10-03-2009, 03:38 PM
Ammo, I'd say you are spot-on. One of the models will probably be get an e-book or subscription for free or discounted if you agree to give all your demog info (and conversely subject yourself to ads while reading). I have a friend who works for a large cc company whose job is to crunch data on their customers by purchasing patterns, so this is already happening. My understanding is his cc then sells this info to various marketers.
I will rue the day when we start seeing bona fide product placement by "authors" in literature. Ugh. It's already been in full force in film and TV for decades now. Is everything for sale? My day job is in advertising. I think the industry goes too far, is too intrusive in many cases, but there is nothing I can do about it.
On a positive note, e-books will doubtless change revenue-sharing models for authors like myself. More importantly, the advance of e-publishing on a large scale first with e-readers, then with Kindle and soon to be with Apple's tablet, will level the playing field for authors in a good way imho. Publishers typically give authors a very, very small percentage of sales, less than publishing reps are paid in many cases. This will make self-publishing a lot easier and more profitable for the people who actually write vs. the suits as it were. By the same token, there will be more drivel to sift through, but that's gonna be there either way.
I will rue the day when we start seeing bona fide product placement by "authors" in literature. Ugh. It's already been in full force in film and TV for decades now. Is everything for sale? My day job is in advertising. I think the industry goes too far, is too intrusive in many cases, but there is nothing I can do about it.
On a positive note, e-books will doubtless change revenue-sharing models for authors like myself. More importantly, the advance of e-publishing on a large scale first with e-readers, then with Kindle and soon to be with Apple's tablet, will level the playing field for authors in a good way imho. Publishers typically give authors a very, very small percentage of sales, less than publishing reps are paid in many cases. This will make self-publishing a lot easier and more profitable for the people who actually write vs. the suits as it were. By the same token, there will be more drivel to sift through, but that's gonna be there either way.