Current Topic: The Evolution of the Book

 The printed book has been a constant for centuries. Printing and binding technology has improved over time, and the invention of the paperback made books more affordable but not radically different in form or use. An 18^th century gentleman could pick up a current print best seller and know how to read it, even if he had trouble understanding today's version of English.

 The early twenty-first century has seen the rise of a new format-the ebook. Books have been available in digital format for a while, but they suffered from the classic technology chicken-and-egg conundrum. Publishers would not make books available in digital form until people would buy them that way, and people would not buy them until there was an easy way to read them. The invention of E-ink screens helped the readability problem, but no one was going to invest a lot of money in an ebook reader until they could buy lots of ebooks to read on it.

 

 eReaders

Sony produced one of the first viable eReaders and still competes in the market. But the tipping point may have come when Amazon marketed the Kindle, an ebook reader that was not only easy on the eyes and easy to use, it was wireless. Kindle owners could buy books from Amazon without even needing to use a computer. And at the same time, the popularity and expandability of the iPhone meant that applications to make the iPhone and iTouch devices into eReaders exploded in popularity.

 Now other companies are getting into eReader development, not only books but for magazines and newspapers, a format that will require a good color screen before it can really take off. Print is not going away anytime soon—not printed books, anyway. But ebook sales are growing as print sales are shrinking. And when ebooks and eReaders become common, the process of publishing will change. Ebooks don't require the same kind of intermediary wholesale distribution, like print books. This is bound to have an impact on what it means to be "published."

 

Selling books in the twenty-first century

With the web as a primary marketplace, ebooks don't even require publishers in the traditional sense. Self publishing, either through services such as CreateSpace or Lulu or simply via individual websites, is now cheap and easy to do. In the near future, self-publishing may well become a much more common step on the path to getting published by a traditional publishing house.

Ebooks are taking off! There are already ebook user forums and blogs that help readers find ebooks. Some of them focus on free or low cost books, but others simply talk about ebooks in general.

Sites of interest 

TeleRead: blog that covers all aspects of ebooks and includes links to find free ebooks

MobileRead: user forums that offer specific eReader groups, such as for Kindle or for Sony; also lots of info on hardware and software, tips, and advice

Plastic Logic: company that is working on a new, larger screen, space-age eReader

Scribed.com: website where publishers and other post free e-content, including books

 

Articles

The end of paper, FORTUNE, March 3, 2009

Hearst to launch a wireless e-reader, FORTUNE, February 27, 2009

The Race for a Better Read, TIME, February 5, 2009