Yet Another Publisher Goes Digital
Published August 14th, 2010 | 
It’s been a long journey and my feet hurt (perhaps I should buy a pair of Spenco insoles), but after a decade of predicting the end of traditional publishing, some of those predictions are starting to bear fruit.
Case in point: Dorchester Publishing — one of the top producers of mass-market paperback originals is going to stop publishing mass-market paperbacks and start publishing eBooks and on-demand exclusively. The decision to make this bold move came on the heels of a 25 percent decline in its paperback sales, while its eBook sales continue to climb.
While I think it remains to be seen how much of an impact eBooks will have on printed book sales in the future(not a question of if there will be an impact, but whether printed books will disappear altogether or remain in some form), it’s clear at this point that the golden temples of mainstream publishing are starting to crumble and that those walls will come down eventually. So fire-up your Kindles or iPads or Sony Readers or whathaveyou and strap yourselves in. It’s going to be a bumpy ride!
One Response to Yet Another Publisher Goes Digital
Well, I do agree with you about getting some Spenco Insoles, but I’m not afraid of books going anywhere anytime soon, at least when it comes to textbooks. Having an electronic version of a textbook is a hindrance than a help: You can’t make notes in the margins (and any electronic notes take a long time to make and are hidden from view), and a computer screen makes it unbearable to read after an hour.