The future of publishers and publishing

(New York, NY)—Though no one expects publishing houses to disappear, their future role is a hotly debated topic among industry insiders.

Packaging, distributing and promoting books means something different today than it did just a few years ago. Literary agents are now marketing and promotion people, and the real profit centers are developing through inexpensive, direct-to-the-customer deliveries such as self-published e-books and ghostwritten audio books.

Amazon.com already offers e-books at fire-sale prices, which has traditional publishers up in arms, fearing that their revenues could be slashed by as much as half or more. Some publishers, such as Simon & Schuster, are responding by dumping their paperback divisions in favor of a push toward digital. But fierce competition with self-publishers could further erode their bottom line.

“E-books are exploding with a more than 500% increase in sales compared to only a few years ago,” says Joel Hochman of Arbor Books, Inc. (www.arborbooks.com), “And self-published authors are looking to combine e-book creation with the ghostwriting and short-run printing that has served them so well.”

Then there’s the soon-to-be-ubiquitous vending machines like the game-changing new Espresso Book Machine. Print on demand will continue to get more affordable and more profitable for self-published authors, especially when they save valuable time by having a ghostwriter do the work.

All it takes to become a publishing success now is an idea and a ghostwriter—something that terrifies mainstream publishers.

Arbor Books was founded more than ten years ago and has stayed ahead of the curve by combining these services for their clients. It’s a model built to embrace the digital revolution.

“Everything is going digital,” says Mr. Hochman. “Virgin Megastores are closing shop because of the revolution in digital music, and it’s just a matter of time before the same happens in the book world.”

According to industry experts, there are three main reasons clients are flocking to full-service firms such as Arbor Books:

* Vertical integration, which allows control over the process from concept to e-book.

* Affordable pricing for packaged deals.

* Customer support that fly-by-night operations cannot provide.

For more information about writing, publishing and book-marketing services, please feel free to visit Arbor Books, Inc. at www.arborbooks.com or call 1-800-877-2500.