E-Book Sales Zoom, Printed Book Sales Fall As New Publishing Paradigm Takes Hold

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(Free-Press-Release.com) August 5, 2011 --
Anyone doubts the world of publishing is changing massively change only has to look at the Association of American Publishers' (AAP) sales numbers. According to the AAP, e-books, electronically produced books read on devices like the Kindle, Nook or computers with special software, saw sales zoom by 140 percent in the first six months of 2011 compared to year-ago numbers. Meanwhile, adult hardcover sales fell 23 percent, paperbacks declined 18 percent and adult mass market books sales fell 30 percent compared to last year.

“There's an enormous change in the publishing world,” says Rick Cook, author, journalist and futurist, who has just published a book on the subject. “It's a big benefit to readers, who will get more choices, and authors, who will get much higher royalty percentages, but it's hard on publishers and brick-and-mortar bookstores.”

“It's a wonderful time to be a reader or a writer,” Cook says. “If you're a publisher or running a conventional bookstore you've got to adapt, and fast.

In his book, “Shift Happens: The New E-Publishing Paradigm And What It Means For Writers”, available for $2.99 from Amazon, Cook outlines the changes and the opportunities they create for people who want to write and people who like to read. In his 40 years as a writer, Cook has written six novels which were published in print by Baen Books, and thousands of newspaper and magazine articles dealing with technology.

Cook says the paradigm shift wasn't unanticipated. “Some of us have seen this coming for 20 years or more,” Cook says. “But what almost no one predicted was how quickly it would happen when it did start.”

“This is not only earthshaking for the industry,” Cook says, “it's happening so fast it caught nearly everyone flatfooted. Basically the change only hit at the end of 2010. By January 2011 there was a huge upsurge in e-books and it shows no sign of abating.”

Suddenly, Cook says, authors are finding they can make substantial amounts of money off ebooks, which have long been regarded as curiosities in the publishing world. Some authors, such as John Locke, a thriller writer from Kentucky, and Amanda Hocking, a 24-year-old fantasy writer from ** are selling hundreds of thousands of copies of their books. Locke attracted attention in June 2011 when his books reached the million-seller mark.

“Sales like that aren't routine,” Cook says, “but a lot of authors have found their incomes increased substantially over the last year as the publishing paradigm shift takes hold.”

Advantages For Readers
For readers, the paradigm shift means a lot more books available at a much lower price. “Today's paperbacks normally start at $7.99,” Cook says. “Ebooks usually start at $.99. That's a heck of a savings.” Hardback books are even more expensive, beginning at $15 or so and quickly going up to $35 or more.

This isn't just a matter of publishers' profits. The costs to print and distribute a conventional book are extremely high, in part because of an archaic distribution model print publishers are locked into. “For example,” Cook says, “if I had printed “Shift Happens” conventionally I'd have to sell it for $15 or $20. As an ebook “Shift Happens” lists for $2.99 on Amazon.”

As a result, readers find that they can afford to purchase three or four ebooks for the price of a single paperback. “In most cases the price of an inexpensive ebook will be less than the cost of a used paperback,” Cook says.

The other major advantage with ebooks, is that there is a much wider selection of titles because the barriers to publishing are lower.

“Conventional publishers act like gatekeepers,” Cook says. “They decide who gets published and who doesn't.” Not all the books that the publishers weed out are low quality, either. Cook points to the multiple rejections of authors like J.K. Rowling and Tom Clancy before they finally found publishers who would take them on.

“Rowling was rejected more than 20 times,” Cook says. “Can you imagine what would have happened if she'd gotten discouraged after, say, 17 or 18 rejections and stuck the manuscript in a desk drawer? No Harry Potter.”

“The paradigm shift in publishing means that the decision passes from the publishers, who can only afford to publish a limited number of books each year, to the readers, who can pick and choose among what's offered,” Cook says. Readers will have to be more selective, but there is a lot more to select from.”

Advantages For Authors
Authors and would-be authors benefit strongly from the changes. Not only it is easier and cheaper to get an ebook published, the royalty percentages are higher. “On a paperback a new author is lucky to get a royalty of 8 percent on a $7.99 book,” Cook notes. “If you sell an ebook for $2.99 through Amazon, you can make a 70 percent royalty. That's about $2.10 per copy

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