What is the Future of Book Publishing?

The written word has provided people with a medium to tell stories, document events, and supply information to others in one form or another since the beginning of recorded time. Of the various methods of sharing the written word, none is more recognizable than the book. With ebooks on the rise, and publishers looking for new ways to distribute written works, what is the future of book publishing?

In this interview, we talk to podcaster and writer Ewan Spence about where the publishing industry needs to go in order to keep up with the rapid pace of technology.

Ewan Spence can be found on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/ewan

http://chris.pirillo.com
http://lockergnome.com
http://twitter.com/chrispirillo

Category:

Science & Technology

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[PandaAndWindmillTech]

I don't think physical books will die off, in my lifetime atleast.

[lockergnome]

@PandaAndWindmillTech - Fair assumption.

[RatkoUSA]

Who uses books anymore. My library of hundreds of books sits in boxes. Most of the books are reference, such as one sitting here by the keyboard, the Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology, 11 x 8.5 x 3 inches in size. Seems a waste of space and time since anything contained in it's 2432 pages can be found just as easily online and may even be more up to date.

The only reason the books are even still saved is in case the Internet disintegrates someday!

[lockergnome]

@RatkoUSA - Books are still sold, though demand is declining due to devices like the Kindle and iPad. The way the publishing industry works today is extremely wasteful. Change is inevitable.

[Jelkster]

@lockergnome Indeed. It would definitely be interesting to see how other people interpret the same material. And this would have to be pretty amazing for an author, since they would be able to get immediate feedback.

[lockergnome]

@Jelkster - Great points.

[packleader1215]

"One thing is clear: We don't have the option of turning away from the future. No one gets to vote on whether technology is going to change our lives." - Bill Gates

[RatkoUSA]

@lockergnome Change is desirable. It's much easier to carry around a Kindle than a large library of paper books.

[clista99]

@shehanster i wish there was.;)

[clista99]

how about if you make an annotation in a book and from your device (wirelessly) you can sdnd a message or post to your facebook. that would be neat to go onto a reader and make a note then post about it onto a website where you have a group/groups already set up and you can let them know. like your book club and then when you meet up to discuss the book you just pull it up on your reader or any other web enabled device...hmmm. would be neat.

[haggard90]

Who is your daddy, and what does he do?

[TheAlexagius]

1 thing i would read a book in tha bath, but I wouldn't bring an electrical device even if it was "waterproof" its a hazerd. Also I can read a book with out the need of electricity so in a power cut over days i can still read all my books for entertainment, an ebook needs power to be displayed. Also piracy, music films and games which are owned by rich companies are easily pirated books are often published by smaller companes they'll have no chace if they switch to ebooks as its just words

[yaxxee]

0 production costs.. that's a beneficial thing about eBooks. But piracy will do to books what it has done to music. Lets face it tho.. many don't use CD/DVDs any more. I had a LoveFilm subscription but didn't rent anything. I didn't feel urged to, cos we're all adapting to a new convenience. If you decide you wanna watch a certain film, you wanna be able to start playing it in a matter of minutes from deciding, rather than renting/ordering a disc. I don't see why the same won't happen to books.

[LOTRzagorath]

That's a very interesting idea about having a barcode to give you an eBook version when you've bought a dead-tree book.

That guy was really interesting!

[LOTRzagorath]

Physical books are hard to beat for reference. The ability to easily flick through many pages at a time is unbeatable.

For cover to cover reading, eBooks have a much larger place, but not necessarily a complete monopoly.

[cks1001]

ebooks are a fad, they will never come close to surpassing books.