How publishing has changed -
with interaction technology
The Impact on the Publishing Market -
Publishing professionals, faced with tight budgets and increasing competition, are looking to create additional revenue streams by providing digital “eBook” and "iBook" versions of their print titles. They are hoping that eBooks can help them attract and maintain new paying customers without cannibalizing existing print sales.
But the road to eBook success isn’t well traveled; eBooks are relatively new publishing products, potential eBook distribution channels are not fully understood by publishers, and there’s not much historical data with which to make eBook business decisions or projections, except the constant reminder that eBooks sales growth continues to be in the triple digits.* To be successful, publishers will need to better understand the digital publishing landscape.
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Those who are publishing eBooks are forgoing substantial revenue by vastly limiting their potential readership:
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most publishers are using their own eCommerce sites and not taking advantage of major distribution channels that provide access to the largest available audiences of digitally savvy consumers
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most publishers are creating eBooks that cannot be read on most mobile devices
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The above observation may explain why 52% of publishers see eBooks as having only low or moderate importance to their growth.
