Barely a month goes by without a major publication publishes a story, or a blog post goes viral on the topic of the future of hard-copy books. Are our paper copy, bound and bought at the store books about to become extinct, in the face of the burgeoning ebook industry? If so, what's next for the world of writing and stories?
In Sydney this weekend, the Good Weekend ran just such a story by Nikki Barrowclough titled Can the book survive? The story details several ebook success stories, trials 4 different e-reading devices, and explores issues such as ebook purchasing patterns, independent reading stores access to ebook selling in the face of Amazon dominance, and the impact that millions of easily accessible books will have on readers.
We were excited to see an idea we've been discussing for a few years with the team, tutors and students at the Sydney Writers' Centre. The Good Weekend reported that "Authors who are able to create online profiles, who are prepared to blog, to tweet and who are basically able to connect with their readers will [have an advantage] over those who aren't." We've moved from discussing, to offering a one-evening seminar to make your story accesible as an ebook, and we're running the first one in April.
The ebook discussion, and outcomes will impact more then just readers. The Good Weekend quotes Sophie Hamley, the senior literary agent at Sydney's Cameron Creswell agency and former Senior editor at publisher Harper Collins explaining: "When you've got your very big authors walking out the door, taking their book sales with them, there won't be the money to invest in new people. It's going to be an interesting landscape."
What do you think is the future of books, ebooks and online publishing?
If you're curious to see whether it pays, we found this blog that details how Stephen Leather made £13,908. In December.