Publishing Industry Embattled Over E-books

The Washington Post takes a look at the battle going on in the e-book world, with publishers facing off against readers & writers. Among the items in question are the profit vs revenue and ownership of title backlists. Figure it out so that more titles go the e-book route and I can transfer my entire Warhammer 40K & Battletech fiction library onto an e-reader, please!

The stalemate ignores an important shift that digital publishing accelerates. The success of the book business over the past two decades was about expanding the supply of books. Growth came through increased volume, more titles and more title availability. That's the story of the six big conglomerates and the growth of the superstores. But digital publishing inverts that formula -- its magic is in the way it meets demand efficiently.

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