E-books are not exactly new, but they are still stirring up a storm. With Amazon's Kindle 2 and Sony's latest Reader packing new features, the e-book is becoming more and more popular. Despite this increasing popularity, many authors are still holding out on publishing their books in an e-book format. Do we blame the authors, or do we blame the e-book?
I'm a voracious reader: it's not unlike me to take down a decent sized book in one or two days of diligent reading. I've recently turned to e-books, both on my computer and my iPhone, to help ease the pain of my pocketbook, and to solve my storage problem.
Yes, I do miss the feeling of holding a book in my hands, being able to smell it, dog ear the pages, highlight, take notes (blasphemy to some, I know), and curl up with it in bed. Despite my love for paper books, the environmentalist in me can't compromise. When given the option to buy a more environmentally-friendly product at a similar or lower price, I will. Even though I've read dozens of e-books, I have yet to invest in a Kindle or Sony Reader.
Despite the numerous advantages to e-books, they are still considered a niche market. There are problems with e-books.
The availability, for one. The number of titles available in print versus e-book are vastly different. Now, I'm not in the publishing business, but I can't imagine how producing an e-book would be more difficult than a printed version.
Some authors - namely J.K. Rowling - refuse to have their work published as e-books. They argue that with the low cost production, they should be receiving higher royalties.
Which brings me to another point: the price. How is it that an e-book and a mass market paperback version of the same book are almost the same price? Price issues aside, unless you enjoy reading on the computer or your iPhone, you have to invest over $300 for an e-book reader. The cost different doesn't pay off unless you read dozens of books a year.
And, on top of it all, arguably one of the most well known e-book carriers, Amazon's Kindle store, uses DRM and locks the items you purchase.
What's going on with e-books? Do they just have a bad business model? Can the e-book industry learn from the failings of the music and film industries taking their content digitally?
DRM is just as controversial as ever, but new e-book retailers still insist on using it. E-books require expensive devices in order for the content to be portable and don't do much to compensate for this with content pricing.
Like audiobooks, e-books aren't for everyone. It's a small market, but will it ever get bigger? Can Amazon and Sony move past pricing and content issues and improve? How long will it take authors to adapt to the new digital format? With so many flaws in the business model, with e-books be able to achieve the same successes as digital music and video?