Why Publisher Resistance to Creating Ebooks Needs to Stop

Mar 21
17:42

2009

Travis Van Slooten

Travis Van Slooten

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In this day and age where ebook readers are gaining popularity and growing in demand, it's a wonder why some publishers still refuse to create ebook formats for their books. Apparently, they have not looked into the business side of things and seen that other than just going with the flow, ebooks do make a lot of business sense after all. Here are some reasons why publishers should sit up, take notice of the digital age, and do their part by creating ebooks.

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It's amazing that there are so many book publishers out there that are resisting the ebook format with all their might. It's understandable why they might be wary,Why Publisher Resistance to Creating Ebooks Needs to Stop  Articles but someone needs to get the message to them that they are doing far more harm than good. The evidence is clear, ebooks are definitely the way to go these days. They benefit people all around!It's not surprising that this is an issue considering the same thing happened with digital music. Many producers thought that opening up digital versions for sale would lead to more piracy. They turned out to be wrong, because people were more than willing to pay for the music once it was made available (look at how popular iTunes is!). This goes to show that companies need to stay with the times and give people what they want to keep up with customer demands. Another reason certain publishers are concerned about ebooks is because they haven't done the research to know that it makes a lot of business sense. It's very easy to get stuck doing things the same way you've always done them. With publishers, that means producing paperbacks and hardbacks and steering clear of everything foreign.Hardcover books are reaching the point of being priced out of reach for many people. Not everyone has $25-$30 to spend on every new release that comes out. Publishers often find themselves between a rock and a hard place because they need to keep up with the cost of production, but sell as many copies as possible at the same time.There is one thing that is clear, and that's that ebooks are high in demand and increasing in popularity all the time. It would be very cost effective for most publishers to put at least their most popular titles in ebook format. The fact that these books are electronically delivered is icing on the cake as their are no further production costs. It is especially easy if everything is handled by a suit like Amazon.Publishers should look at the facts, and come to the conclusion that allowing their books to be published as ebooks is the best course of action. People are busier than ever these days and often read on the go. What better way to read several books and have access to them at any time than with an ebook reader! Appealing to these 'on the go' people should be a major goal of publishers who want to make sure their books fly off the shelves.Hopefully more publishers will start to see the light about this issue. It is inevitable that as more customers demand it, they will have to move toward this business model. Until then, customers can continue to buy ebooks and ebook readers from publishers who 'get it' to show that this is the format that makes the most sense for our lives.The Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader 700 are two handheld ebook readers that are revolutionizing the book industry. Publishers would be foolish to ignore the rising popularity of these devices and not offer their books in digital format. If they do, they will do so at their own peril.

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