Publishers & the Digital Print Revolution, Part 2

We are continuing here with the evaluation of John Biggs' article on the impact of digital technology on the Publishing Industry.

Amazon, Borders, and Barnes & Noble all offer self-publishing to their customers. Biggs calls it the vanity press. We in the industry have seen an incredible growth in this area in just the last year. This is now possible for under $100. An ISBN number is provided, as are royalties on titles sold through the store.

Amazon will do it for 30% on each book. Not a bad offer, particularly if the author doesn't expect much in the way of sales. I guess that's where the vanity press comes from.

Some best-selling authors have abandoned the book entirely in favor of digital distribution. They liken printed paper books to vinyl records. They have my attention; that's a scary thought!

Seth Godin is one author who's taken it to the extreme. He distinguishes publishing from printing. Publishing, he says, is all about taking the financial risk, and finding the readers to buy their book. He maintains that the Internet makes it far easier to find and keep readers, making the Publishers less valuable.

Content Aggregation is something I've made a big deal of, probably more than most in our marketplace. Interestingly enough, the Director of Product Management at Google, Ying Wang (no, I didn't make that up) insists that Google is not a traditional publisher, but an aggregator.

All of this is quite remarkable. I have gained new respect for Mr. Biggs. But the upside is that now we can read our book almost anywhere, even on our computer. And, to those who don't have the resources like many of us, loving to read & learn, and building a personal library, will be within the reach of most.

Those of us, who have been blessed working in this market for so long, will be fine - as long as we embrace the challenges and find the positives in it.