March 31, 2010
Both Sides Now: Book Publishing in a Hybrid Print and Digital Market
Peter Dougherty, Director,
Princeton University Press
Minutes of the 26th Meeting of the 68th Year
President Hansen called the 25th meeting of the 68th year to order at 10.15 o’clock. In the absence of an Irish tenor, he successfully precented our customary invocation. Jock McFarlane read his minutes of last week’s talk, evoking the admiration of all assistant recording secretaries by taking exactly five minutes to deliver his cogent text.
As there were no guests, business, conducted by the Membership chair, Jack Reilly, leapt to the vote of approval for five new members. He reminded sponsors to accompany their protégés and reminded us all that the sole duty of members is to attend meetings. The President noted that our Treasurer’s sales of apparel had been “brisk.” George Hansen also reminded us that next week’s talk would be at the New Field Center near the former Elm Club.
Landon Jones introduced the speaker, citing his many accomplishments which included the inspiration for several notable works in the fields of social science and economics.. The engaging talk was given by Peter Dougherty, Director of the Princeton University Press, and entitled “Both Sides Now: Book Publishing in a Hybrid Print and Digital Market.”
Having travelled widely to places like Beijing, he was aware that today’s hybrid market is producing more interest in publishing than previously. This interest is partly due to nobody knowing whether traditional printed books will be around for long, though it was clear that he regarded the unsurpassed numbers of books being printed as indicative that they are not about to disappear. He was confident that fundamentals like content remain unchallenged and that the printing business will be stronger because of changes. Everyone wants to know what the future holds for books but, when all is said and done, no one does know.
One of the possible “killers” of present methods might be a searchable, multi-media e-book allowing readers to interact with other readers, and the author, across various devices and even across languages. But only 1 ½ percent of publishers’ revenue derives from electronic books. This may change from 20 to 50% in the next five years.
Before delving into his subject fully, he gave an historical account of what scholarly publishers have long imagined themselves to be. Scholarly publishing is only one part of a dense and disorganized forest. It includes what he called “crossover publishing” including high-level non-fiction. He stressed the importance of publishers being “about something” like the world of ideas. I could not help reflecting that this was probably why his press did not jump at the chance of publishing my historical novel.
Princeton University Press was established in 1905 with a grant from the distinguished Princeton graduate Charles Scribner and has had a record of cornering and publishing a large proportion of economics writers. Since arriving at the Press in 1992, he has seen the computer helping drive sales ever upward, through search engines which allow students everywhere to pursue books dealing with their specialized interests. If smaller bookskops have been vanishing, online sales through Amazon.com have ballooned. Computers also allow easier access to reviewers. Even the Shanghai Daily reviews their books regularly. Tanzania is as easy to reach as Tennessee. He also discussed print-on-demand technology. In this environment recognized publishers of quality will thrive.
Question time was available as the speaker finished at ten minutes to eleven. His answers to queries showed that print-on-demand was economical provided it remained but a part of the larger business of new conventional books. Unpredictability seems to be endemic in publishing. For example, PUP brought out Irrational Exuberance just before a stock market crisis in March 2000; the U.S. Naval Institute published Clancy’s Hunt for Red October which became a best seller; Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code was published by an academic press and surprised everybody by becoming a best seller. There was inconclusive discussion of retailing online versus by bookstores, and Barnes and Noble was praised for playing both games with success. Apparently the quality of the book jacket has great influence over whether the New York Times takes an interest or not. Other questions revealed academic authors use few agents and self-publishing was treated both dismissively and, in the next breath, as a possible threat. The meeting concluded at 11.30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
John Frederick
As there were no guests, business, conducted by the Membership chair, Jack Reilly, leapt to the vote of approval for five new members. He reminded sponsors to accompany their protégés and reminded us all that the sole duty of members is to attend meetings. The President noted that our Treasurer’s sales of apparel had been “brisk.” George Hansen also reminded us that next week’s talk would be at the New Field Center near the former Elm Club.
Landon Jones introduced the speaker, citing his many accomplishments which included the inspiration for several notable works in the fields of social science and economics.. The engaging talk was given by Peter Dougherty, Director of the Princeton University Press, and entitled “Both Sides Now: Book Publishing in a Hybrid Print and Digital Market.”
Having travelled widely to places like Beijing, he was aware that today’s hybrid market is producing more interest in publishing than previously. This interest is partly due to nobody knowing whether traditional printed books will be around for long, though it was clear that he regarded the unsurpassed numbers of books being printed as indicative that they are not about to disappear. He was confident that fundamentals like content remain unchallenged and that the printing business will be stronger because of changes. Everyone wants to know what the future holds for books but, when all is said and done, no one does know.
One of the possible “killers” of present methods might be a searchable, multi-media e-book allowing readers to interact with other readers, and the author, across various devices and even across languages. But only 1 ½ percent of publishers’ revenue derives from electronic books. This may change from 20 to 50% in the next five years.
Before delving into his subject fully, he gave an historical account of what scholarly publishers have long imagined themselves to be. Scholarly publishing is only one part of a dense and disorganized forest. It includes what he called “crossover publishing” including high-level non-fiction. He stressed the importance of publishers being “about something” like the world of ideas. I could not help reflecting that this was probably why his press did not jump at the chance of publishing my historical novel.
Princeton University Press was established in 1905 with a grant from the distinguished Princeton graduate Charles Scribner and has had a record of cornering and publishing a large proportion of economics writers. Since arriving at the Press in 1992, he has seen the computer helping drive sales ever upward, through search engines which allow students everywhere to pursue books dealing with their specialized interests. If smaller bookskops have been vanishing, online sales through Amazon.com have ballooned. Computers also allow easier access to reviewers. Even the Shanghai Daily reviews their books regularly. Tanzania is as easy to reach as Tennessee. He also discussed print-on-demand technology. In this environment recognized publishers of quality will thrive.
Question time was available as the speaker finished at ten minutes to eleven. His answers to queries showed that print-on-demand was economical provided it remained but a part of the larger business of new conventional books. Unpredictability seems to be endemic in publishing. For example, PUP brought out Irrational Exuberance just before a stock market crisis in March 2000; the U.S. Naval Institute published Clancy’s Hunt for Red October which became a best seller; Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code was published by an academic press and surprised everybody by becoming a best seller. There was inconclusive discussion of retailing online versus by bookstores, and Barnes and Noble was praised for playing both games with success. Apparently the quality of the book jacket has great influence over whether the New York Times takes an interest or not. Other questions revealed academic authors use few agents and self-publishing was treated both dismissively and, in the next breath, as a possible threat. The meeting concluded at 11.30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
John Frederick