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Kindle: The Greatest Publishing Business Model Since Gutenberg

Vol. 5, Issue No. 12 | June 18, 2009 By Denny Hatch
26

IN THE NEWS

Tina Brown Bashes $9.99 Digital Books
Daily Beast founder Tina Brown and her husband Sir Harold Evans held a stuffy, packed BEA amphitheater in rapt attention yesterday—quizzing four CEOs about these difficult days for publishing. When Brown lost her voice halfway through the presentation, her husband stepped up to finish the panel. Before leaving, Brown railed against Amazon.com, Inc.'s pricing for the average Kindle book: "$9.99 is a paltry pitiful sum," she said.

—MediaBistro.com Galley Cat, May 29, 2009


In the final week of May 2009, BookExpo America—the vast annual book publishing conference—took place at the Javits Convention Center on the West Side of Manhattan.

According to the MediaBistro blog GalleyCat, a panel featured 56-year-old editor Tina Brown (Tatler [UK], The New Yorker, Talk, Vanity Fair and currently TheDailyBeast.com) railing against Amazon.com for its lowball pricing of books for the magical new e-reading machine, Kindle.

“$9.99 is a paltry, pitiful sum,” Brown proclaimed.

Brown is a great editor, but she doesn't know squat about book publishing or business models.

The History of Book Printing in 154 Words

  • First came the monks, scribes, scriveners, copyists, illuminators—those dedicated men who saved the knowledge of humanity by creating one-off books by hand. They painstakingly handwrote every individual letter and word, and these manuscripts were bound as books for the rich and powerful.
  • Next came woodblock printing. Type was hand-carved on blocks of wood, enabling a printer to create multiple copies of single pages that were assembled and bound into books.
  • Then c. 1450 AD, Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type, where individual letters of the alphabet were cast in metal and assembled into sentences, paragraphs and pages. After the pages were printed on a press, the type was disassembled to be reused over and over again.
  • Seven centuries later came the next great breakthrough in book publishing, Amazon’s Kindle machine. It catapults Jeff Bezos (Amazon's CEO) next to Gutenberg and Jason Epstein (inventor of Print-on-Demand) in the pantheon of book publishing innovators.

The Genius of Kindle
My wife, Peggy, is a member of a local book club. Members read one book a month and meet to discuss it. In May 2009, the chosen book was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic “The Great Gatsby.” Could I get it on my Kindle? Peggy wanted to know.

I fired up the Kindle and “shopped the Kindle store.” The title was available for $9.80, and I ordered it. Within 30 seconds, it was in my reader. I handed it to Peggy, and she started reading “Gatsby.”

Takeaways to Consider

  • It does your reputation no good to spout off publicly on subjects you know nothing about.
  • Before you beta test a new business, be sure you've figured in all expenses, right down to the cost of postage for your billing series.
  • When an industry-changing business model such as Kindle arrives on the scene (soon to be joined by a legion of competitors), you better start brainstorming survival tactics. Otherwise, prepare to be toast.
  • Does some way exist to deliver your product or service to end users in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly format?
  • For example, traditional book publishing (1) must change the consignment system so retailers own outright the books they buy; (2) move to print-on-demand book manufacturing, so that inventory is maintained electronically in a computer rather than stacked on pallets in warehouses; (3) enable bookstores to receive commissions on electronic book sales that they generate. If they don't, Jeff Bezos of Amazon will be the last man standing.

Web Sites Related to Today's Edition

Amazon.com
www.amazon.com

Kindle
http://tinyurl.com/pjlvft

Tina Brown’s The Daily Beast
www.thedailybeast.com/

Book Industry Statistics
http://BookStatistics.com


 

Companies Mentioned:
26

COMMENTS

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Comment *
Most Recent Comments:
David Dwek - Posted on June 29, 2009
I think you missed the boat here.

In my opinion, any technology that puts up barriers to reading is bad.

As more books are delivered electronically, publishers will have more incentive to only make commercial sellers available in book form.

