Re: "Digital electronic books have important advantages over traditional paper books."
From a published writer's standpoint, one of the great disappointments in life is when his/her book goes out of print. Yep, this happens eventually to almost every author's work--be it best or worst seller. The nature of the publishing business being what it is today leads quite quickly to obsolescence.
My own experience: I'm an author of three titles, all nonfiction in the environment/history genre. One of my books, a history of one of the Indian Wars of the last century and published by Henry Holt in 1994, was widely reviewed, nominated for the PEN-West award, and made the Seattle Times best books of the year list. It was sold to a major paperback company and was widely acclaimed as the best read on this particular subject. Today, that book is out of print. The only copies you'll find are in your library (maybe) or in some used/rare bookstore. My efforts and that of my agent to get the book back in print have all been in vain. This isn't unusual at all. So manic are publishers for new titles, that the old is quickly chucked in the has-been pile.
From the author's perspective, e-books may be the answer. Publishing houses will offer backlists of titles they can no longer afford to keep in traditional print. Readers will not have to track down out-of-print titles through library loans or used book stores. Think about it. A vast, vast market is suddenly about to appear.
Hey, my money and my thanks to Gemstar! |
