Re: "The Elusive E-book" and the elephant in the room

On May 10, 2008, at 6:45 PM, Jon Jermey wrote:

> The real completion is not between print books and eBooks -- this  
> is a minor and increasingly irrelevant sideshow. The competition is  
> between free reading matter and paid reading matter.

I see it more inclusively: the competition is between reading books  
and all other forms of recreation, OR between reading books and all  
other forms of information gathering.

And quite frankly, we're not winning this one. But then again, as the  
whole pie keeps growing, we're not doing so very badly either.

As for free writing vs paid writing -- there is more distribution of  
the free stuff than ever before. That means that the paid stuff will  
continue to have to prove its worth against an increasingly stiff  
market. BUT I think most of the professionals are getting paid for a  
reason.

Those who complain that many bestsellers are of limited literary  
worth are, of course, right -- and irrelevant.

People buy books because something about that book fills a need for  
them AND because they've heard about the way in which that book will  
fill their need. Literary merit is only one, and often a minor,  
aspect of filling that need well. And marketing is critical -- not in  
the sense of sleazy high-pressure salesmanship or in the sense of  
advertising, but in the sense of helping those who want SOMETHING  
find your book when your book is one that feeds their need. And THAT  
kind of marketing always will be one of the ways pros are  
distinguished from amateurs.

I do think people will continue to pay for books (in some format)  
that feed their need, with a reasonable level of quality in writing  
and presentation, and that they can find without devoting more time  
to the hunt than to the consumption.

HOW that will happen, and what the mechanisms will be for connecting  
author to distribution and book to reader, as well as the format in  
which the works will be conveyed -- that's still up in the air. But I  
don't see the whole of the writing community being reduced to further  
penury than they already suffer.

Ditto publishers.

Marion Gropen
Gropen Associates, Inc.
www.GropenAssoc.com
Offering Financial Advice By-The-Question,
Downloadable Profit-Enhancing Tools,
and Classes to the Small Press Community.




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