By DOUGLAS WALKER - The Scottish Sun - Published: Today - Saturday 14 January, 2012
EBOOKS are now more popular than traditional paper copies, according to leading web seller Amazon.The online firm has revealed that THREE TIMES as many downloads are being bought than paperback and hardbacks combined.Amazon announced sales of its Kindle reading device DOUBLED at Christmas compared to the previous year.
And sales of Kindle books in the three months following the launch of the all-new machine in September were FIVE TIMES higher than the same period last year.
The development has been cautiously welcomed by publishers who say it is GOOD for the literature industry.
Managing director of Edinburgh-based Black and White publishers, Campbell Brown, said: "I think eBooks are a positive development.
"They offer a real opportunity to expand the overall book market by giving people more choice and alternative ways to read."
Authors can earn up to 70 per cent of an eBook's list price — much higher than with traditional publishing.
But Campbell warned: "Pricing of eBooks needs to set at a sensible level.
"Obviously there are lower print and distribution costs but they're still books and need to be edited, proofread, checked for legal issues, marketed and promoted.In addition to the author's royalties, this all has to be paid for but publishers need to keep delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price for buyers."
Recent figures revealed that one in 40 Brits received a Kindle for Christmas. And despite the surge in eBook sales, Amazon say hardback purchases have INCREASED.
Campbell said: "EBooks are great if you are travelling or need to take lots of different books somewhere with you, but for most people I think that eBooks will complement paperback or hardback formats rather than replacing them.
"Hopefully in the future people will be able to buy either a hardback or a paperback book and add on the eBook version for a couple of pounds to give you real flexibility about how and where you read and in what format.
"That will help give us all the best of both worlds."
The hardback version of the Christmas publishing sensation The Etymologicon, by Mark Forsyth, is £12.99 at Waterstones — but costs just 99p as a Kindle eBook.
Despite this there is little difference in the income the author actually receives.
Scots crime author Anna Smith said: "From an author's point of view any sale is a sale.But I'm more traditional and like going into shops to look at a book.
"It's like an event. You go in, touch and smell it then read the first line and the back.
"You have a moment when you then decide whether you fancy it. You don't get this with an eBook."
Anna's new book To Tell The Truth is out on February 2. She'll be hosting bookshop signing sessions but worries they'll become a thing of the past because of eBooks.
She said: "You have a launch where you can engage with readers and sign their books, which is important to a lot of people.It's important to authors too as you get feedback. That's all part of being an author to me."
Campbell and Anna are both worried that eBooks will be illegally downloaded in the way music has been.
This could see writers and publisher losing out on vast sums of income.
"Authors spend months or years writing books, publishers spend time and money producing the final product and, when you consider all that, the price of books and eBooks is pretty reasonable.
"If piracy isn't dealt with then it could have a really serious impact on books and eBooks in the future."
But Anna conceded: "The Government are trying to find ways to counter this but you can't regulate the internet."
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos added: "Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books.
"We had high hopes this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would be this quickly — we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years."
And sales of Kindle books in the three months following the launch of the all-new machine in September were FIVE TIMES higher than the same period last year.
The development has been cautiously welcomed by publishers who say it is GOOD for the literature industry.
Managing director of Edinburgh-based Black and White publishers, Campbell Brown, said: "I think eBooks are a positive development.
"They offer a real opportunity to expand the overall book market by giving people more choice and alternative ways to read."
Authors can earn up to 70 per cent of an eBook's list price — much higher than with traditional publishing.
But Campbell warned: "Pricing of eBooks needs to set at a sensible level.
"Obviously there are lower print and distribution costs but they're still books and need to be edited, proofread, checked for legal issues, marketed and promoted.In addition to the author's royalties, this all has to be paid for but publishers need to keep delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price for buyers."
Recent figures revealed that one in 40 Brits received a Kindle for Christmas. And despite the surge in eBook sales, Amazon say hardback purchases have INCREASED.
Campbell said: "EBooks are great if you are travelling or need to take lots of different books somewhere with you, but for most people I think that eBooks will complement paperback or hardback formats rather than replacing them.
"Hopefully in the future people will be able to buy either a hardback or a paperback book and add on the eBook version for a couple of pounds to give you real flexibility about how and where you read and in what format.
"That will help give us all the best of both worlds."
Despite this there is little difference in the income the author actually receives.
Scots crime author Anna Smith said: "From an author's point of view any sale is a sale.But I'm more traditional and like going into shops to look at a book.
"It's like an event. You go in, touch and smell it then read the first line and the back.
"You have a moment when you then decide whether you fancy it. You don't get this with an eBook."
Anna's new book To Tell The Truth is out on February 2. She'll be hosting bookshop signing sessions but worries they'll become a thing of the past because of eBooks.
She said: "You have a launch where you can engage with readers and sign their books, which is important to a lot of people.It's important to authors too as you get feedback. That's all part of being an author to me."
Campbell and Anna are both worried that eBooks will be illegally downloaded in the way music has been.
This could see writers and publisher losing out on vast sums of income.
Campbell said: "This is a real problem and I know a lot of publishers and authors are concerned about piracy. If people download illegally then there won't be the range or quality of books available to buy. Piracy is, after all, theft.
"Authors spend months or years writing books, publishers spend time and money producing the final product and, when you consider all that, the price of books and eBooks is pretty reasonable.
"If piracy isn't dealt with then it could have a really serious impact on books and eBooks in the future."
But Anna conceded: "The Government are trying to find ways to counter this but you can't regulate the internet."
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos added: "Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books.
"We had high hopes this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would be this quickly — we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years."
Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/scotlandfeatures/4060431/Is-Kindle-writing-the-final-chapter-for-paper-books-Ebook-sales-overtake-real-thing.html#ixzz1jRaENxGG
1 comment:
Short answers: for fiction: probably; for non-fiction: no.
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