Of Course There Is A Future For Books

by Matt Lynn

Leigh, I think people get too excited about the technology - and many publishers in particular think about this as a technological rather than commercial challenge. E-books are just a slightly different form of paper, plus a different distribution system. All this stuff about enhanced e-books, pictures, audio, etc, is all nonsense. The book will still be the book, just as the song is still the song, whatever the format. That's why I find it strange that so many writers are so hostile. Printers, I can understand. But writers? I don't get it.

Navigating the Changes

by Matt Lynn

Leigh raises some interesting points. I think the big question is what happens to bookshops. I suspect the really good specialist shops will survive. But WH Smith? Or Waterstone's? I dunno. There are mass-market retailers, and they are perfectly good at what they do but if 30% of your sales disappear it is hard to stay in business. And of course if there is no bookshop in your local town, it increases the incentive to download instead. That is what I mean by a dynamic process. Most people are still only looking at the first round effects - but it is the second-round that will be really interesting.

But is this really a problem for writers? I don't think so. True, we will have to be more savvy about marketing, but most of us already are - certainly here on the Curzon blog.