Publishing's Digital Future

In class on Wednesday we had Christopher Robbins come to speak to us about the business of publishing. As the CEO of Gibbs Smith, he knows a lot about business. We talked a lot about the recession that we are in and the effect that E-readers (e-readers? ereaders? Ereaders? eReaders?) are having on the publishing industry. If you keep up on the industry you know that this is a very hot topic.

One issue is that people assume that because digital books don't have to be printed that the price should be drastically slashed. Christopher showed us the costs of making a book. The author has to be paid; the editors have to be paid; the designers and illustrators have to be paid. And don't forget about other costs: the errand boy, marketing, and taxes etc.

Publishing is going to have to change to meet the market demand. It is a little scary to think of all the changes that will be happening in the industry, because change can be a scary thing. A lot of other industries have been digitized and they have survived, so I think in the long run, publishing will be ok.

Thoughts?