WRITER'S FORUM

The trend is for book buyers to download books onto their electronic hand-held screens and laptops. It is here to stay but it is not the end of the conventional book. At the dawn of the television age it was said that radio was finished. Today more people listen to the radio than watch television. Advances in technology are swinging back in favour of conventional books.

Because books are heavy there is a distribution problem; technology has the answer. The second hurdle is how to pay the author his royalties. Technology has the answer for that too.

Here is the old way of doing things: 1,000 + copies of your book are delivered. Don’t celebrate; this is where your troubles begin. You set out to sell and deliver them to outlets on a sale or return basis. The money comes in dribs and drabs; for customers further away you post. It is soul-destroying. So what has changed?

Books are no longer held in stock; they are printed and bound on demand. As soon as you order it is printed, packaged and posted. How do you get paid? The online supplier, Amazon for instance forwards your royalties when they reach a certain amount; £100 for instance.

Here is the future and it is in place as I write. Let us use me as an example; you will understand better and it will inspire your own ideas.

My poetry collection: Swallows, Swifts and Flights of Storks is popular in Latvia. One million people live in Riga. More than a million tourists visit each year; at least half speak English. The potential for sales of my attractively bound book is impressive.

Here is how it works: The bookshop or online browser wishes to buy Swallows. He or she goes to the counter, as in Argos and similar stores. They fill out a little form; name and address; book title; they pay. A day or so later the book is delivered to their address or that of the person they have gifted it to.

How do I get paid? Simple; the bar code when the book is scanned and sold, automatically distributes to the appropriate bank accounts; Amazon, retailer and author. It is not the future; it is now. When it happens struggling authors will find their books selling much faster. Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. Michael.