BOOK SALES, PROJECT THOUGHTS

Articles from earlier this year reported that Amazon and Waterstones' ebook sales have gradually overtaken their sales of printed books. The numbers regarding ebook versus paperback sales are not yet clear: The Guardian states that Amazon U.K. did not wish to reveal figures on the matter, despite the mention that it had been quicker to embrace ebooks than its U.S. counterpart, while The New York Times writes that Amazon (U.S.) saw greater ebook sales, The Guardian confirming as much even earlier this year.

There are a couple of points that make me dubious of the reports so far, though. I think the emphasis on ebook sales surpassing those of hardbacks is a misleading parallel to draw, almost non-news, given the massive price difference between an ebook and a hardback. The New York Times article also offers a statistic from U.S.-based market researchers Forrest Research, approximating ebook sales with only 14% of all general fiction and non-fiction sales - still a minority; Amazon U.S.'s sales also do not reflect the overall market's considerable leap in hardback sales occurring around that time, though ebooks are increasing in popularity at a faster rate.

This is all food for thought, though I am now wondering how much to concern myself with ebooks with regard to my own project. It's territory that I find intriguing but am uncertain of investing in. Thanks, John, for the link to the Penguin Design Award - though it's something I'm keeping on the cards for next semester, it has still offered some useful pointers for here and now. Here are two criteria that I found particularly interesting:

While all elements of the jacket need to work together as a cohesive whole, remember that the front cover must be effective on its own and be eye-catching within a crowded bookshop setting. It also needs to be able to work on screen for digital retailers such as Amazon.

This has really made me pause to consider my project. What makes an image work well on screen? It would have to be something strongly-composed that can scale down well and catch the viewer's eye, even at less than a hundred pixels in width, but still hold its own when life-sized and put on a shelf. How do older book covers compare with current editions, with the rise of digital versions and online retail?

I might select a few books from what I have read recently, as a starting-point, and deconstruct their covers, from past to current editions. I think this is what will kick-start everything and give me the practical motivation that I need.

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Adams, R., 2011. Amazon's ebook sales eclipse paperbacks for the first time. The Guardian, [online] 28 January 2011. Available at: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2011/jan/28/amazon-kindle-ebook-paperback-sales> [Accessed 4 November 2011].

Gabbatt, A., 2011. Amazon and Waterstones report downloads eclipsing printed book sales. The Guardian, [online] 19 May 2011. Available at: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/19/amazon-waterstones-ebook-sales> [Accessed 2 November 2011].

Hoffelder, N., 2011. eBook Sales Up 105% in July. eBookNewser, [blog] 14 October 2011. Available at: <http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknewser/ebook-sales-up-in-july_b16702> [Accessed 6 November].

Miller, C. C. and Bosman, J., 2011. Amazon's E-Book Sales Pass Print Books. The New York Times, [online] 19 May 2011. Available at: <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/technology/20amazon.html> [Accessed 2 November 2011].