Editorial Archive

 The world of books and publishing is changing. This is not a prediction - it's a fact. Slowly, and sometimes almost unseen, the book industry is being dragged into the 21st century.

There are those who will tell you that POD books and e-book readers will never replace the standard books supplied by the major publishers. You don't have to look far, to see the same attitude prevailed for too long within the music industry.

Giants such as EMI and A&M thought exactly the same. Examine the music industry today, and you will evidence the huge changes this industry has witnessed within the past decade.

The introduction of new technology has meant we can now produce as little as a single book, this method has already been adopted by some major house for their back catalogue - although, as yet they seem loath to admit it.. This adoption of digital technology seems an obvious step in the right direction.

Rather than printing hundreds of back catalgoue titles and holding stock on the off chance of the odd sale, the P.O.D. printing seems to offer a greener alternative.

The other major benefit that will shape the future of publishing, comes yet again from the popularity of P.O.D. with up-and-coming authors. The reliance on literary agents and publishers is slowly diminishing, as writers can now publish and supply their first couple of books without the constant agony of rejection. With the advent of amazon and strong on-line promotion, even minor titles can, with good promotion, achieve reasonable sales figures.

Finally we have the looming presence of the E-BOOK. This facet of the industry has no middle-ground, you either love it or hate it. there are those who will cling to the classic book and resist the temptation of the e-book, the rest will dabble or adopt this 'revelation in reading' with zeal.

I am probaly in the former camp, I love my BOOK, I love the feel, the comfort and the pure joy of reading a paperback or similar. My best guess is that the traditional book and the e reader will bump along in a strange form of consonance until one eclipses the opther.

Roger Lean
Bookopedia 2008