this Thing?

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