Does that mean if you can't afford $360 for a kindle, you can't read anymore?

It'll mean that the rich get smarter and the poor get dumber.

DH Replies:
Thanx for writing. Check out Project Gutenberg—30,000 books free on the Internet. Pretty much anybody that reads has access to a computer. I see Kindle as a way to get non-readers to read, as it saves lugging books around and fits into pocket or purse.

Laurie - Posted on June 22, 2009
I'd love to see a bookstore model that keeps one copy of each book it will sell - for browsing purposes. The copies they sell would be digital and download directly to whatever device you have.

For whatever reason, browsing through the online bookstore doesn't give you enough opportunity to find explore new books.....regardless of the samples Amazon provides...

BTW, I LOVE my kindle!

NOTE FROM DH: Great idea. The other option would be to have a print-on-demand machine onsite, so that the customer could order the book just browsed and pick it up after a leisurely latte. This model delights the customer by delivering the product in the desired format—either an e-book or a paperback.

F Becht - Posted on June 19, 2009
I've seen the Kindle - does what it's supposed to do. Would I own one? No. I love paper books, my eyes can't take electronic screens for hours on end. I use ebooks for reference, but choose paper when I want to read.
As far as the trees, they are a renewable crop and have been so for centuries.
Give me the look readability and feel of paper, and a computer screen only when necessary.
Jim Lammers - Posted on June 19, 2009
For older books like this you can usually find them on the net for free. With a nice laptop they are easy to read in transit. So for me the alternative would be to go to

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/

and print the chapters of the book to PDF. Voila, transportable full book for my laptop.
David Garfinkel - Posted on June 19, 2009
Denny, I follow what you're saying and I agree with you, with one big departure.

What you say about business models is unfortunately truer than you let on. I'm in publishing at many different stages - investor, publisher, author, editor, consultant to others - and the book business is in worse shape than most anyone is letting on.

The new Kindle, I have heard, is fantastic. This from a friend of mine who hated the old one. I have the old one and I won't use it. Too clunky and unreliable. I read a book that was 900 pages in physical form and while the book was very enjoyable, the experience was unnerving enough so I'll never use the old one again.

I keep hearing good stuff about the new one. I think your assessment of the importance of this development is not overstated, and this is book guy to book guy, not copywriter to copywriter.
Rick Ritter - Posted on June 18, 2009
I think that Kindle and other e-book readers are the wave of the future, and they will make ink on paper books obsolete. Bookstores, book clubs, printers, binders, distributors, paper manufacturers, book materials suppliers - everyone better be ready for a massive change coming our way.

This revolution will sweep the book business the way i-tunes has swept the music business. Big box book stores may go the way of Tower Records and Virgin Records.

Maybe bookstores can stay afloat by keeping very low inventory with a digital printing back up on site. I don't know.

Ironically, Amazon.com may see its bound book sales fall as its e-book sales take off. The big problem that sellers, publishers and authors will have will be how to prevent piracy. The electronic format makes copying fast and simple.

Cheerful thoughts, aren't they?
Simon - Posted on June 18, 2009
Comment towards Megan, re cost of producing digital version, it is insignificant if the work is created digitally in the first place?
Simon - Posted on June 18, 2009
The newsletter prompted me to look at my bookshelf and there is not one book I have bought from a shop out of the 50 or so that are there.

They have been bought from street markets, car boot sales or given by friends (or books I have received to review).

I think you are right about the direction of progress and would like to know what your opinion is of how the traditional "side markets" for dead tree content will be enhanced or destroyed?

Thank you for an interesting newsletter.
Wash Phillips - Posted on June 18, 2009
Gee, Denny, I recall a piece on your prior Kindle purchase--a distinctly different tone in details and satisfaction, was it not? Did Bezos hear your complaints and fix them? Or have simple minor improvements in the prior picture been enough to mellow your view?

