writer and a publisher (mastering and juggling both functions), I accepted both book selling mediums and felt a little bad watching actual bookstores fold and go away. Even Barnes and Noble who has B&N online) closed a lot of its physical bookstores when this online bookselling explosion began. It was hard to compete with people being able to download a book in 5 minutes and take it with them on a mobile device. But even despite closing some of their doors, Barnes and Noble was able to still hang (thanks to BN.com).
But with Amazon (books) taking the big step of stepping down offline to take it back to their roots of bookselling-where people can actually walk up (grab a latte) and buy a book-this could do one of two things that we’ll have to sit back and wait to see: Continue to scare off physical bookstore competition or [with Amazon’s physical presence], invite them all back to rebuild and sell again.
Amazon is big enough to spearhead that happening all over again. And well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
P.S. I’ve been meaning to research this rumor. But I hear that for the first 10 years, Amazon didn’t even make a profit-starting out.
Well if that be true, it’s like what (any substantially successful) person will advise you: Lasting, true and substantial success has a ten year incubation period.
In other words, if you can keep those baby steps doing what you are doing and remain consistent in that for at least ten years, no matter what, count on your success being substantial (rather than just fly-by-night/trend/the new “what’s happening”).
