With eBooks on the Rise, will Print Publishing See a Demise?

With new technologies in the publishing industry making it easier for publishers to offer their clients digital copies, has the world of hard copy books seen its end? According to Nicholas Carr of the Wall Street Journal, we should not spell out the death of the printing press just yet.

Despite the continued growth of eBook sales, 89% of American book readers still claim to have read at least one print book in 2012, according to a Pew Research Center study. However, the growth of eBook readers is difficult to ignore. The same study found that eBook reading among regular book readers rose from 16% to 23% in the past year, while print book readers fell from 72% to 62%.

Even with this shift in reading habits, the Association of American Publishers claims that eBook sales fell sharply in 2012, from triple digit increases to 34%.

Carr theorizes that although eBook sales continue to hold their own, they mostly cater to the crowd of fiction readers looking for a good novel. Those looking for non-fiction books continue to seek out print publications.

In addition, Carr notes that the sales of eReaders have begun to decline while the sales of Tablets, such as iPads, are on the rise. Unlike eReaders, Tablets are built with distractions (Facebook, games, etc.) that are more likely to interrupt reading.

There are many factors involved in the push and pull of sales of both eBooks and print books, with readers’ habits being a primary source of interest to publishers. Tadween Publishing is more concerned with interactivity with purpose: using eBooks to provide readers with an experience that enables them to engage more in-depth with any given topic.

Both of our upcoming books, Mediating the Arab Uprisings and Egypt’s Parliamentary Elections, 2011-2012, will be available in eBook and print form. Our eBooks have the additional feature of providing external links that provide further reading or even cite a particular piece of information. Let us know about your preferences for eBooks versus print books, and why, in the comments section below!