Seriously, the consignment model of bookselling is a 2-edged sword: booksellers taking ownership (similar to auto dealers paying "flooring" charges) might per se save publishers in the interim but would blow mom-&-pop retailers--and even some big-box places out of the marketplace. Short of 100% ebook, something else is needed. The Print On Demand solution you've trumpeted in the past, extended back to the publishers' laps (to empty warehouses) , might help; but this calls for new investment by strapped publishers, alas.
Thanks for the heads-up on the new Kindle arrangement; my son's girl just got him one for his birthday.

Tom Mulhern - Posted on June 18, 2009
The Kindle is a good first step, but the beauty of paper printing lies in how it DOESN'T fatigue your eyes. The pixellation of type on Kindle or computers is incredibly low-resolution (typically less than 100 dots per inch) compared to printed books (with resolution of hundreds or thousands of dots per inch). The second hurdle that needs to be crossed is color. But, as a means of distribution, Kindle is a no-brainer. Sheer brilliance.
Trish Tickle - Posted on June 18, 2009
Denny: Did you hear the Morning Edition (NPR) story last week about Google getting into the e-book biz? Here's the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105169795
Jerry Tucker - Posted on June 18, 2009
There is a very strong virtue to the consignment system.

Namely in the variety of titles available to consumers. When the drug store buys toothpaste, they have a reasonable expectation that they will sell all of it at a standard markup. There are very few book titles that a bookstore would know that they are definitely going to sell all of. They also know that they will not be able to sell a certain number of books that have been damaged by customer handling.

Solution: only buy a very small quantity of the very best best sellers (WalMart anyone) and put them all under lock and key so no one can handle them.

We may have to change the consignment system, but the obvious and implied way of the article may not be the best way.

Jerry Tucker - Posted on June 18, 2009
If Amazon is charging the same or close for its ebooks as for its print books, and has eliminated a large portion of the costs associated with print books, then I think that their ebooks are grossly overpriced!
Patricia - Posted on June 18, 2009
Hi Denny! I always enjoy your insightful articles and this one was no exception. I think you can tell by some of the pithy responses that you really hit a nerve here...

I'm in the book business and have also seen the digital transformation first hand. I really want a Kindle, or other ebook reader with an online store instant-link but am waiting for the price to come down. I think Kindle's effect on human reading behavior will be positive and encourage people to read more books, and read more deeply. But I also don't think the printed book will go away anytime soon--it will most likely become another "container" choice for how users want their content served. If you want printed books your grandkids can read...you can have it! But if you don't have the space, ability to lug your print library around, or patience to deal with print and want a painless digital experience...well you can have that too! It’s really not an either-or situation at all. I think Bezos is a genius and beat Sony at its own game by including the instant shopping experience. I love my iPod and really wish Steve Jobs would create a similar on the fly shopping experience for us audiophiles.

Thanks again for the great article!

Ann Ruth - Posted on June 18, 2009
I agree with the sentiments posted by Ms. Evans and Mr. Kinney and would go one step further. The first thing I do when visiting someone's home for the first time is make a beeline for the bookshelf. You can tell a lot about a person from what's there and it can open up a lot of conversations which might not have happened without a peek at what they've read. I'm always thrilled to see an Ayn Rand novel on someone's bookshelf to get an opportunity to discuss objectivism. By the same token, I take a lot of pride in what I put on my own bookshelf and love it when others take a peek into my favorite authors. Based on this word of mouth marketing obviously works best to get a new book in my hands. I also love going to a Borders and can get so wrapped up in book browsing that hours pass before I check out. I relish envisioning how to 'file' the books I select on my shelves when I get home.

So I don't think a Kindle could ever replace the feeling of buying a book and for my own sake I hope that the big box bookstore never goes away. But based on your description of the publishing model it wouldn't make sense for it to continue as is.

Here's a suggestion for the publishing industry - I still buy CDs despite owning a packed iPod (for similar reasons as I buy books - plus I like referencing the liner notes). I buy the CD and upload it to my iTunes library. If a publisher gave me a code to put a book on a kindle when I bought the hard copy, I might opt to get a kindle for travel purposes, likely reading more books (and subsequently buying more) instead of finishing my book and just buying overpriced airport magazines for the flight back. Everyone wins and I get to keep my bookshelf fascination going.

