Articles Tagged "toni weisskopf"
In his 2008 book, Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age, Jeff Gomez augers that the future of electronic publishing depends on whether publishers are prepared to meet the demands of a new generation of readers he calls “Generation Download.” This generation, he argues, “is the first generation to come of age not knowing anything but an existence with the web.”
The WebScription strategy relies heavily on its salivating science-fiction fan base. Throughout the years, Baen’s editors, authors, and publishers promoted Baen novels through the house’s very Web 1.0-style messageboard, Baen’s Bar. Is Baen’s success with e-books due to its status as a niche science-fiction publisher? And if so, would megalithic publishers benefit as readily from Baen’s e-book distribution model?
It takes an understanding of Baen’s product line to appreciate how the Baen Free Library and giveaways like it on Baen’s website have enhanced the company’s overall sales. First of all, what percentage of sales comes from e-books at Baen? “As a general rule of thumb, ten percent is still a good figure” writes Weisskopf.
Over a decade before the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle were twinkles in the eyes of their makers, and several years before the Rocket eBook would enter the market, the late Jim Baen was quietly testing the waters of electronic publishing.
