I do think this is a great time to be a writer. We’ve got options and possibilities and an exciting future.
But the publishing industry (including the retail end of things, bookstores) are having a rough time.
My Borders recently closed. And Borders was a bookstore I visited about once a week.
Fortunately, we do still have Barnes and Noble here (our independent bookstores are too far from me). I was there on Saturday evening with my husband and we bought three books.
My membership with Barnes and Noble expires at the end of the month. The associate was explaining the renewal terms to me and I thought, “Uh oh. This isn’t good.”
That’s because they were decreasing the amount of the discount you’d get on a hardcover book from 20% off to 10% off (this is just the regular hardcovers, not the bestsellers, where you still get a substantial discount.)
The associate explained that, since they’d decreased that discount, they were offering renewing customers $25 off Nook Color e-readers and $10 off regular Nooks.
So…basically, they were rewarding readers who want ebooks. The bookstore was, actually, encouraging readers to get ebooks.
I thought about this a little more (and, I’m a Kindle person…I don’t have a Nook.) My teenage son—an avid reader—is one of the reasons I’m at a bookstore once a week. He wants YA books constantly thrown his way (and the library isn’t able to acquire them at the pace they’d like.) I’m buying brand-new hardcover books for him. They are not on the bestseller list, but they’re hot books.
So, the YA books he likes won’t be out in paperback for a while…maybe a year? And the bookstore’s discount has gotten punier for these hardcovers that cost an arm and a leg.
But, on my Kindle, I can immediately purchase these books without driving across town (spending precious and costly gasoline), and at a discounted price. And, unfortunately, without going through Barnes and Noble (since I have a Kindle.)
This worries me a little. Because you know what I’m probably going to do? Buy my son a Kindle. In the long run, we’ll save money and he’ll get all the books he wants. Bottom line, I want him to keep reading and that means supplying him with a steady stream of the books he wants (without going broke.)
But what will happen to the bookstore? And the publishers who aren’t rethinking pricing and formats?
I think we may already be seeing some of that. Publishers Weekly reports that ebook sales for June rose 167% while print declined sharply:
E-book sales rose 167% in June, to $80.2 million, at the 15 houses that reported figures to AAP’s monthly sales report and closed the first half of the year with sales up 161%, to $473.8 million…
…Trade paperback sales had the largest decline, down 64%, while children’s hardcover sales were off 31%. Adult hardcover sales fell 25%, mass market sales were down 22% and children’s paperback was off 13%.
I have several books for sale at the Barnes and Noble, myself. I’d like for the store to keep selling books and I’d like for my publishers to keep thinking of me for projects and putting physical books out. I’d like for them to do well. They’ve been good to me.
But I worry over some of these decisions I see being made—the pricing of different formats (publishers) and fewer discounts for hardcover formats (booksellers.)
What are your thoughts on the ebook revolution and what it means to publishing and book retail? (Again, I think it’s a great time to be a writer and a reader…it’s just the other side of the industry I’m concerned about.)
One thing I’m convinced of is that the only reason the brick and mortar B & N’s are still open and in business is to sell the Nook. The Nook is what’s supporting them right now, and they’re trying their hardest to push it beyond the Kindle. Then we’ll see their stores close as well, I believe.
Interesting about your son and his reading habit (yay for him being a reader!) And it only makes sense to get him an ereader doesn’t it? Crazy stuff going on in this industry that’s for sure.
I think tis a great time to be a writer. The entire retail landscape is changing before our very eyes. I’m sad to see Borders go. Great group of employees and terrific customers. B&N is not nearly as friendly when it comes to book signings.
I’ll find out soon as I’ll release Opening first as an ebook, then follow up with the softbound version at $12.95. We’ll see how sales go. I’m excited and thinking big thoughts.
This is scary! Sometimes I think we’re discounting novels so low that we’re devaluing an author’s work for the sake of a bargain. The price of everything else is going up while the price of books is going down. Something isn’t quite right about that.
I share your concern over bookstores. I think e-books will become even more mainstream. Although I still hope to see my book in print someday!
Elizabeth – You certainly highlight some of the things going on in the publishing industry. I believe that publishers need to constantly keep in mind what business they are in: providing reading material. The more aware a publisher is of that, the flexible a publisher can be in meeting readers’ needs and keeping a place in the market. People are buying and reading books differently now, but they are buying and reading books. Publishers who start with that basic fact and craft their strategies accordingly will stay alive and even thrive. It’s going to take “lean-ness,” flexibility and creativity.
The change from primarily reading books on paper to reading electronically appears to be happening at a faster pace than some of us anticipated. Those stats you gave from PW are startling. Booksellers and publishers are scrambling to keep up with all these changes and some decisions may be short-sighted, like not supporting those who still like books on paper.
Yeah for your 14-year old reader. What’s happening in publishing is a reflection of what’s happening elsewhere – everything is electronic and immediate. People walk down the street with cell phones attached to their ears, or they are texting, watching videos on iPads. The technology is amazing, but sometimes I miss the good ole days. Yikes, I sound like my father!
Karen
This is part of why I don’t want to see bookstores go anywhere: http://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/390067.html Yes, she’s talking about the second hand market, but that doesn’t exist without a first hand market like Barnes and Noble.