Rob - Posted on June 18, 2009
$9.98 may seem a paltry sum to Tina Brown, but what is her profit on a $22.95 book?

In the current publishing/distribution system, bookstores actually destroy unsold books and return the covers to the publisher to be reimbursed. Waste like that comes out of the profits of the publisher and author and drives up the cost of the books we all buy.

Apart from Amazon's (substantial) cut, Kindle production and distribution is all profit. Ideally, that should mean more money for the author, the publisher and the reader. The typesetters, printers and paper mills will be out of luck, although I suppose you always need marketing.

Doris Walsh - Posted on June 18, 2009
I am a publisher but also as a consumer a Kindle fan. Please do not discount the work and expense that goes into creating a manuscript, editing, designing, etc. and most of all MARKETING. None of that is free and the publisher has those expenses up front, even if the book is sold electronically. If no one markets these books, even Kindle will not see great sales. Your review of Renegade makes my point: Everybody needs an editor.
Dev. Kinney - Posted on June 18, 2009
Denny,
You don't lead without taking brush slaps in the face. But that's what one wants in airing a subject. Thanks.
As a designer/writer who has fallen in love with excellent typefaces and the smell and feel of quality paper, I will always visit bookstores and buy books. And though digital books have been available for 20 years, the bookstores are better than ever...so are the libraries. heaven help this country if they ever disappear!
Mimi Evans - Posted on June 18, 2009
Mr. Hatch:

Yes, yes, whatever...here's to the electronic revolution. Oh joy oh rapture.

But I couldn't help but think of the hours upon hours I've spent in the warm inviting glow of a family-curated bookshelf, perusing old and new volumes some of which were once owned by my grandmother. How, on a rainy Saturday, I sit curled in an armchair under a blanket reading a real old-fashioned book, knowing that my own granddaughter may someday gently leaf through these very pages. Or, upon seeing a new bird outside my window, rushing to grab my mother's "Field Guide to the Birds" to have that "aha" moment when I identify it.

With Kindle, there is no legacy, no aura, no warm and dog-eared golden pages. Say what you will about saving energy and postage, but I'd rather life my life in the shadow of a genuine, even musty, bookshelf.

Martin Foner - Posted on June 18, 2009
Mr. Hatch:

May I suggest you take your own advice and not speak about things about which your knowledge or information may limited. While I usually find your posts fascinating, extremely knowledgeable, and informative, I have been in this field for 35 years and have seen the evolution firsthand. And, I believe you are using what you see and hear to guide your opinions, instead of what has and is happening.

Mr. Bezos' Kindle is not a new business model. Franklin, Sony, and a host of other players predate Mr. Bezos' "invention". What he has done has, arguably, taken it to a whole new level, but he did not 'take the initial risk'. That was done almost 20 years ago with the first incarnation of e-readers.

You somehow see this as a bookstore vs. Bezos thing... it isn't. Most publishers have already or will begin to, make their books available as eBooks on their own sites... likely partnering with other Kindle type companies, and offer 'programs', not unlike the old 'book of the month' clubs. Others simply will make their eBooks available and you as the buyer can download them to your own e-reader or to your computer, netbook most likely, or television if you so choose to read truly large type books. Think music downloads as a pretty close analogy.

While I predicted, going back to 2001-2, the demise of commerical 'print' publishing AND public libraries as we know them... I don't see quite the 'one player' scenario you lay out. In fact, if I understand your general philosophy correctly, there will be others, faster and fleeter of foot, more innovative, and far more customer focused, who will compete and win parts of this potentially huge market from Amazom.

Keep up the good work, and if you need some expert insight into our pitiful but necessary industry, feel free to call on me. It would be my pleasure to work with you.
Rebecca - Posted on June 18, 2009
I haven't gotten a Kindle yet. I am an avid reader and visit my local library 3-4 times per month and probably read 10-15 books per month AT LEAST. I search for the titles I want to read online, and place a hold on them -- I am alerted via email when they are ready to pick up, and I swing by on my way home from work.

