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Digital Census Ten Findings Snapshots


What’s the most innovative thing you have seen in publishing in the past year? · ‘Amazon Publishing’ · ‘Enhanced academic e-books’ · ‘BookGig looks interesting’ · ‘3D-printed books’ · ‘Web-based systems helping with all elements of the writing and publishing process, like Write Track and BeemGee’


· ‘Nothing, and it pains me to say that’


Where at your company have you seen the biggest impact of digital technology? · ‘Operations’ · ‘Online marketing’ · ‘Editorial workflows’ · ‘Pricing’ · ‘Content-delivery mechanisms and processes’


To what do you attribute the slowdown in publishers’ e-book growth in the past 18 months? · ‘The excitement over a new innovation has worn off’


· ‘Many readers tried e-books in a big rush and have since decided they prefer print’


· ‘The high price of good books— and the market is flooded with garbage for £1.99’


· ‘People want print, and 2,500 years of the book archetype is hard to change’


· ‘The closed systems in which readers are forced to buy e-books’


· ‘Partly the novelty wearing off; partly the response of publishing to make books more beautiful in the flesh; and partly [digital] prices not being low enough’


· The fact that too much content is being given away for free, and the general economic climate’


Where does the greatest potential for innovation lie? · ‘Mobile phones’ · ‘Genuinely enhanced books, where enhancements are motivated and add value’


· ‘Augmented reality’ · ‘Trans-digital products such as videos embedded in e-books, game-style books, textbooks with additional content’


· ‘Audio’ · ‘Transmedia’ · ‘Video’ · ‘Making an e-reading experience that is truly immersive, that doesn’t take away from the content but adds something’


· ‘I feel we’re just on the cusp of the potential of self-publishing’


· ‘I don’t want innovation—I want good books!’


than 1,000 e-books in total. On two of the thorniest issues in digital publishing, pricing and royalties, deep divisions remain. A third (32%) of census respond- ents think e-books should sell for slightly less than their print equiva- lents aſter discounts, but even more (37.3%) believe they ought to retail at a significant discount. The rest favour various other models. Meanwhile, well over half (61.4%) of publishers think royalt rates should be the same as for print editions, but just over a quarter (27.3%) think they should be higher. The rest favour lower rates or vari- able models. These splits have been in evidence in the seven previous censuses, and consensus is as far away as ever. The agency model, whereby publishers control the pricing of their e-books, also divides opinion. Just under a third (31.9%) think it is a smart move that will keep value in the market, while a quarter (25.5%) think it’s something publishers will regret but had no choice over. Two in five (38.8%) think it is good news


Q: What percentage of your current sales are in digital format?


sales % <10%


11%–20% 21%–50% 50%+


Don’t know


for Amazon, self-published authors and digital-only publishers. Despite concerted efforts to tackle it, the illegal use of content remains a big issue for publish- ers. Two in five (40%) cite piracy or customers wanting free content as their main hindrance to selling more content in digital formats. More alarmingly, nearly one in five (18.2%) respondents have them- selves downloaded an e-book ille- gally. Given that this is a poll of those within publishing, the figure among the wider public is almost certain to be much higher. Asked about the likely winners and losers as digital sales rise, it is clear who will see the biggest gains: the companies providing the tech- nology that publishing now needs.


www.thebookseller.com response %


All but a fraction (99.3%) predict Amazon will be a winner, and around four in five feel the same way about Google (83.6%), soſtware companies (82.4%), mobile operators (82.3%), Apple (79.5%) and hardware or device companies (78.2%). As these newcomers prosper in the digital age, it is the longest- established constituents of the book business who are predicted to lose out. A large majorit view high street booksellers (94.4%) and independent bookshops (88.4%) as losers as digital sales increase, and more than half feel that way about libraries (67.4%), traditionally published authors (62.3%), literary agents (57.4%) and general trade publishers (50.4%). It is yet more evidence of how technology has turned publishing on its head. ×


Pictured: as in previous censuses, Amazon was thought to be the biggest beneficiary from an increasing migration to digital reading and retailing; this despite the retailer opening a physical bookshop in November 2015 in Seattle.


Q: Who will be the winners and losers as digital sales increase? business type


winners/losers % Amazon


Self-published authors Google Software companies Mobile operators Apple Hardware/device companies Other online booksellers Book buyers ISPs


Independent publishers Academic/specialist lists General trade publishers Literary agents


Legacy-published authors Libraries


Independent bookshops High street bookshops


05


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