I couldn't see any discussion here on the recent four-part article at www.readwriteweb.com by Bernard Lunn which speculates on the future of book publishing ["Bits of Destruction Hit the Book Publishing Business" starting at http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/bits_of_destruction_hit_book_publishing_part1.php], so I thought I'd point it out (actually, I confess I found it first on the NY Times). IMHO it's a reasonably lucid essay on how book publishing may unfold in confluence with 21st century publishing technologies. Yes, there are a few debatable points, some of which are illuminated in reader comments, but for the most part I find Lunn's analysis fairly believable.
The four parts of the article look at "the three big waves hitting the industry" (i.e. Google Book Search, the Kindle, and POD); what Lunn projects for authors, publishers, printers and retailers, along with the future of e-book vendors; the viability of the "returnability" policy; and a more detailed examination of how authors might benefit.
I'm curious about other people's views on this piece, and in particular Lunn's points with respect to (a) the impact on the publishing market of the Kindle et al in the next five or ten years (pretty big, according to him); (b) print on demand and whether it deserves to be viewed with the same repugnance historically shown by mainstream authors (he defends it as a viable new marketing avenue); and (c) the proposition that writers stand to gain in a big way from digital advances and evolving publishing business models.
The four parts of the article look at "the three big waves hitting the industry" (i.e. Google Book Search, the Kindle, and POD); what Lunn projects for authors, publishers, printers and retailers, along with the future of e-book vendors; the viability of the "returnability" policy; and a more detailed examination of how authors might benefit.
I'm curious about other people's views on this piece, and in particular Lunn's points with respect to (a) the impact on the publishing market of the Kindle et al in the next five or ten years (pretty big, according to him); (b) print on demand and whether it deserves to be viewed with the same repugnance historically shown by mainstream authors (he defends it as a viable new marketing avenue); and (c) the proposition that writers stand to gain in a big way from digital advances and evolving publishing business models.
