First Word

The publishing industry is in transformation with the eBook revolution changing the business model. The value of eBook publishing offers many positives to buck publishing industry trends -- one being the ridiculous book-return policies practiced by book distributors. Book distribution into the bookstores is a literal joke. The other day I got a bill for $2,000 from Baker and Taylor. I said I haven't even had $2,000 in royalties paid to me, why do I owe you this money? They replied that I had accepted an agreement to take all returns from all sources. Not understanding obviously what that had meant I became disgusted. How can any business make money under the weight of such nonsensical policies where I'm obligated to pay for books returned from any source. With no tracking on which books were returned, I couldn't even reconcile that information on the royalties. Now I'm wondering how to revise the business model. Authors still expect bookstore distribution. The ability...

Unless you're a publisher you might give the eBook revolution no more consideration than you do the iTunes revolution. It's happening, and you love your eBook reader -- it's compact, carries thousands of books in your purse or briefcase, and it's really fun to play with. As a publisher, our focus is to shift and change with the business model. While "old-schoolers" continue to embrace their paper tomes, eBook readers are buying the electronic versions in droves. In the last six months, our company 3L Publishing has seen the most dramatic shift in interest when it comes to eBook sales vs. print. This change was long ago predicted to escalate by 2015, and so goes the trend. Our last top-selling book sold one print to nine eBooks. Whereas just last summer our top-selling book sold more like every 4 out of 5 eBooks. The eBook revolution isn't going to slow. Diminishing floor space in Barnes and Noble, increasing restrictions in national distribution system...

Up until this year, the Wall Street Journal's projections that the eBook industry would hit billions in revenues (way back in 2012), I would have been skeptical. The Journal gave projections that at the time seemed implausible, but trend-wise also was right on course. I'm going to say that 2014/2015 (just as projected) are demonstrating that rapid and precipitous upward trend predicted back in 2012. Last summer is when we noticed a dramatic shift that caught our attention at 3L Publishing ( www.3LPublishing.com ). Just a year ago, print sales still rivaled eBook sales to the point that we could still largely put our investment on print with confidence. Now just a year later I wouldn't make that kind of assertion. Today the greatest example is the No. #1 selling Chocolate Flowers by Jori Nunes. Early sales figures show for every print copy sold, she's selling 10 eBooks. Yes, that is a 1 to 10 ratio (and that's an estimate). We cannot say the same about childre...

I read a post about the rise of eBooks and the potential fall of authors as an outcome. One of the premises of the article was that eBooks will bring about the downfall of writers forced to accept subpar wages in exchange for their work. I found this premise interesting and mulled it over. First, I know many authors don't have access to some of the information I have access to. I also don't know what are the arrangements for eBook payments in traditional publishing; but here is why I don't agree. The rise of eBooks has been driven by increased demand. In a capitalistic society, increased demand means increased prices. Just look at the average cost of an eBook just two years ago. The average eBook cost perhaps $3.99 on the high side. Now the average eBook on Amazon costs $9.99. When you consider that for every 100 print books sold today 200 eBooks are sold on Amazon, that's a big leap. eBook royalties at 3L Publishing are very high -- although I will not disclose them...