Zeno's Bar & Grill
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Needle in a Haystack
Tim O’Brien argues in today’s NYT that Google Print may save authors from the greatest threat: obscurity. Google Print, recently on the business end of a class action lawsuit for copyright infringement, aims to provide a searchable database of the digitized versions of every book on the planet. Some have argued that allowing Google Print to provide snippets of text from these books for free opens a Pandora’s box that will keep authors from being paid fairly for their work. Others, like O’Brien, believe that Google’s initiative will bring hidden gems to light and help authors get their work read more widely.
In his comments, O’Brien cites the Nielsen BookScan, which tracks book sales. This data shows that only two percent of the unique titles available in 2004 sold more than 5,000 copies. From this point of view, a little help from Google might not be such a bad thing.
One popular argument against Google Print argues that digitizing entire works opens the door to old school Napster-type infringements. A more positive way to look at it would be to say that publishers can learn from the music industry, which seems to be forming an uneasy truce with the realities of digitization. Books could be available in a subscription-based format, like the new, improved Napster. Or maybe they could be available for outright purchase, like audiobooks from Audible or songs and albums from iTunes.
We hope we will soon be in a position to worry about people “stealing” our book. That certainly sounds better than languishing in obscurity or never being published in the first place!
--Melanie & Kelly
In his comments, O’Brien cites the Nielsen BookScan, which tracks book sales. This data shows that only two percent of the unique titles available in 2004 sold more than 5,000 copies. From this point of view, a little help from Google might not be such a bad thing.
One popular argument against Google Print argues that digitizing entire works opens the door to old school Napster-type infringements. A more positive way to look at it would be to say that publishers can learn from the music industry, which seems to be forming an uneasy truce with the realities of digitization. Books could be available in a subscription-based format, like the new, improved Napster. Or maybe they could be available for outright purchase, like audiobooks from Audible or songs and albums from iTunes.
We hope we will soon be in a position to worry about people “stealing” our book. That certainly sounds better than languishing in obscurity or never being published in the first place!
--Melanie & Kelly
