Amazon.com

Book businesspeople are about to make the same mistake that has devastated the music and newspaper industries: worrying about whether a new digital format will cannibalize their traditional business rather than focusing on how to make the new format more competitive with other digital media.

In the current economy, the book manufacturing industry appears to be caught square between the proverbial rock and a hard place: on the one side, a publishing business suffering from decreased consumer demand and on the other, suppliers destabilized by the credit crunch. The industry, however, is showing surprising resiliency, having been thrust into difficult times with eyes wide open. Printers are determined to meet the challenge of a new marketplace defined by multiplatform delivery systems, environmental awareness and niche distribution models in the hopes that the post-“great recession” economy will find a book manufacturing industry emerging leaner, “greener” and more focused on the place of books in a digital age.

Amazon.com Inc. has taken on a new role: publisher. Through its new AmazonEncore program (http://www.Amazon.com/encore), which the online retailer launched this week, Amazon will use "information such as customer reviews on Amazon Web sites to identify exceptional, overlooked books and authors that show potential for greater sales." Amazon will then partner with those authors to reintroduce their books through marketing support and distribution into multiple channels and formats, such as the Amazon Books Store, Amazon Kindle Store, Audible.com, and national and independent bookstores via third-party wholesalers.

A quirky, cranky, hard-to-please birthday girl meets a new, furry best friend and hilarity ensues. “Rita and Whatsit,” a children's title from San Francisco-based Chronicle Books, could easily be described this way to potential customers. Or, they could get an even better feel for the book by watching the promotional video.

At a New York City press gathering similar to one held just three months ago when the Kindle 2 was unveiled, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos once again addressed a crowded auditorium Wednesday morning to talk about his “Kindle vision”—to have every book ever written, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds. Perhaps taking another step forward in achieving his ultimate goal, Bezos introduced the Kindle DX, which, at 9.7 inches, boasts a display screen that is two-and-a-half times the size of its slightly older sibling, the Kindle 2.

Maybe divine intervention will reverse the profit slide for religious book publishers. But industry experts believe it also would be prudent to consider scaling back on titles, reducing returns, making intelligent use of data, investing in digital opportunities and otherwise adapting business models for future success.

Silver Spring, Md.-based Discovery Communications Inc.—which owns the Discovery and TLC cable channels, among other media properties—filed a patent infringement suit Tuesday against Amazon.com in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging infringement of a patent issued to Discovery Communications for electronic book technology.  Discovery Communications alleges that Amazon's sale of the Kindle and Kindle 2 and its electronic book delivery system infringe U.S. Patent No. 7,298,851, "Electronic Book Security and Copyright Protection System." 

Amazon.com has introduced "Kindle for iPhone and iPod Touch," a new, free application that is available from Apple's App Store (www.Apple.com/iphone/appstore/).

People fear the unknown. It’s a simple premise that creeps into our lives more than we realize. Change brings a great amount of uncertainty … and therefore, fear. The changes happening in the book publishing industry right now are enough to prompt even the bravest publishing souls to cover their eyes, cautiously peeking through the space between their fingers to see if it’s OK to look.

Steve Mettee picks up ideas from the world around him. Traveling, reading the paper, browsing in a bookstore—he’s the type to notice what’s there and what’s missing, and think about how the publishing company he founded, Quill Driver Books, can meet needs and fill in gaps. And once he’s latched on to an idea, he’s loathe to let it go.