I read a news article today that predicted that with the exception of a few small stores most bookstores will die out in Australia within a few years. I actually think this is true, but I don't think it will happen that quickly, I think it will take a little bit longer. The world is becoming more digital. Alot of people do not want to buy CD's anymore they just download their music off itunes. There used to be alot of CD stores around but they have slowly been disappearing. I didn't really notice it to be honest. It was only after Jaylani pointed it out to me this morning that I realised he was right. I still like to buy actual CDs. I don't trust computers. I'm always afraid they will break down or lose their memory or that I might spill something on them and then POOF there goes everything.
I think its stupid to put all of your eggs into one basket. Alot of people like to download movies these days as well. Once again, stupid. If someone steals your computer or it breaks down there goes your whole movie collection.
Well, enough about me, back to bookstores. Are they going to die out? Yes, I think they will, newspapers and magazines are not far behind them either. I think eventually ebooks and ezines will become the norm due to the rise of smart phones and tablet computers. Have you ever noticed how much the world is slowly becoming like the world of Star Trek? In Star Trek they have "datapads" which are pretty much tiny touch screen tablet computers. They use them to record things on, research things, read books on. That's where the world is headed in my mind. I think eventually I will start to see more people reading ebooks on the train instead of paper books.
The rise of ebooks and the fall of brick and mortar bookstores has me questioning which path I should take in publishing. It has always been the dream to get published by one of the large, successful, well known print publishers. Is that still a good choice? Would it be wiser to stick to epublishers? Who knows.
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