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E-books and the Australian Publishing Industry

Jeremy Fisher September 27

In our latest Meanland ‘Reading in an Age of Change’ essay, Jeremy Fisher surveys ebooks and the Australian publishing industry – how prepared are we for the advent of the digital and what does this mean for writers, readers and booksellers? Who are the power-brokers and who might lose out? A brief extract is below and you can read the full essay here, as well as at Meanland. For a recent letter to the editor concerning this essay, go here.



It’s a widely held opinion that the printed book is a dying species. Journalist Hugh Rimmington, when guest hosting the 7 pm Project, jocularly asked the author of a new book of horror stories why on earth he took the trouble to write and promote his printed book with Kindle and e-books taking over the world.[1] Digital books are already here and have been with us for some time. They have replaced print versions completely in some areas of publishing. Those parts of publishing are largely invisible to general readers, whose view of publishing is framed by the books available through retail outlets, but have contributed significantly to the overall profitability and success of the Australian publishing industry. These days the publishing industry has hived off its digital segments into separate companies as print has ceased to be the most common delivery mechanism. For example, Thomson sold off education to concentrate on its professional and news companies and Reed Elsevier, the giant of science publishing, long ago dropped its trade companies, and it sold off its education arm to Pearson in 2007.

The downside of this is that economic synergies dissipate in specialised companies. A company focused solely on the trade market takes fewer risks when making publishing decisions.[2] Information gleaned from sales data systems such as Bookscan are pored over to discern trends and identify opportunities, bringing greater precision, but less variety, to publishing decisions. This began to happen in the general trade segment, even without e-books being yet a significant revenue line. It has happened because of the pressure brought to bear on the general trade market as those segments of the publishing industry where digital technology has already had an impact remove themselves from the paradigm of print production.



Notes


1. 7 pm Project, Channel 10/Southern Cross television, viewed 17 February 2010. Back

2. Throughout this essay I use the terms ‘trade’, ‘trade market’ and ‘general trade market’ to refer to adult fiction, adult nonfiction and children’s fiction and nonfiction titles. Back


 

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