There is a lot of gloom and doom in the world of book publishing. Paperbacks are probably on the way out, Some of the major publishing houses will probably close. Booksellers are feeling the pressure.
Amazon dominates the book selling world and is moving into publishing itself. I am not a big fan of this organisation but it provides opportunities as well as threats. I am also aware that alternative channels (such as www.hive.co.uk) using rival technologies allow Independents to 'catch breath.'
Ebooks are the reason this is all happening. KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) allows authors who would not necessarily be able to publish a way to reach a potential market. There have been a number of well documented successes for self published writers.
But I think there are other possibilities for writer, booksellers and other industry stakeholders.
Booksellers should combine (like hive.co.uk) and do deals on mass with the Internet technology providers. (how about having independent booksellers selling on an optimised Mobile App or ereader such as Nook). Writers should group together to support one another and help promote their work. Writing collectives are a good idea. Share the costs share the profit.
Self publishing does not have to be solitary. A new generation of publishing houses could rise up based on real communities of writers (physical and Internet based) This is the future. It is not a bad one.
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