The Future of Publishing

In our never-ending quest to avoid responsibility, we spent some time reading blogs yesterday. The option was clearing the inbox, and, well, that held no appeal. We stopped by Brenda Coulter’s place (happy belated anniversary) and noted a post on the price of audiobooks. Well, we thought, there’s something we can discuss with some semblance of intelligence. Then, following hard on the heels of Brenda’s post, was a comment from Susan Gable regarding the price of ebooks. Again, our first thought was to offer our thoughts. Plus, we like to think we’re the thrifty type, though there is no evidence […]

Only one thing happened to the publishing business in 2005. Google went public. Lots of pin action in the stock. All the broker dealers will have big bonuses in their Christmas stocking. Sure, two Googlebots left the farm and moved to Elko Nevada, a scandal that hasn’t garnered enough attention. But in terms of market capitalization Google’s equity value surpasses Disney, Time-Warner, and Microsoft. They have six billion in checking and savings. That’s toaster oven territory. What does it mean? If you’re like me, you’re obsolete. If you’re not like me, there’s hope of course. Bertelsman Group will go public

Such is our luck that our most sincere attempts at sincerity are often met with skepticism — still we persevere. We are very excited at the moment and pleased as punch with the publishing industry. We have been tingling with excitement about the recent digital warehouse announcement from HarperCollins. It’s like the great publishing gods finally heard our plea! Here are the basics, in all their glory: Brian Murray, HC president, said the company is intent “on building a digital warehouse that mirrors the one in the physical world.” HC has some 3,500 digital copies of its books, but those

We realize (truly!) that there is a fundamental difference between the music industry and the publishing industry. The two industries also have much in common, and given that music moves faster than publishing, the technological growing pains faced by one industry provide lessons for the next. The challenge from satellite radio is the latest example of how technology and changing consumer behavior are undermining the longstanding business models for record companies, Hollywood studios and other creators of entertainment content. Legacy systems — acquisition of product, distribution of product, associated accounting, artist development — are being challenged by the most powerful

Though we suspect we could find one or two people who disagree with Kevin Smokler’s assertion that flagellation is not cool, we have to agree that his sentiment is well-taken. And not only because he agrees with us (always a bonus, but not required). Those who fear the death of the novel are likely those who feel a bit too comfortable in their caves. These are the authors who might want to look outside their comfort zones: Miles Davis was perhaps the greatest musician of the 20th century. Not once did he complain that jazz was in peril, nor did

Last week, we were shopping for a book, and noticed that our local Borders had something unusual on the shelves: lots of print versions of books published by electronic publisher Ellora’s Cave. While the fact that print publishers are creating electronic versions of their books isn’t news, it’s interesting that a publisher that started exclusively in the online realm is in the financial position to offer print books. Yeah, the covers are still bad, but these aren’t the kind of books you read for the covers, if you know what we mean. Yesterday, we banned the Death of Literature. Today

We have become devotees of the latest game in town: My Scanning Donation is Bigger Than Yours. The rules are simple. Major corporations with aspirations of becoming stars in the digital book market vie for prizes, headlines, and market share. Along the way, they face obstacles such as lawsuits, public confusion, and the knowledge that no matter how much they do, there will always be a chance that a younger, brighter, richer company will enter the game. But at the least the Library of Congress will get a head start on scanning its vast trove treasures. Google has announced a