This works for me.

However, as I was reading the article, it comes to mind that if I, too, was traveling on a ship or across the country 6-8 months out of the year, I surely would NEED to get a Kindle and about a thousand books!

I also cannot justify spending almost $10 on a book -- unless it was one I planned on keeping for reference or a classic... which is why half.com and the library work well for me.

I do believe that in the book "The Long Tail" -- this is what they are talking about... amazon.com is one example given in the book. Great stuff to read about and think about.
Robert Doscher - Posted on June 18, 2009
Denny:

It's the new Reader's Digest Condensed Books! Think of what the Digest could do with a deal with Amazon with the all new "Condensed Books online".

Condensed Books no longer exist but here's a chance for Mary Berner to revive this former huge winner and do it with the format that brought in many of the current RD customers...Sweepstakes! An alliance with Amazon might be worth exploring.

A limited sweepstakes to RD
former sweeps buyers could be an exciting test for RD and RD needs new revenue streams.

Amazon is the leader.

Go Kindle!

Bob



Mark - Posted on June 18, 2009
But Amazon only offers the Publisher/Author 35% for a place at the Kindle table? Is that a wise business move? What are you getting for 65% that is being taken by Amazon?
Kathy Henderson-Sturtz - Posted on June 18, 2009
Denny, you're the best! Keep telling it like it is.

Thanks!
Megan Moore - Posted on June 18, 2009
Interesting post but you are way wrong on one thing. It takes a LOT of resources, effort, and manpower to take a book and put it into a digitial format. it is not without cost to do that.
Judy Smath - Posted on June 18, 2009
Sold! Now I want a Kindle. Your arithmetic and logic make sense.
Click here to view archived comments...
Archived Comments:
David Dwek - Posted on June 29, 2009
I think you missed the boat here.

In my opinion, any technology that puts up barriers to reading is bad.

As more books are delivered electronically, publishers will have more incentive to only make commercial sellers available in book form.

Does that mean if you can't afford $360 for a kindle, you can't read anymore?

It'll mean that the rich get smarter and the poor get dumber.

DH Replies:
Thanx for writing. Check out Project Gutenberg—30,000 books free on the Internet. Pretty much anybody that reads has access to a computer. I see Kindle as a way to get non-readers to read, as it saves lugging books around and fits into pocket or purse.

Laurie - Posted on June 22, 2009
I'd love to see a bookstore model that keeps one copy of each book it will sell - for browsing purposes. The copies they sell would be digital and download directly to whatever device you have.

For whatever reason, browsing through the online bookstore doesn't give you enough opportunity to find explore new books.....regardless of the samples Amazon provides...

BTW, I LOVE my kindle!

NOTE FROM DH: Great idea. The other option would be to have a print-on-demand machine onsite, so that the customer could order the book just browsed and pick it up after a leisurely latte. This model delights the customer by delivering the product in the desired format—either an e-book or a paperback.

F Becht - Posted on June 19, 2009
I've seen the Kindle - does what it's supposed to do. Would I own one? No. I love paper books, my eyes can't take electronic screens for hours on end. I use ebooks for reference, but choose paper when I want to read.
As far as the trees, they are a renewable crop and have been so for centuries.
Give me the look readability and feel of paper, and a computer screen only when necessary.
Jim Lammers - Posted on June 19, 2009
For older books like this you can usually find them on the net for free. With a nice laptop they are easy to read in transit. So for me the alternative would be to go to

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/

and print the chapters of the book to PDF. Voila, transportable full book for my laptop.
David Garfinkel - Posted on June 19, 2009
Denny, I follow what you're saying and I agree with you, with one big departure.

What you say about business models is unfortunately truer than you let on. I'm in publishing at many different stages - investor, publisher, author, editor, consultant to others - and the book business is in worse shape than most anyone is letting on.

