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A. struggling B. focused C. threatened D. release E. predict F. alarming G. maintained H. dramatically I. approaches J. concerned K. entirely |
The Future of Publishing: E-publish or die?
The iPad and its kind are both good and bad for book publishers.
Like many other parts of the media industry, publishing is being reshaped by the growth of the Internet. For years, e-books have to cut sales of the old-fashioned kind. In response, publishers are trying to support their traditional business while preparing for a future in which e-books will represent a much bigger chunk of sales.
For some time, publishers have operated a "wholesale" pricing model with Amazon. This has enabled Amazon to set the price of many new e-books at $9.99. Amazon has prices low in order to boost demand for its Kindle.
However, publishers are that this may make consumers expect lower prices for all kinds of books. And they worry the downward trend will further cut their thin margins and make bricks-and-mortar booksellers（实体书商）suffer more. Some in the industry even that publishers will suffer a similar fate to that of music companies, whose fortunes disappeared when songs can be cheaply sold online. This is particularly for publishers because digital margins are almost as thin as print ones.
Some publishers try delaying the of electronic versions of new books for months after the print launch to increase print sales. Some are starting to build their own online target reader groups. Sourcebooks, a medium-sized publisher that has developed an online group on poetry, found that book sales rose by 50% after poems had featured on the site.
The publishing firms that survive the tough transition will be those who use flexible and learn quickly to think. Not all of them can turn that particular page successfully.
