Kindle and Stephen Covey to make books obsolete?

Posted Dec 15th 2009 2:40PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Amazon.com (AMZN)

Might Amazon.com's (AMZN) Kindle be as game-changing as the Gutenberg press in the 1440s? Perhaps so. The Kindle is certainly getting lots of traction. More importantly, authors are getting excited about the money-making possibilities.

Just look at Stephen Covey, who is a top management guru and author. He has agreed to provide the exclusive e-book rights to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Principle-Centered Leadership to the Kindle (through a deal involving RosettaBooks). The contract will last for one year.

OK, this is not necessarily a sign that traditional books will vanish and everyone will be lugging a Kindle. However, visionary people -- like Covey -- realize that the future will increasingly be digital. So, why not get started now?

What's more, this trend will be another hit to mainstream publishers. Selling books will become more about using digital marketing, not getting shelve space at the local book store. Of course, this is certainly good news for Amazon.com.

At the same time, authors may get more money because of the cheaper distribution. Keep in mind that Covey will get a 50% split on his sales. This compares to the traditional royalty of 15% to 20%.

However, publishers are fighting back. For example, Random House has been sending letters to agents saying that it owns the digital rights to its blacklist books. No doubt, this will be yet another reason for authors to dislike their publishers and look at alternative formats for their work.

Tom Taulli advises on business tax preparation and resolving tax problems. He is also the author of a variety of books, including the including The Complete M&A Handbook. His website is at Taulli.com.

Tags: amzn, inthenews, Kindle, Stephen Covey