Thanks Jorgen for a link to a post at IT.TMCNET.COM where Penguin Publishing boss John Makinson waxes poetic about the coming digital age. An interesting read, if it does continue to have the paternalistic tone that we so often hear from fat cats of the ‘bricks and mortar’ days. (You know the fat cats who are being dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age…) But it’s a good read nonetheless with a few points that only the head of a large company can make.
Sorry. I had to point this out. In case anyone ever thought that the traditional publishing industry had let all that power go to its head, read this quote from the Penguin boss: “The decisions that we take now on behalf of authors will determine the future of publishing.” It’s called a messiah complex, Mr. Makison. I hear there’s a cream for it…
Thank god the technology allows authors to take a few of those decisions themselves.
Oh, and when it comes to the price of eBooks at least he screws up his courage and admits that it depends on what the customer is willing to pay. (I know, you don’t need a degree to get that, but it was a boss-like thing to say, yah.)