Hardcover books *are* expensive, and it’s making me think of the Groupon phenomenon. Someone is putting out all of these great deals- online or via the ebook stores- but they have to make up their money somewhere. Looks like it’s the bookstore. I think pricing needs to be reconsidered across the board.
Karen–I’ve wondered the same thing. It *does* seem like the Nook is what it’s all about there…it’s what I see when I walk in the door of their store.
I love that he’s such a big reader. :) My daughter is, too, but I think it’s a bit of a bigger accomplishment to have a 14 year old boy reader. I just want to make sure we keep funneling good books his way (and we can’t wait on the trade paperbacks to come out!)
Stephen–I miss Borders, too. I spent a lot of time at that store.
Keep thinking big, Stephen!
Heather–Publishers are definitely being undercut by ebook prices. I believe their pricing needs a little rethinking.
Marji Laine–I think this upcoming Christmas season will see a boom of ereaders purchased. And I’m a bit ambivalent about it (much as I love my ereader.)
Deb–Interesting link. Thanks for sharing it. I do worry about what this means for folks who can’t purchase books. And I worry every day about the future of the libraries.
I do think pricing/format needs to be reconsidered, as well as the release schedule for books. I understand what the thinking was originally with hardcovers–make the most money with a popular series hardcover release, then wait a year for the more-affordable paperback to launch. But that just doesn’t work with ebooks around.
I know what you mean. Though, if I purchase hardcovers from Amazon with the free shipping it’s not too much more than the ebook. Sometimes they are the same price.
I think a lot of people are turning to ebooks because it’s cheaper, not b/c they love it so much more.
I’ve been watching the shift toward ebooks and the simultaneous decline in the publishing industry. In Jamaica, where I live, this isn’t yet a matter for concern because 99% of the population buys paper and ink books. Still, not many of us read, which is cause for concern. I think book sellers will have to be innovative and offer incentives for people to continue buying paper and in books in view of the competition of the cheaper and easily accessible e-books.
The big publishers muscled Amazon and the like to charge more than the $9.99 price they started with for their ebooks. I think that was a mistake.
Maybe these folks should learn from Netflix. Better to sell more with less markup than to encourage competition from independents doing their own publishing of good books at lower prices.
I expect a continuing boom in the sale of ebooks, but only at reasonable prices.
Margot–I think you’ve nailed it. And I’m so glad that people are still reading!
Laura–I’ve noticed that, too. But our problem with ordering printed books from Amazon is that we frequently preorder books for my son…and the super-saver shipping means bundling the books and waiting until all of the order has released. I’ve canceled some orders recently (because my son was antsy to get the books) and drove to the store to buy them. I think you’re very right about price being a main consideration. Also, I think, convenience.
J.L.–I think so, too. There needs to be a reason to get a printed book. Right now, we’re running out of reasons. I’m sorry to hear about the lack of reading in Jamaica!
Maryann–I agree with you. The changes are happening super-fast.There will still be readers who want paper books…and I think they probably need to be competitively priced to keep those readers from going to digital books.
Karen–I sort of miss the good old days, too! My kids just stare at me when I talk about the record player I grew up with (replacing the record player’s needles, dusting the record if the needle skipped…) :)
That indeed sounds like a stupid decision on B&Ns part if they want to keep people coming in. We are a family that has largely given up new books (getting borrowed, hand me down or paper back) because of our financial situation, but with young adult books, they get re-read and shared. It seems in the eFormat, books will have a harder time breaking out. I happen to be joyfully anticipating, though, college years with eBooks–the huge price tag on so many of those is based on limited print runs, but a NO print run, available for download HAS to be more affordable (and will certainly be lighter to haul around)
Everything’s changing — and changing quickly. I now have an iPad (handed down to me). I really like reading on it. I didn’t think I would, but…I do. I can have so many books without taking up shelf space. And I can take 10 books and read anywhere, on the plane, in the dark, in bed. I still like print books, but I can see the steamroller of e-books hurtling toward us.
Hart–Yes! I can’t wait until textbooks are all ebooks. My poor 5th grader’s back! That bookbag weighs more than she does (she’s just a tiny thing.)
Joe–Very true. I think readers *expect* ebooks to cost less. They know there was no printing involved or distribution involved or retail space involved…they want a discounted price.
I actually thought about mentioning Netflix in this post, but wasn’t sure everyone was following that story. Yes, it’s very MUCH like Netflix. They were trying to force their customers to do online streaming instead of DVDs (similar to B&N trying to encourage customers to purchase ebooks instead of print) and raised the prices on the mail service end of things. Misguided of them.
Helen–It’s very convenient, especially for traveling. And I like lying on my side on the sofa or bed and just holding the ereader and flipping “pages” with one hand. Who knew it would be so addictive?
When I walk into a book store, I enjoy browsing. Although I can browse to a certain extent at amazon or other online stores, it isn’t the same as being in a brick-and-mortar store. I see book stores as going the way of the music stores; there used to be one in every mall and now most music is sold online. It eliminates that impulse buy that some authors depend upon. But in the long term, I do believe our children and grandchildren will buy far more ebooks than they ever did physical books.