Debates: VERSUS?
Ebooks are Only a Fad
Steve: Carr adds that many ebooks go unread. This argument lacks force, since the same could be said of print books and our research shows that 96% of Power Buyers reported that they finished the ebooks they purchased. Our research also suggests that once readers try ebooks, their preference grows rather than diminishes, and that the number of people who report leaving ebooks for print books is close to zero. The mere fact that ebook sales are overtaking print book sales is proof that it's not a fad.
The reader's nostalgic feelings for printed books are also used as a pro-print argument. It's true that I look at my bookshelves with fond memories, but that applies equally to my library and my digital bookshelf. What is the difference?
John: I can't say I have the same feelings when I look at a tablet screen's worth of summary data and thumbnails as when I look at a row of well-ordered bookcases, but feelings are beside the point. Ebooks are a fact of life, not a fad, and I'll probably read more books, not less, as a result. Today, it is more cost-effective for me to reach for a printed dictionary, or re-read a favorite printed book, than to spend the extra time and money needed to go "all digital." Tomorrow, there will be better digital alternatives, but for now I have good reasons to use both formats.
Cost Structure
Steve: As I've said before, I believe that both print and ebooks are reasonable consumer options for the foreseeable future. However, people who want to buy print books need to expect to pay more. It simply costs more to manufacture, warehouse, distribute, retail and/or ship a printed book. I expect the prices of ebooks to continue to become more affordable when ebooks become the primary distribution media. Happily, the costs for digital print-on-demand are also dropping so that the printed book option should also become more economical over time.
John Parsons (john@intuideas.com), former Editorial Director of The Seybold Report, is an independent writer, ghostwriter, and editor. He is the co-author of the interactive printed textbook, Introduction to Graphic Communication, on the art, science and business of print, which has been adopted by Ryerson, Arizona State, the University of Houston, and many other schools and vocational training centers. Custom editions of the book are under consideration by major printing companies and franchises for internal training purposes.
