The digital book revolution has not happened

The digital book or ebook is recent in the history of the printed book and its half-millennium, it is still older than we think. The first digital book was created in 197: the eText of the Gutenberg Project launched by a certain Michael Hart. The commercial version of the ebook was born in

1998, but it took off in the 2000s with the creation of the Mobipocket format and then the PDF in 2001. The first Kindle e-reader was sold in 2007, but the rise of e-readers was observed in 2012. However, only a third of readers read on digital media. At that time, there were many fears about the future of the paper book. The advent of zero paper was predicted and the questioning of the entire book chain, from printers to distributors and distributors. But the book has resisted: in 2021, the share of digital sales in the total turnover of publishers is only 9.32%, the majority of which is represented by professional, school, and university books (source barometer of the National Publishing Union ). As for fiction, the paper book is still largely represented.

Self-publishing all authors?

But digital opens many more doors than just the accessibility of works on a computer, smartphone,e or e-reader. Indeed, the possibility of freeing oneself from the costs of paper publishing allows anyone to distribute their text in digital format, at a lower cost and to a wide audience. Amazon was created in 1995 and is today the world's leading digital bookstore. The company has revolutionized the distribution channels for books, whatever their format. Digital technology also allows publication on the Internet, via specialized platforms such as Wattpad or Fyctia, with a concept inherited from the 19th century serials published in episodes in daily newspapers. The beginning or more experienced author can thus be read and find his audience of readers without going through a publishing house.

Print on Demand (POD)

Digital technology has revolutionized the production of paper books with the arrival of print-on-demand or POD (print-on-demand). Until now, publishers printed stocks of books to be sent to bookstores and points of sale to be made available to readers. Estimating the average print run could sometimes be difficult and the pulping (destruction) of unsold items was common. Digital machines allow small quantities of copies to be printed quickly and, above all, at low cost, unlike offset printers with their prohibitive fixed costs for small volumes (less than 100 copies). Alongside the digital book, print-on-demand promotes the growth of self-publishing and allows authors to print books in paper format without going through a publishing house.

Publishers themselves are using print-on-demand to optimize their production costs. In 2016, the publishing house Humensis installed a Xerox printer in its Parisian bookstore that could print a complete book in just a few minutes. While the cost price of a book printed on demand remains high, it is offset by savings on storage and transportation. Today, many publishers continue to exploit their collections after the first or second print run thanks to digital printing.

The audiobook is a new format on the rise

While digital books have struggled to find their audience, audiobooks have experienced exponential growth. In 2021, the global market was worth more than $4 billion and is expected to exceed $15 billion in 2027 according to Grand View Research. In France, the market already represents nearly 100 million euros and audiobooks are no longer a niche market: one in five French people are fans of this format. The audiobook consumption model, in the form of a subscription with a credit of hours for online music listening platforms, has largely favored the rise of the audiobook. With the development of smartphones and podcasts, audiobooks have become accessible and do not require the purchase of another medium as ebooks. It can be listened to anywhere, including while doing something else, which explains its success. The next innovations concern the use of synthetic voices to reduce the production costs of audiobooks.

Artificial Intelligence or Edition 3.0

Algorithms managed by artificial intelligence or AI are already strongly present in the book sector. Online bookstores use them, for example, to recommend books adapted to your tastes and based on your purchase or consultation history. But AI is gradually infiltrating the entire book chain, right up to the source: the author. The first upheaval concerns the translation of works, according to Virginie Clayssen, chair of the SNE digital commission. AI learning technologies make it possible to multiply language versions at a lower cost. AI also facilitates the conversion of a manuscript into different formats, from ebook to audio to paperback. The biggest concern about AI comes from authors: the generation of fiction or non-fiction books by artificial intelligence calls into question the act of literary creation itself. But AI is especially present in writing aid tools (spell checkers for example) and assistance.