RIP Hardcovers ... Long Live the Kindle

I wonder if manufacturing hardcover books makes sense anymore? In talking with fellow publishing friends, we agree that the current publishing model is not ideal. For example, selling books essentially on consignment, taking huge returns, giving advances that don't earn out, not having enough marketing dollars, all create huge challenges to the current model. The biggest threat to this model is not the e-book or the Internet, it is the hardcover book.

As a Kindle user I am noticing more and more that I am no longer buying hardcover books. I recently realized that I may never need to buy a hardcover book again, and this is shocking to me! I love books! My husband and I are "book people" -- we have worked with books all of our careers. Like all us book people, we have huge bookshelves creaking under the weight of their contents. We have books in our bedroom, under our sofa, in our bathroom. I buy books every week and yet I still find myself wondering if I need to buy a hardcover.

I will, of course, never stop reading or buying books, but I now prefer to download them on my Kindle. Not that the experience of Kindle reading is better than the physical book. (It's certainly not for me.) I do miss the paper and the feel of a book in my hands, but these days the convenience of a Kindle often dictates my decision. I love the convenience of having multiple books at my disposal. I love the fact that I don't have to worry about how big or heavy a book is before I decide where I will read it. I love the fact that I can download a book the moment I want to read it. I recently downloaded a book on the train for my ride home. I am just never giving up that convenience. Clearly I am not alone as Amazon enjoyed a "69% surge in third-quarter profit, led by strong sales of its Kindle e-reader" according to CNN Money.

So I wonder, if a person like me won't buy a hardcover, how soon before no one does? Brian Murray, chief executive of HarperCollins Publishers said in a recent WSJ interview that "hardcover sales in the industry are down 15%." I have a small office. There are eight of us working together, and three of us have Kindles. All three of us are buying more ebooks than hardcovers. Even here, in my office, the publishing model is changing. We do not require book publishers to provide us with expensive book jackets, paper, transportation, warehouse storage, or bookstore space. We do ask for their word that the book is good, and worth our time and money.

How much energy and money can we save if we stop publishing hardcovers? Book publishing is not dying, it's evolving. We need good editors and publishers more than ever to show us the best ideas, polish them, and give us books to think about and talk about.

Tell me what you think in the comments below, do we need hardcover books?

Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, an Internet marketing firm specializing in creating online awareness for books and authors. For more information, please visit FSB Associates.

 

Follow Fauzia Burke on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FSBAssociates

Comments

[ESerafina42]

Uh - some of us don't have the $250 for the device AND want the book, not the right to read it at the pleasure of the manufacturer, who can reach in and grab it back on a whim.

[Bonnie Setliffe Jacobs]

Kim, why do you say, "Only hardcovers get reviewed"? I'm a book blogger , and I'm happy to review any edition of a book, from ARC to mass market to trade to hardback. Actually, I prefer NOT to have hardbacks because they are too heavy to hold comfortably when I'm reading. I don't (yet) have a Kindle, but I'm already leaning in that direction in spite of the fact that I love holding a book in my hand and like that new book smell -- forget new CAR smells, and give me a new BOOK any day.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fauzia-burke/rip-hardcovers-long-live_b_341605.html

[Fauzia Burke - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you Bonnie. I love all you amazing book bloggers out there. You guys are doing such a tremendous service to books.

[Kim Stagliano - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi, Bonnie and thank you. I'm a newbie - that was part of the rationale I was given. So... may I please send you a review copy next summer? :)

[Tricia Roth]

Publishing is changing. Technology is accelerating the change. Readers are being offered more formats to choose from. As a reader I love it. I can choose the format of a book that works for me in whatever reading situation arises - an unexpected delay at the doctor's office made me appreciate reading on my i-phone. My Kindle is so easy to travel with but does not have the same feel as curling up with a good book on a rainy day- I've never been a fan of hardcovers but have friends who love them, so they are perfect gifts. The availability of multiple formats is good for the industry-when readers have choices- format, font size etc. they are happier readers- Many readers cannot read a standard printed book for a variety of reasons. The availability of books in multiple sizes of large print, on a reader controlled device,in electronic braille,DAISY and audio formats is good for the industry as it allows more people to access book content. The combination of print on demand and electronic formats is good for the planet and can be good for publishers if they realize that people will pay for what they want and libraries will buy in formats that their patrons want. Publishers need to be open to what readers want, not only in terms of content but also formats. Satisfying readers and expanding the reading audience will keep the industry healthy in the long term.

[Fauzia Burke - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks Tricia. What a lovely, optimistic comment.

[MrsMissouri]

It's endlessly fascinating that a fraction of market share, i.e. ebooks, is generating 99% of the buzz, much less persistently declaring the far-larger market share as dead as dinosaurs.

As a wise, prior poster stated, books are not DVDs or songs. A different format is all ebooks offer. The book itself is the value, not the method by which someone chooses to read it. And according to an article in last week's Publishers Weekly, kids, teens and young adult readers aren't keen on ebooks--which is the opposite of what most believed those age groups would prefer.

I speculate major publishers are fence-straddling on ebooks for pure financial reasons. If ebooks become the norm, the consignment credit, reserve against returns float, and delayed royalty payments will be as dead as dinosaurs. Earn and pay as you go are not concepts publishers' accountants will celebrate.

[Fauzia Burke - Huffpost Blogger]

I have two teens and they do not like my Kindle. But the new Apple reader will be tough to resist.

[BlackJAC]

You forgot about trade paperbacks, whose approximately $15 price tag makes them a bit more palatable than a $25 hardcover.

[Fauzia Burke - Huffpost Blogger]

Totally agree on the paperback which I think makes more sense for people trying to save money.

