Guest blogger Gary Williams on the appeal of e-publishing (Part 1 of 3).
The publishing industry took a turn a few years ago with the introduction of e-publishing. From a fledgling start where it faced considerable opposition, e-books are becoming prevalent at a time when the economy is in most need of inexpensive entertainment.
Five years ago Nooks and Kindles were luxuries for the serious, well-to-do readers. Few people made the hefty investment, which carried a price tag in excess of $400. But like the original pocket calculators that came out in the late 1960’s and costs over $400 and now can be bought for $10, the price of electronic readers has begun to plummet. Kindle is now advertising a version for under $100. Cell phone reader apps are also very inexpensive, and in some cases free.
Do people really read e-books? According to the American Association of Publishers, purchases of e-books have soared over the last year. E-books sales in August 2010 compared to August 2011 were up 116%, while adult paperback sales were down almost 6% and adult hardback down 11% for that same month. As a matter of fact, every category of books suffered a decline in this period with the exception of e-books and audiobooks. And while e-books still only represent 17.6% of total book sales in August 2011, that’s a tremendous leap from the 7.8% the same month a year before. At this rate of growth, they will soon overtake the sale of all other book mediums combined.
Gary Williams co-writes with Vicky Knerly. Their debut thriller, Death in the Beginning, was released electronically on November 21st. Wait a minute – that’s today! Best wishes, you two.
All my books are in e-book. I plan on offering my books in all different kinds of ways by next year, but not because of the trend that is happening. I realize there are people that are too busy to read a book, but there are just as many people that do not read. I personally hope books do not go out of style, because I would never read after that happened.
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