Solving the Market's Problems

Looking at the challenges all the players in the industry face, it’s easy to understand why there hasn’t really been a huge change in the way physical books are brought to market since the development of the printing press. Some might argue that by seizing an enormous market share and giving readers access to an almost infinite number of books, Amazon has remodelled the industry. But has it? Has it really? The roles of all the market players have remained the same as they were in the days before the internet giant began. All that has really changed is the location of the market, the nature of distribution, and the centralisation of profits.

What the market needs urgently is evolution. More precisely, it needs revolution; it needs those who bring words to market to demand better reward for their creativity.

Specifically, the market needs:

1. The creator and anyone who adds additional value to ePubs to be brought closer to the point of sale. The distribution of royalties must be turned on its head so that those who create take the lion’s share, and those who merely take profit, take the last. What is needed is a way to increase an author’s share of royalties. This may be through the development of alternative business models, through a redefinition of the roles within the industry, or through a not-for-profit platform that keeps the royalties in the hands of those who add value.

2. Digital books need to be treated as different products. eBooks are a simple and cheap way to bring a book to market. They represent an opportunity to cut significant time from a lengthy process. Instead of waiting to release an eBook at the same time as a physical book, an eBook creates an opportunity to bring a book to market in advance of a physical copy and start the process of returning an author’s investment much quicker. Publishers, with the editors, designers and expertise they bring, add value to the end product. However, the sheer volume of stories from hopeful authors means they have fallen accidentally into the role of gatekeeper—a bottleneck that slows the process of bringing a book to market. By making the selection and production process more efficient, a publisher could bring more quality books to market, faster than ever before. If we can solve this problem, we can fling the gates to market wide open.

3. An adjustment in the perception of value. Good stories don’t compete on price, and nor should they. When a new piece of technology is delivered to the market, it is priced to reflect its value. At the point of release, it should be at its highest price as those who want the earliest access to a story should pay more to read it. Over time, as the story contributes to the writer and publisher’s sunk costs, the price should go down. The stories that carry the lowest prices should be the ones that have paid back the cost of producing them—including the time the author spent writing them—and more. If books are to retain their value in the market, the commoditisation of stories must end. We need to return to a world where books are bought for the promise of how they might enrich a reader’s life, not what they cost. It is imperative that they are priced to represent the knowledge and enjoyment they will bring to the reader.

4. A level playing field. What the market needs is for every good book to stand a chance of being read. For this to happen, we need much purer search results that are not influenced by promotion and simply deliver what a reader is looking for. This new method of discovery needs to go way beyond genre. It should allow readers to search for their next read in whatever way suits them best.