[Kim Stagliano - Huffpost Blogger]

I've bought one hardcover since I got my Kindle - a Janet Evanovich book that goes along with her numbered Stephanie Plum series. Otherwise? Strictly Kindle. That doesn't bother me too too much (maybe a little) - but I am a bit concerned that I haven't been to the library as much as I did before my Kindle. Downloading Kindle books is so fast (60 seconds!) and reasonably priced. And with the sample preview, which is far meatier than the back jacket copy on any book, a lot of the "risk" of book buying is removed by the Kindle. That said, my book is coming out in hardcover - and my publisher and I talked about that. I thought perhaps trade paperback - so as to be more affordable for my target readers. But then there's the "only hardcovers get reviewed" issue.

I just love this new HuffPo book section.

Kim

[Fauzia Burke - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks Kim. I love this book section too. A big thanks to Amy Hertz for all her hard work.

[MarkDWebb]

eBooks will not even come close to replacing printed books. Why? Media companies are trying to apply the same digital download business model that worked for music and movies to books, but that is completely wrong.
We've always needed technology to hear a recording or watch a movie. A book, however, comes with the ability to read it built in. With the eBook business model, you are asking consumers to pay an entry fee of hundreds of dollars for a device just for the privilege of being able to read a book that they have bought. Further, these digital versions cost almost as much as printed versions of the same title. They cost the almost the same because the intellectual property is what is of value, not the paper it is printed on. If it wasn't, then Google would have bought up pulp and paper mills instead of spending millions stealing books from libraries. This whole enterprise just doesn't make any sense financially. Consumers will have to buy a lot of books to make up the cost of the technology. And all of this expense just for a reading experience that is fatiguing and far inferior to ink on a page.

[Caitlin Price]

I think the important thing to remember is current publishing trends are not "broken" but evolving! The economy is down and evolving to higher ground, (I do hope soon) but when things do bounce back I would not be surprised if hardcovers don't recover.

This article does not call for the death of Hardcovers but is rather commenting on a death from natural causes.

[hp blogger Steve Leveen]

Perhaps a new equilibrium is forming. Last Sunday, at home in my comfortable chair, I reveled in reading my beautiful hardcover of Half the Sky. I loved its heft and especially, I loved writing in the margins. Doing so helps me ponder and get the most from a book. Then I took breaks and went to the computer, book in hand, and drilled down with Wikipedia to learn more about topics the book mentioned. For me, at this point in the evolution of the book, that play between the old hardcover and the new reading and learning online, is the optimum.

And we must not forget the subtle but real benefit of having just having books around us, as our friends, and future. Especially for the sake of young people.

One last point, how can you wrap a digital file and have it waiting under the tree?

[BlackJAC]

Weell, you could put it on a Flash drive...

[Fauzia Burke - Huffpost Blogger]

I agree Steve. Before getting a Kindle I used to say the exact same thing. I am happy to buy big art books or special hardcovers­--basicall­y books as souvenirs. I am just so surprised at how easily I switched to Kindle reading. I used to say I don't want to look at another screen and I love paper and I love the feel of the book. Yet, these days I buy only on my Kindle. It's a big, unexpected shift for me.

[Jason Pinter - Huffpost Blogger]

This is kind of a simplistic view of the ebook/hardcover dilemma. The fact is publishing CANNOT survive at this point on an ebook only model. The publishing model, as it is, may be broken, but when Brian Murray says that hardcover sales are down 15%, remember that EVERYTHING in our economy is down 15% if not more.

I'm a huge proponent of ebooks and e-readers, but I do think the two can co-exist as I wrote here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-pinter/why-the-digital-revolutio_b_308108.html

Obviously there is something about the convenience that appeals to many, but there is something about there, I'll just call it 'Bookiness' of books that a lot of people aren't willing to give up. For publishing to work, both sides need to maximize sales. Getting rid of one entirely (namely hardcover) will completely capsize the publishing industry, as hardcover are where publishers see their biggest profits. The "Internet is good, print is bad" argument doesn't really hold water.

As just to show you I put my money where my mouth is when it comes to ebooks, I just released an exclusive ebook novella called THE HUNTERS which serves as a prologue to my upcoming novel THE DARKNESS. As of this posting, it is #1 on the Kindle bestseller list.

[TrueSmallCaps]

Hi, Fauzia,

I occasionally buy hardcovers if I'm excited enough about the book.

If you look at the history of book technology, you see a story of people migrating toward lower price points, despite the loss of quality. A board-and-cloth hardcover is cheaper than a leather-bound volume. A paperback is cheaper than a hardcover.

Eventually, most BUT NOT ALL heavy consumers of books will migrate toward the cheaper alternative.

Still, I'm surprised that the book industry is doing the equivalent of releasing a DVD on the same day the movie opens in theaters. Publishers aren't capitalizing on the money spent on generating buzz.

[BlackJAC]

More like the equivalent of the IFC In Theaters option in the cable on-demand section.

[Olivia Saez]

I completely agree. I don't even borrow books from friends anymore. I just tell them that it is easier for me to download it on my Kindle (and usually only a few dollars)! Some books are even free for download! It is definitely worth the $250 investment. I love my Kindle :)

[Maliika]

Yes we do.

Just because you seem to crave "convenience" does not mean everyone does..

Having everything CONVENIENT is part of the problem in our society!

[jcraig07]

Oh really?

I beg to differ. Convenience is the bread and butter of every successful McDonald's out there, and us impatient Americans Live and Love it!!! :)

The author has two important points; The "convenience" of ereaders, and also stating that the publishing industry is "evolving"!