This presentation examines five big trends impacting the future of book publishing. It explores how technology is disrupting the book publishing industry, how Big Publishers are threatening the future of books, and how indie authors + ebooks have the power to expand book consumption and promote cross-cultural understanding for the good of all humanity. Keynote address presented by Mark Coker of Smashwords at the 27th Annual Central Coast Writers' Conference held in Morro Bay, CA. Presented September 17, 2011

2. “ A message of hope for those who choose to hear it, and warning to those who do not” ~ Lyrics from Rosetta Stoned by Tool

4. BOOKS ARE ENDANGERED

5. WE MUST SAVE BOOKS

6. WE ARE CAUGHT IN THE TURBULENT CROSS CURRENTS OF MULTIPLE FORCES

7. TECHNOLOGY IS COLLIDING WITH PUBLISHING

8. Technology Represents the Means by Which Consumer Desires are Realized Things Touched by Technology Transformed to Something Faster, Smaller, Cheaper

10. BIG PUBLISHERS ARE MAKING THE PROBLEM WORSE

11. They judge books on commercial merit

12. UNTIL RECENTLY, BIG PUBLISHERS HAD A MONOPOLY. THEY CONTROLLED THE PRINTING PRESS AND DISTRIBUTION TO BOOKSTORES

13. IT WAS A SWEET RACKET FOR PUBLISHERS Readers wanted books Publishers controlled the supply $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

17. “ The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams” ~ Lyrics from Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath

18. BUT THEN THE INTERNET HAPPENED

19. … THE RULES CHANGED FOREVER

21. ooh, pretty! Publishers Ill-Equiped for the New Realities

23. … their expenses are too high

25. Publishers mitigate risk by giving bean counters increased influence

27. Against this backdrop, the world of publishing is changing

28. FIVE TRENDS TO ROCK OUR WORLD

29. TREND ONE: Reading Moving to Screens

30. Reading moving to screens

31. Ebooks to overtake print Print books Ebooks Today?

32. Ebooks as a percentage of US wholesale trade market Source: Association of American Publishers, publishers.org

35. TREND TWO Bookselling moving to the Web

37. Percentage of book purchases made online vs B&M, P- and E- Brick & Mortar Web Today?

38. TREND THREE The Rise of Self-Publishing (a.k.a indie publishing)

40. The Smashwords Example 140 6,000 28,500 73,000+ (9/17/11)

41. Number of books published indie vs. traditional Indie books Today? New trad. books

44. TREND FOUR Content Explosion

46. Content explosion Indie books Online alt content Today? Zombie books New trad. books

47. TREND FIVE Ebook Prices to Decline

48. Ebook Prices to Decline Today?

50. The Plan Forward

51. TO SAVE BOOKS, WE MUST CHANGE BOOKS AND CHANGE PUBLISHING

54. The Five Trends Create a Future Where Indies Can Out-Compete Big Publishers

55. You are the future of publishing

56. You are your own gatekeeper

57. YOU decide when you graduate from writer to PUBLISHED AUTHOR

58. Readers want great books

59. Give them great books

60. The Opportunity to Reach Readers Has Never Been Greater

61. Think Globally

62. In a Couple Years, the Market for Your Books Outside the US will Dwarf the US Market Already, ~50% of Smashwords Apple iBookstore Sales are Outside the US

63. You Have the Tools to Reach a Worldwide Market Today

65. Thank you for listening! Q&A Connect with Mark Coker: Web: www.smashwords.com Blog: blog.smashwords.com HuffPo: huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker Twitter: @ markcoker