The new Kindle, I have heard, is fantastic. This from a friend of mine who hated the old one. I have the old one and I won't use it. Too clunky and unreliable. I read a book that was 900 pages in physical form and while the book was very enjoyable, the experience was unnerving enough so I'll never use the old one again.

I keep hearing good stuff about the new one. I think your assessment of the importance of this development is not overstated, and this is book guy to book guy, not copywriter to copywriter.
Rick Ritter - Posted on June 18, 2009
I think that Kindle and other e-book readers are the wave of the future, and they will make ink on paper books obsolete. Bookstores, book clubs, printers, binders, distributors, paper manufacturers, book materials suppliers - everyone better be ready for a massive change coming our way.

This revolution will sweep the book business the way i-tunes has swept the music business. Big box book stores may go the way of Tower Records and Virgin Records.

Maybe bookstores can stay afloat by keeping very low inventory with a digital printing back up on site. I don't know.

Ironically, Amazon.com may see its bound book sales fall as its e-book sales take off. The big problem that sellers, publishers and authors will have will be how to prevent piracy. The electronic format makes copying fast and simple.

Cheerful thoughts, aren't they?
Simon - Posted on June 18, 2009
Comment towards Megan, re cost of producing digital version, it is insignificant if the work is created digitally in the first place?
Simon - Posted on June 18, 2009
The newsletter prompted me to look at my bookshelf and there is not one book I have bought from a shop out of the 50 or so that are there.

They have been bought from street markets, car boot sales or given by friends (or books I have received to review).

I think you are right about the direction of progress and would like to know what your opinion is of how the traditional "side markets" for dead tree content will be enhanced or destroyed?

Thank you for an interesting newsletter.
Wash Phillips - Posted on June 18, 2009
Gee, Denny, I recall a piece on your prior Kindle purchase--a distinctly different tone in details and satisfaction, was it not? Did Bezos hear your complaints and fix them? Or have simple minor improvements in the prior picture been enough to mellow your view?

Seriously, the consignment model of bookselling is a 2-edged sword: booksellers taking ownership (similar to auto dealers paying "flooring" charges) might per se save publishers in the interim but would blow mom-&-pop retailers--and even some big-box places out of the marketplace. Short of 100% ebook, something else is needed. The Print On Demand solution you've trumpeted in the past, extended back to the publishers' laps (to empty warehouses) , might help; but this calls for new investment by strapped publishers, alas.
Thanks for the heads-up on the new Kindle arrangement; my son's girl just got him one for his birthday.

Tom Mulhern - Posted on June 18, 2009
The Kindle is a good first step, but the beauty of paper printing lies in how it DOESN'T fatigue your eyes. The pixellation of type on Kindle or computers is incredibly low-resolution (typically less than 100 dots per inch) compared to printed books (with resolution of hundreds or thousands of dots per inch). The second hurdle that needs to be crossed is color. But, as a means of distribution, Kindle is a no-brainer. Sheer brilliance.
Trish Tickle - Posted on June 18, 2009
Denny: Did you hear the Morning Edition (NPR) story last week about Google getting into the e-book biz? Here's the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105169795
Jerry Tucker - Posted on June 18, 2009
There is a very strong virtue to the consignment system.

Namely in the variety of titles available to consumers. When the drug store buys toothpaste, they have a reasonable expectation that they will sell all of it at a standard markup. There are very few book titles that a bookstore would know that they are definitely going to sell all of. They also know that they will not be able to sell a certain number of books that have been damaged by customer handling.

Solution: only buy a very small quantity of the very best best sellers (WalMart anyone) and put them all under lock and key so no one can handle them.

We may have to change the consignment system, but the obvious and implied way of the article may not be the best way.

Jerry Tucker - Posted on June 18, 2009
If Amazon is charging the same or close for its ebooks as for its print books, and has eliminated a large portion of the costs associated with print books, then I think that their ebooks are grossly overpriced!
Patricia - Posted on June 18, 2009
Hi Denny! I always enjoy your insightful articles and this one was no exception. I think you can tell by some of the pithy responses that you really hit a nerve here...

