[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #249: Ebook publishing getting stronger

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #249: Ebook publishing getting stronger
September 28th, 2011

<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ebook_pub.png>In 
the middle of last week's excitement about public library books for the 
Kindle 
<http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/892118-264/amazon_and_overdrive_roll_out.html.csp>, 
the Aptara Corporation released their Third Annual eBook Survey of 
Publishers <http://stream.aptaracorp.com/Aptara_eBook_Survey_3.pdf> 
(40-page pdf). Aptara is in the business of producing digital editions 
of books for publishers, so the 20 questions in their survey dug deep 
into the ebook business as the publishers see it. Below we cite several 
commentators' remarks on portions of the survey which they found 
interesting, but the survey contains a wealth of data beyond what's 
discussed below. Taken as a whole, the survey responses indicate that 
ebooks are quickly becoming a very important component of the business 
of trade books - the adult fiction/nonfiction titles most often seen in 
libraries.

    * Newest Aptara survey charts changes in e-book market
      <http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/48753-newest-aptara-survey-charts-changes-in-e-book-market.html>
      (Publishers Weekly/Jim Milliot) "According to Aptara, all but 6%
      of trade publishers are currently developing e-books or plan to in
      the near future, putting the trade segment ahead of all other
      areas in its commitment to e-books, as 10% of STM [Scientific,
      Technical & Medical] publishers, 29% of college publishers, and
      15% of K-12 publishers said they have no plans to publish e-books
      soon. Trade publishers have a good reason to be more committed to
      e-books than other segments - they generated the highest
      percentage of sales from the format."
    * Leap in trade publishers' e-book production
      <http://www.thebookseller.com/news/leap-trade-publishers-e-book-production.html>
      (Bookseller/Philip Jones) "The survey found trade publishers are
      also now catching up their peers in terms of revenue, with 20%
      reporting they now had e-book sales in excess of 10%, beaten only
      by college and corporate publishers. Amazon.com was listed as the
      biggest generator of sales by 56% of trade publishers, and by 38%
      of all publishers, with their own websites the second biggest
      category."
    * Two e-book surveys showcase gains, growing pains
      <http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=1562#m13365>
      (Shelf Awareness newsletter, 9/21/2011 issue) "The survey found
      that publishers still rely most heavily on Amazon for
      distribution, but the percentage (18%) is steadily declining due
      to the proliferation of other platforms and channels, particularly
      ePub-based. But a rapidly expanding e-book sales and distribution
      market is making the pie bigger for all concerned."
    * Aptara releases findings of its third annual digital publishing
      survey
      <http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/aptara-releases-findings-of-its-third-annual-digital-publishing-survey/>
      (Good E-Reader/Mercy Pilkington) "One of the major surprises,
      though, was that many publishers are still not tapping into the
      wealth of their back list titles; this could be one of the reasons
      more and more authors are attempting to regain control of the
      rights to their older - and often out of print - works in an
      effort to revitalize interest in the author and in the works by
      self-publishing them to electronic platforms."

*/Library-interest fact:/*

The survey result which /we/ found interesting: 32% of trade publishers 
cited customer demand, rather than revenue or other factors, as the main 
driver for producing ebooks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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