I am covering Comic-con, the biggest pop culture convention in the galaxy, this week for a daily newspaper. At the opening preview night I interviewed a big book publisher from the East Coast. I asked him if he thought the predictions were true that electronic books will be 50% of the publishing market by 2012. Currently they are at 10%, with Amazon selling 75% of those books via Kindle. The publisher confirmed we have reached the tipping point in many categories, such as romance and sci-fi. What is keeping the number down are text books, gift books and children’s books (makes sense the tots are reading Green Eggs and Ham on their iPhones). For a management consultant, a book is just a smart strategy to attract high-paying clients. And you better be on Kindle if you want to reach half of the market.
No names or confidential details from the publisher because after we talked he looked at my press badge and said, “This isn’t an interview is it? We are just talking, right?” Of course, I said.