Guest Column: The 300-Pound E-Gorilla
Currently, a variety of electronic platforms are being used by competing e-readers. E-book technology is moving so rapidly that it's impossible to know where the dust will settle. And based on my meager e-book income, I see no major gain to jumping into what appears to be a Wild West show. I'm also not too keen on giving up 50 percent of my revenue to have my titles converted into e-books. (Many e-book distributors and services offer independent publishers a 50-50 revenue split for converting their books to e-book formats.) That would cheat my authors and hurt my company's bottom line. For independents, the existing e-business environment clearly gives preference to the converters and e-book distributors. I believe that it is just a matter of time before numerous publishing partners and services emerge to shift the balance more in our favor. When it does come to pass—and it will—there will be better options to choose from and time enough to make informed decisions.