I'm in the book business and have also seen the digital transformation first hand. I really want a Kindle, or other ebook reader with an online store instant-link but am waiting for the price to come down. I think Kindle's effect on human reading behavior will be positive and encourage people to read more books, and read more deeply. But I also don't think the printed book will go away anytime soon--it will most likely become another "container" choice for how users want their content served. If you want printed books your grandkids can read...you can have it! But if you don't have the space, ability to lug your print library around, or patience to deal with print and want a painless digital experience...well you can have that too! It’s really not an either-or situation at all. I think Bezos is a genius and beat Sony at its own game by including the instant shopping experience. I love my iPod and really wish Steve Jobs would create a similar on the fly shopping experience for us audiophiles.

Thanks again for the great article!

Ann Ruth - Posted on June 18, 2009
I agree with the sentiments posted by Ms. Evans and Mr. Kinney and would go one step further. The first thing I do when visiting someone's home for the first time is make a beeline for the bookshelf. You can tell a lot about a person from what's there and it can open up a lot of conversations which might not have happened without a peek at what they've read. I'm always thrilled to see an Ayn Rand novel on someone's bookshelf to get an opportunity to discuss objectivism. By the same token, I take a lot of pride in what I put on my own bookshelf and love it when others take a peek into my favorite authors. Based on this word of mouth marketing obviously works best to get a new book in my hands. I also love going to a Borders and can get so wrapped up in book browsing that hours pass before I check out. I relish envisioning how to 'file' the books I select on my shelves when I get home.

So I don't think a Kindle could ever replace the feeling of buying a book and for my own sake I hope that the big box bookstore never goes away. But based on your description of the publishing model it wouldn't make sense for it to continue as is.

Here's a suggestion for the publishing industry - I still buy CDs despite owning a packed iPod (for similar reasons as I buy books - plus I like referencing the liner notes). I buy the CD and upload it to my iTunes library. If a publisher gave me a code to put a book on a kindle when I bought the hard copy, I might opt to get a kindle for travel purposes, likely reading more books (and subsequently buying more) instead of finishing my book and just buying overpriced airport magazines for the flight back. Everyone wins and I get to keep my bookshelf fascination going.

Rob - Posted on June 18, 2009
$9.98 may seem a paltry sum to Tina Brown, but what is her profit on a $22.95 book?

In the current publishing/distribution system, bookstores actually destroy unsold books and return the covers to the publisher to be reimbursed. Waste like that comes out of the profits of the publisher and author and drives up the cost of the books we all buy.

Apart from Amazon's (substantial) cut, Kindle production and distribution is all profit. Ideally, that should mean more money for the author, the publisher and the reader. The typesetters, printers and paper mills will be out of luck, although I suppose you always need marketing.

Doris Walsh - Posted on June 18, 2009
I am a publisher but also as a consumer a Kindle fan. Please do not discount the work and expense that goes into creating a manuscript, editing, designing, etc. and most of all MARKETING. None of that is free and the publisher has those expenses up front, even if the book is sold electronically. If no one markets these books, even Kindle will not see great sales. Your review of Renegade makes my point: Everybody needs an editor.
Dev. Kinney - Posted on June 18, 2009
Denny,
You don't lead without taking brush slaps in the face. But that's what one wants in airing a subject. Thanks.
As a designer/writer who has fallen in love with excellent typefaces and the smell and feel of quality paper, I will always visit bookstores and buy books. And though digital books have been available for 20 years, the bookstores are better than ever...so are the libraries. heaven help this country if they ever disappear!
Mimi Evans - Posted on June 18, 2009
Mr. Hatch:

Yes, yes, whatever...here's to the electronic revolution. Oh joy oh rapture.

