The new perils of publishing

It is no secret that online digital media is offering consumers unprecedented access to "content" -- formerly known as programs, newspapers, CDs, movies and books -- and a variety of ways to receive it.

A Reuters report yesterday indicated that  e-books are now providing a healthy share of book publishers' revenues. The story quoted the chairman of Random House, Markus Dohle, as stating that his company's e-book sales in the U.S. are already at eight percent of total revenues.

Asked whether his firm's books would be available on the iPad any time soon, he said "No" for an interesting reason: Apple forces publishers to set consumer prices, something he and his industry have never done.

"We've got to think very hard about whether we want this drastic change in our business model," he said. "The question is if publishers know how to find the right retail price... This hasn't been our job in the past."

"One hundred days in the iBook store won't decide about success or failure," he said. "We think we have to tread carefully to find a business model that is sustainable for the years to come."

In effect, the opening of a direct channel to the consumer has given new power to, along with new responsibilities, to creators and publishers of virtually every kind of content.

Indeed, Mr. Dohle may want to read this Newsweek piece entitled "Who Needs a Publisher?" It points out that thriller author, and self-publisher,  A.J. Konrath "... quickly realized that by cutting out the middleman, he was making as much money on a single $2.99 e-book as he would on a $25 hardcover. 'I started to be able to pay my mortgage on e-book money, then pay my bills on e-book money,' Konrath says. 'I’m going to make over $100,000 this year, and a lot of the money is from the books that New York publishers rejected.' Konrath attributes his strong sales on Amazon to user-generated ratings and reviews on message boards, as well as to the low price of his e-books."