The second edition, due out at the end of this month, will have more celebrities writing alongside hither to unknowns. We are all very proud of her. Agatha Christie is widely acknowledged as the world s best-selling novelist whose 79 novels and short story collections have sold an astonishing two billion copies around the world and have been translated into over 50 languages. Not To Be Emerging technologies are adding a new twist to the dynamics of the publishing industry. According to a new report from IDC, demand for digital books will build quickly over the next several years.
Book publishing is the next big media industry to go digital.
Publishers are signing alliances with technology providers, and well-known authors are throwing their weight behind promotions offering their works in digital form. Momentum will continue to build in 2001, but 2002 will be the year that digital books really make their presence felt across the industry. The strong and mature market for buying books online is and will remain a major driver behind digital books. The combination of greater standardization in formatting of digital books using Adobe s PDF and Microsoft Reader along with increased development of hybrid and multifunctional devices for reading electronic books will be the steps that give the market a push in 2002. Publishing companies have very strong incentives to jump-start the market for digital books, such as lower distribution costs and the ability to offer a wider variety of content to reach more readers.