Books are dead. Or so says some pundits who think the traditional form of publishing has finally met its nemesis. The ebook publishing phenomenon.
And, like any controversial statement, one can find supporting evidence to prove their point. All across the publishing world the stats for the numbers of traditionally published books being bought and sold is witnessing a severe downward decline. Conversly the stats showing the sales of ebook works is skyrocketing. Ergo: the printed word created by ink and paper is soon to be a fond memory.
Hmmm . . . I don't think so. There's more than six billions souls on this planet. Out of that six billion there's going to be several hundred million who enjoys the touch, the smell, the heft of an honest-to-god book in their laps. There's an intrinsic, almost mystical, ritual in the act of reading out of a book Yeah, Yeah. I know. It sounds idiotic. Sounds like voodoo science.
But it's true. At least, true for this old writer. And probably true for millions more who think like I do
My recent purchases are about half and half, paper to electronic.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to remember when anything is touted as "fastest growing" is that small numbers show larger growth percentages. If I sold 100 of something last year and 200 this year (increase of 100 units), my sales increased 100%.
If I sold 1,000 units last year and increased sales by 100 this year, the percentage is 10%. Which is the two is increasing faster?
I'm not saying ebooks aren't coming on fast, but that all statistics should be viewed in context, not only of the numbers, but of the point their user is trying to make. To quote mark Tqain, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.