When Will E-Books REALLY Take Over?

There's been a lot of talk about Amazon's announcement that Kindle e-books are outselling paper books at their Web site. Many uninformed folks have taken Amazon's claim and started spreading a loud rumor that E-BOOKS HAVE TAKEN OVER PUBLISHING.

They haven't.

E-books in general account for around $69M of the market, while adult paperback and adult hardcover combine for about $212.5M, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP). March 2011 sales figures showed that print books as a whole equal somewhere around $338M while e-books (as mentioned previously) are at $69M.

When will e-books really take over?

There are a lot of guesses, of course, but no one knows for sure. If the transition from print to e-books compares at all to CDs and MP3s in the music industry, it could be only a couple years until e-books really take over. On March 2, 1983, CD players and discs were released in the US and other markets. Audio Highway released the first MP3 player in 1997. Certain studies show that digital music will finally overtake CDs by 2012, which means consumers will have taken roughly 15 years since the introduction of the first MP3 player to "switch over" to digital music.

The first e-reader, the Rocketbook, released in 1998.

Is 2013 the magic date for the e-book takeover, then? I don't think so, but it's fun to create an educated guess, isn't it? When do you think e-books will rule the world?

On a side note, I don't believe paper books will ever disappear. People are too attached to that format to let it go entirely. I think e-books and paper books will coexist for many, many years to come! Both are incredibly important to the publishing world.

Promote Your Book & Track Sales with Amazon's Author Central

It was a nice day here in NH but now I'm getting blasted with a nasty thunder and lightning storm, so I'm going to make this short and sweet (I don't want to risk my computer getting fried): If you're an author and your book is listed at Amazon.com, you can use Amazon's Author Central to update your biography, add publicity photos, video, a blog, and events to your Author Page. Author Central is very user-friendly. If you use any form of social media, you'll have no problem with Author Central, which also allows you to track your book sales! Click here to sign up for a free account with Author Central.

Authors, it's important to understand that the sales tracking system within Author Central isn't always completely up to date and lacks sales figures from libraries, Ingram, Walmart, used books, pre-orders, and more. Kindle and other eBook sales data is not included either. The Bestsellers Rank History chart is really neat, though...showing you a complete history of your book ranking at Amazon.

MindStir Media Author Enjoys Bestselling Success

Wanted to share a brief but exciting press release which was just distributed:

On April 25, Christian Fiction author Paula Wiseman's Contingency (ISBN 978-0981964829) and Indemnity (ISBN 978-0981964836) landed on Amazon.com Christian Fiction bestseller lists. Both books, part of the Covenant of Trust Series, center on infidelity and marriage restoration and are available at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and other fine booksellers. 

About the author: 

Paula Wiseman is the author of Contingency and Indemnity. She currently resides in Illinois with her husband and children. Visit her website: www.paulawiseman.com. 

About MindStir Media: 

MindStir Media, a self-publishing and book marketing company, supplies authors with Mind-Stirring Publishing Solutions to help them successfully self-publish and distribute books. MindStir specializes in paperback, eBook, and downloadable audiobook formats. Authors retain all rights and receive royalties up to 100%. Visit MindStir's website: www.mindstirmedia.com.