eBooks and Hardbound Books
Did you see the report last week that revenue from eBook sales has exceeded that of hardbound book sales for the first time ever? This startling statistic comes from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) net sales revenue report (collecting data from 1,189 publishers) for Q1 of 2012.
I know we all love our photography books and the above data includes novels, non-fiction, and all kinds of non-art and non-photography related text-only books. But still, is it wise for us to ignore the trend? Better said, is it wise for us to ignore the opportunity? Every time I see a photography book that is not simultaneously published for digital delivery, I find myself wondering how this limits the audience, the revenue, and the word of mouth that might be tapped into if the photographer/publisher would open themselves up to this important cultural shift.
When eBook sales overtake the total paperback sales (the more meaningful number for most large publishers), then the shift will be complete. As virtually all books are now prepared digitally, the only reason that I can think of for not publishing both print and digital editions, is that the publisher is afraid that the digital edition will take sales from the print edition and kill the economics for the print edition.
Posted by: Peter | 06/20/2012 at 06:01 AM