PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Stephen King, whose serialized novel "The Green Mile" was a salute to publishing's past, is now embracing tomorrow's technology by offering his latest work for distribution exclusively on the Internet. "Riding the Bullet," a 66-page tale that King describes as "a ghost story in the grand manner," will be available Tuesday as an "e-book," which buyers can download for $2.50 and read on a computer, personal organizer or dedicated e-book device. The short story, a co-publication of Scribner and King's Philtrum Press, will be electronically published through Simon & Schuster Online, which will make it available through Web sites of e-book manufacturers and online booksellers.
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I already made all my comments in the other thread, Are e-books going to take over?, though I do have to say that it seems like an interesting road to take, specifically denying any distribution of normal print copies. I don't think it's unwise, print copy distribution is enormously costly and inefficient, even for a guaranteed best-seller, and can't be justified if you expect to undercut the cost in the e-version by ten dollars or more a copy. It may well be that no one would take on a print publishing contract knowing up front that they would be undercut by such a large amount. In particular, my speculation on special order printing shops comes into play on this point, which you can read about in the other thread.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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My general dislike for Mr. King's work aside, I think that the "Riding The Bullet" is more of a gimmick than Mr. King embracing the future. He's the world's best selling horror/sci-fi writer, and he got that way because he a) has talent b) knows how to market himself.
I think that books will one day be published in large volumes electronically, but that day is some distance off because there are certain things you must keep in mind.
1: The internet is primitive. Only a tiny amount of the information stored on the net can be transmitted through existing communication channels, making the internet slow, and often unreliable.
2: Many people don't own computer. By selling your book in internet only format, you are cutting your market size by about half. Depending on who's publishing and what their publishing, this is unacceptable.
3: Many people don't like to read on-line. Like me. The thought of reading a whole book on a monitor is terrible to me. I want a book in my hand. If there is major push to go electronic, this attitude will change over time.
4. The internet is not secure. You just sold your book through the internet to John Doe. J. Doe downloads it. J. Doe make copies of the file and gives it to all his friends, who would have otherwise bought your book. (Hey, my stories have been spread without my knowledge or consent and I'm a nobody. I know this will be a huge problem!)
The list goes on and on.
But in the end, it will become possible to use the internet to buy your favorite music and movies and books and download them instantly, but don't expect it to happen tomorrow. King may get a footnote for being the first author to sell an e-book, but like I said, it's only a gimmick. The real thing won't happen for several more years.
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I mentioned the other link because there were some genuinely interesting (at least to me) comments made there. Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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