But I couldn't help but think of the hours upon hours I've spent in the warm inviting glow of a family-curated bookshelf, perusing old and new volumes some of which were once owned by my grandmother. How, on a rainy Saturday, I sit curled in an armchair under a blanket reading a real old-fashioned book, knowing that my own granddaughter may someday gently leaf through these very pages. Or, upon seeing a new bird outside my window, rushing to grab my mother's "Field Guide to the Birds" to have that "aha" moment when I identify it.

With Kindle, there is no legacy, no aura, no warm and dog-eared golden pages. Say what you will about saving energy and postage, but I'd rather life my life in the shadow of a genuine, even musty, bookshelf.

Martin Foner - Posted on June 18, 2009
Mr. Hatch:

May I suggest you take your own advice and not speak about things about which your knowledge or information may limited. While I usually find your posts fascinating, extremely knowledgeable, and informative, I have been in this field for 35 years and have seen the evolution firsthand. And, I believe you are using what you see and hear to guide your opinions, instead of what has and is happening.

Mr. Bezos' Kindle is not a new business model. Franklin, Sony, and a host of other players predate Mr. Bezos' "invention". What he has done has, arguably, taken it to a whole new level, but he did not 'take the initial risk'. That was done almost 20 years ago with the first incarnation of e-readers.

You somehow see this as a bookstore vs. Bezos thing... it isn't. Most publishers have already or will begin to, make their books available as eBooks on their own sites... likely partnering with other Kindle type companies, and offer 'programs', not unlike the old 'book of the month' clubs. Others simply will make their eBooks available and you as the buyer can download them to your own e-reader or to your computer, netbook most likely, or television if you so choose to read truly large type books. Think music downloads as a pretty close analogy.

While I predicted, going back to 2001-2, the demise of commerical 'print' publishing AND public libraries as we know them... I don't see quite the 'one player' scenario you lay out. In fact, if I understand your general philosophy correctly, there will be others, faster and fleeter of foot, more innovative, and far more customer focused, who will compete and win parts of this potentially huge market from Amazom.

Keep up the good work, and if you need some expert insight into our pitiful but necessary industry, feel free to call on me. It would be my pleasure to work with you.
Rebecca - Posted on June 18, 2009
I haven't gotten a Kindle yet. I am an avid reader and visit my local library 3-4 times per month and probably read 10-15 books per month AT LEAST. I search for the titles I want to read online, and place a hold on them -- I am alerted via email when they are ready to pick up, and I swing by on my way home from work.

This works for me.

However, as I was reading the article, it comes to mind that if I, too, was traveling on a ship or across the country 6-8 months out of the year, I surely would NEED to get a Kindle and about a thousand books!

I also cannot justify spending almost $10 on a book -- unless it was one I planned on keeping for reference or a classic... which is why half.com and the library work well for me.

I do believe that in the book "The Long Tail" -- this is what they are talking about... amazon.com is one example given in the book. Great stuff to read about and think about.
Robert Doscher - Posted on June 18, 2009
Denny:

It's the new Reader's Digest Condensed Books! Think of what the Digest could do with a deal with Amazon with the all new "Condensed Books online".

Condensed Books no longer exist but here's a chance for Mary Berner to revive this former huge winner and do it with the format that brought in many of the current RD customers...Sweepstakes! An alliance with Amazon might be worth exploring.

A limited sweepstakes to RD
former sweeps buyers could be an exciting test for RD and RD needs new revenue streams.

Amazon is the leader.

Go Kindle!

Bob



Mark - Posted on June 18, 2009
But Amazon only offers the Publisher/Author 35% for a place at the Kindle table? Is that a wise business move? What are you getting for 65% that is being taken by Amazon?
Kathy Henderson-Sturtz - Posted on June 18, 2009
Denny, you're the best! Keep telling it like it is.

Thanks!
Megan Moore - Posted on June 18, 2009
Interesting post but you are way wrong on one thing. It takes a LOT of resources, effort, and manpower to take a book and put it into a digitial format. it is not without cost to do that.
Judy Smath - Posted on June 18, 2009
Sold! Now I want a Kindle. Your arithmetic and logic make sense.