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Just over half of publishers have put plans in place to sell books in any digital form, according to a survey taken at this year's London Book Fair. Only 53% of the almost 200 respondents to the questionnaire—conducted by IBS—said they had plans in place currently, while 43% have no arrangements made. A further 4% said they did not know. But the survey also found 42% of publishers expected to "significantly increase" the amount of titles available in a digital format over the next five years.
However, backlist titles are less of a priority, with only 40% of publishers planning to digitise those titles.
Rodney Elder, business development manager of IBS Bookmaster, said the main problem was a lack of clarity over how to make money from a digital product."I don't think there is a clear understanding of how to do it," he said. "People are not sure how to take their digital product to market."
Kerr McRae, deputy m.d. and chief operating officer of Headline, said he was "amazed" that so few publishers were organising their digital arm. He added: "I would say that figure suggests there is a certain element of backwardness in their thinking." But he conceded that the priority "for all publishers" was still the physical format. "I suppose it depends on their size and the resources available to them," he said. "But it surprises me so many people don't have a plan—everyone should have a plan."
Mark Smith, m.d. of Quercus, was also surprised. "Everyone is realising that it's essential to get into the digital space—I don't think we completely understand how it will all play out in future, but I would have thought most people would realise they need to be there, because if they are not, someone else will be."