Dave Zeltserman on Ebooks and the Future of Publishing

Kevin Tipple graciously invited Dave Zeltserman, author of the new Overlook release The Caretaker of Lorne Field, to guest blog over on his terrific site "Kevin's Corner." The subject? The future of the publishing industry, specifically related to ebooks and other digital developments.

Intriguingly, Zeltserman's post distills his thoughts on what ebooks mean and how publishing will change into six key predictions. Read the full post here, but scroll down for the quick hits of his predictions. Interested? We certainly were.

(Prediction 1) Dedicated eBook readers, like Kindle and Nook, will try to lower their prices to gain marketshare, but they will go the way of the 8-track as consumers gravitate towards multifunction devices like iPads, which will not be lowering their prices substantially.

(Prediction 2) You think ATD is bad now, just wait until we have a generation of readers constantly interrupting their reading to check Facebook and email.

...

(Prediction 3) Large publishing is starting to diverge where they’ll be publishing in print only books for the large box stores, everything else will be digital only.

(Prediction 4) Small independent bookstores that can integrate themselves into the their neighborhoods will survive and flourish, and will sell mostly books from small independent presses.

...

(Prediction 5) The large publishers who continue to follow their current blockbuster only mentality will die.

(Prediction 6) The smaller, independent publishes who keep publishing the books they love instead of chasing after blockbusters like the big six, will flourish as they form a symbiotic relationship with like-minded small independent bookstores.

Head over to his post on Kevin's site to read more about his thoughts, predictions and possibilities for the future of the world of publishing, and leave a comment there to get involved in the conversation!