Book vs eBook

The year 2011 has been a success for the gadget world. Cool devices are developed every day by numerous companies that want to make a name for themselves.

Corporations that already have their devices populating the market have brought updates and released upgrades, and some of them developed publishing houses and applications that would make the use of tablets and eBook readers much more interesting.

Studies show that since the appearance of the electronic book, people have started to read more. Maybe it’s because they can do it on sleek devices that weigh half a kilo, and come with very nice features and catchy apps. Children prefer reading a book on a tablet because it’s colourful, the characters become alive and it’s cool. Adults can carry their ebook readers around in their suitcases and can choose from immense digital libraries and thus everyone gets a bit of reading done in a lunch break or while waiting for the bus.

Statistics also show that last year in the UK, more digital books were published than hardback editions. Phillip Jones explained, in an article for “The Bookseller”, that publishers are doing their best to keep up with the ease of producing a digital book. Costs have become manageable and today it is more logical to publish an ebook than a paper book.

The number of digital releases, provided by Nielsen BookScan – an industry mainstay for tracking book data, doesn’t even include the titles uploaded by independent users, using platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, as they are in huge numbers. The census only included the books with an ISBN number, whereas Amazon’s platform releases books with ASIN numbers.

From The Bookseller:

“In 2011, 35,000 e-books were registered for the first time with an ISBN, compared with 28,963 [in 2010], an increase of 20%. By contrast both hardback and paperback production fell: hardbacks fell from 30,175 in 2010 to 28,000 in 2011; paperback output decreased from 79,087 to 71,000.”

While the ebook continues to conquer new grounds in a rapid pace, it is expected that the near future will bring the number of published ebooks close to 50% of the total market, or so does this projection reveal. As more ebooks, than other formats, get published every day,  it’s clear that they will be in a continuous competition with their paper relatives.

An interesting fact is that in 2011, nearly 300 publishers more than in 2010 have applied for an ISBN prefix. This stands to prove that the electronic age is upon us and is embraced by publishers around the world. Not only that, but the whole publishing industry is slowly but surely adapting to the technology of electronic reading.

Overall, in the past years, figures have shown an increase in time spent reading. All over the world, people read more and maybe it’s just because they can use their shiny ereaders, but the result is still the same. And that’s what matters in the end.

 

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