Seth Godin: The End of Books

[Boom_70]

Insightful blog post from Seth Godin. Makes some valid points.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/08/an-end-of-books.html

 

[Spartan Squad]

He makes a pretty valid point that more of us are moving toward ebooks, but I think he's putting too much stock in the decline of Borders and Barns and Noble to the ebook and underselling the impact of Amazon.

I kind of wish he went further into the notion that books are starting to go the way of the record more. The record store is pretty well gone, except for the hipster nostalgia that continues to linger. Books and book stores are finally going the same way now that we have a convenient way to read them electronically.

 

[BYH]

I originally read this as The End of Boots. RIP Back Door.

 

[mr.westerberg]

Insightful blog post from Seth Godin. Makes some valid points.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/08/an-end-of-books.html

Funny. There was a story in The New Yorker recently saying that while B&N's Nook was a disaster (understatement), the stores themselves were doing fine (yes, it had actual financial figures). It also pointed out with anecdotal evidence that every publisher has a vested interest in keeping B&N alive (as well as independent book stores) because every study for something like 40 years showed that readers were vastly more likely to try a "new" writer if they could actually pick up/look at a book by said writer.

 

[JR]

I was in the book business for thirty years (bookselling and publishing)

Although a huge number of independents were decimated starting in the late 80's/ early 90's with the big box stores---the point where books were commodified-- there is still a niche for independents.

There are a a number of areas---art books and children's illustrated books are the first to come to mind--where a physical book is the only format that will work

-Mr Westerberg's statement "readers were vastly more likely to try a "new" writer if they could actually pick up/look at a book by said writer" has been and always will be the case

And a good bookseller can put a book in a customer's hand and say, "You'll love this" and the customer buys it on the recommendation and DOES love it.

It's called "handselling" in the biz and is a huge factor in a store's success and customer loyalty

And you can't browse on Amazon.

And yes, I do buy books from them but also from bookstores

 

[Boom_70]

I was in the book business for thirty years (bookselling and publishing)

Although a huge number of independents were decimated starting in the late 80's/ early 90's with the big box stores---the point where books were commodified-- there is still a niche for independents.

There are a a number of areas---art books and children's illustrated books are the first to come to mind--where a physical book is the only format that will work

-Mr Westerberg's statement "readers were vastly more likely to try a "new" writer if they could actually pick up/look at a book by said writer" has been and always will be the case

And a good bookseller can put a book in a customer's hand and say, "You'll love this" and the customer buys it on the recommendation and DOES love it.

It's called "handselling" in the biz and is a huge factor in a store's success and customer loyalty

And you can't browse on Amazon.

And yes, I do buy books from them but also from bookstores

Legend has it that Freq was pretty good at the art of "hand selling".

 

[Boom_70]

I originally read this as The End of Boots. RIP Back Door.

What ever happened to Boots? He was a good man and even a better person.

 

[JR]

I originally read this as The End of Boots. RIP Back Door.

What ever happened to Boots? He was a good man and even a better person.

He's one of the posters we miss along with Bandwagon Boy and the legendary JVR (JRV?)
Things have been dull since they all left.

 

[Boom_70]

Does a publisher hold the rights for a book in perpetuity or would an author be able to reissue as
e book and receive full profits from sale. Likely that publishers did not anticipate e books when
writing contracts 20-30 years ago.

 

[JR]

Does a publisher hold the rights for a book in perpetuity or would an author be able to reissue as
e book and receive full profits from sale. Likely that publishers did not anticipate e books when
writing contracts 20-30 years ago.

My understanding---and I've been out of the biz since ebooks were a serious issue--is that publishers do not hold those rights unless those rights were specifically mentioned in the contract.

I know there have been some ****-ups about this between agents and publishers but I suspect that the publishers don't have any leverage on this.

Now that you mention it, I'm going to do some research

 

[Bradley Guire]

I read two to three books each week. When I go to the chiropractor, I'm the only person not watching a video but reading a real book. So I'm the weirdo. I have a Kindle and an iPad, but I rarely buy books anymore. They're a luxury expense. If not for the library, I'd have to quit reading. One thing I hate about the library right now is one thing the writer touched on: it has more Blu-rays and DVDs than Hastings. At least I don't have to fight the crowds to browse those old book things.

 

[Riptide]

I haven't read a book, or even a magazine, since the day I bought my iPad two years ago. I'm a constant surfer now. And I used to read three or four books a week. I wonder how the book industry feels about that segment, if it has any numbers at all.

The iPad is an addictive little Internet monster. No complaints there, but my attention span is shot. I'm constantly moving around online, so I don't ever settle back and read a book or magazine anymore -- even on the tablet. I figure that will change at some point, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

Ebooks struggle to keep my attention, but I can pop an audiobook on when driving or working out and it's quite effective at keeping me engaged.

 

[SpeedTchr]

I have really tried to like ebooks, and thought the Kindle would be superb. Unfortunately, prices didn't really go down and it's a pain in the butt to hold a tablet for an extended period. I'll stick with paperbacks, thanks.

 

[Lanky]

I make about 75 percent of my living, such as it is, by writing novels. About three and a half years ago, I noticed that ebooks had overtaken print as the majority of my sales. Nowadays, the proportions are about 9 to 1, ebook to trade paperback.

Much of that, certainly, is reflective of my publisher, which strongly pushes the digital. While my stuff is available in bookstores, the reach isn't vast, and aside from the indies in my home state, which are strong hand-sellers of my books, it's generally one book, spine out, somewhere in the stacks. Absent co-op placement and a national promotional campaign, bookstore sales were never going to provide me with a viable living. Ebook sales have.

Still, I like being able to meet readers where they are, print or electronic or audiobook. The advent of ebooks has made me a more voracious consumer of books than I already was. I still buy hardcovers and paperbacks from the indie booksellers I love, and I buy dozens more ebooks that I might never have seen otherwise. I have a buy-it-where-I-discovered-it approach, and that's what I try to encourage in folks who are cognizant of the issues involved.

 

[Brian]

I read two to three books each week. When I go to the chiropractor, I'm the only person not watching a video but reading a real book. So I'm the weirdo. I have a Kindle and an iPad, but I rarely buy books anymore. They're a luxury expense. If not for the library, I'd have to quit reading. One thing I hate about the library right now is one thing the writer touched on: it has more Blu-rays and DVDs than Hastings. At least I don't have to fight the crowds to browse those old book things.

My local library has essentially become a Blockbuster. It only has half of Hemingway's output but every Disney direct to video film ever made. The part that isn't a video store is essentially an internet cafe.

 

[I Should Coco]

My library has large racks of DVDs to rent ... but it also has a really good selection of newer books, which have come out in the past year, surrounding the entrance and front counter.

If there's a new book I really want to read — and I prefer "book" form, after spending 8-plus hours using a computer at work — I'm much more likely to check it out from the library than to plunk down $20 or more at whatever bookstore is still open.

Personally, I think hard-copy books will outlast the printed version of the newspaper, because some titles are worth reading again and again over the years, and it might be tough/expensive to transfer ebooks to the latest device as electronic gadget makers force you to upgrade equipment every couple of years.

 

[Bradley Guire]

What will authors sign if there are no books and where will they sign these non-existent books if there are no bookstores?