Is Ebook News Starting To Sound Like A Broken Record?

May 13 2011

Just as I start taking my blog in a new direction by concentrating exclusively on reading, writing and publishing in a digital age (my new tagline!), I read something that makes me feel a little dejected.

I read a post from the Teleread blog entitled “I’m Losing Interest in Ebook News.” This isn’t one of those ebooks-are-ruining-publishing posts. Far from it.

The main argument is that there are so many changes happening in the ebook world, and happening so fast, it’s impossible to keep up with everything. It’s almost a futile effort.

I agree that things are happening fast. I’ve tried keeping up with everything going on and pounding out post after post to keep everyone updated. But it’s an exhaustive pace that just isn’t realistic.

The post author makes a really good point at the end of his post:

Be that as it may, publishing is changing irrevocably and precipitously. The news is outdated almost before it’s reported. It’s time to start focusing on what this is all going to look like on the other side of the news.

This is a great point, one I haven’t given much thought to. We get so caught up in the new innovations in eReading that it’s easy to ignore the big picture.

While no one can predict the future, we can look back to where we were a decade ago and make an educated guess about where we’re going.

I remember ebooks being a novelty. They were not much more than text files you read on your computer. Fast forward ten years and we have a market flooded with eReaders and a publishing industry that’s been turned on it’s head because of ebooks.

Predictions About The Future of Ebooks

There are a few predictions that I can make with confidence. First, dedicated eReaders will be priced below $100. No question about it. The high-end eReader/tablets (ie Nook Color) might stay above the $100 price mark. But with the speed at which technology moves, and constantly decreasing prices, who knows.

Second, despite the whining of the major publishers, ebook prices will remain low because of market demand. I see the average ebook price falling below the $9.99 point and sticking at around $5 or less.

Finally, large publishers will take a diminishing role in being the gatekeepers of the literary world. Independent authors will become more and more common. Ebooks have leveled the playing field by letting authors get their work into the hands of readers without having to worry about printing, storage and distribution costs.

Ebooks are also stripping away the stigma that goes along with self-publishing. It no longer means that just because you self-publish, you aren’t good enough. I’ve read plenty of self-published ebooks that blow a lot of mainstream books (published by one of the big houses) out of the water.

Thus I think it is important to keep up with ebook news because we are in the middle of a literary technological revolution. The only big concern I have is sounding like a broken record. So it’s important for ebook bloggers to be careful and keep our posts varied and interesting.

There’s no point in reporting on every single piece of ebook news. My goal is to pick out those nuggets that are relevant and interesting to you, the reader.

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