Writing into the Future

Preferences
Preferences
Preferences
§
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
-
=
Backspace
Tab
q
w
e
r
t
y
u
i
o
p
[
]
Return
capslock
a
s
d
f
g
h
j
k
l
;
'
\
shift
`
z
x
c
v
b
n
m
,
.
/
shift
English
alt
alt
Preferences

Monday, July 30, 2012

Murder by E-Book? Really?

Concerns about the devaluation of books in general by the cheap price of e-books was a heated topic at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival held earlier this month. The panel, aptly titled Wanted for Murder: The E-Book, turned into something of a verbal brawl between members of the audience and the panelists. Catherine Ryan Howard has a very good response to the concerns voiced rather vehemently by crime writers Mark Billingham and Laura Lippman (catherineryanhoward.com/2012/07/23/low-e-book-pricing-the-compensation-problem/).

I confess it took me a while to embrace the e-book concept. My bookshelves are overloaded with the books I have accumulated over my lifetime and I wouldn't give them up for anything. But I have become enamored with the instant gratification of my Kindle. And  I find myself buying more books than before simply because they are more affordable and the fact that such devices as the Kindle promote impulse buying. Surely that is a good thing for authors all across the board.

But back to the argument of the physical book versus the e-book. If you assume that books in the future will only be available in an either/or format, then perhaps there is a reason for concern. But technology is here to stay and publishers aren't stupid. Future contracts will now involve negotiations for various formats in which a book can be made available to readers. Physical books will always be available for readers who cannot or will not embrace the new technology and probably at a less expensive price because of the advances in the publishing process such as print on demand. This requires less warehousing space and should facilitate the eventual elimination of remaindered books and that whole complicated accounting practice resulting therefrom. With more people embracing the e-book format, authors will have a much greater audience and, coupled with a lower price, the opportunity for more sales.

There are factors in this argument of which I have limited knowledge such as Catherine Howard's suggestion that big money authors are no longer receiving the large advances they once did. Perhaps this is true. I know from a number of friends who are mid-list authors that this is a fact. But these same authors are now able to take out-of-print books they have written and offer them as e-books where they will then receive the lion share of the proceeds. This to me seems like a good thing in that it is now and has been for some time the responsibility of the author to promote their works as publishers no longer allow a budget for effective promotion for any except their top selling authors.

This is not an argument that will be easily or quickly resolved but as with all change I feel the market place will resolve these issues over time and those who are so adamantly opposed to the lower price an e-book can demand will come around when they begin to appreciate how many more readers they can reach. And those authors who have found themselves excluded from the marketplace by the gatekeepers to publishing will have an opportunity to prove whether or not they are any good at their craft.