Epstein Sees Digital Future

Two literary lions spent a lot of time talking about technology at last week's interview with Jason Epstein by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, part of the Small Press Center in New York City's series of Interviews with Great Publishers. Epstein discussed many of the issues he raised in his 2001 title, Book Business (Norton). The business is in "difficult times," he said, because superstores have "devolved into being what the mall stores were, just more so," with inventory skewed toward quick turnover and bestsellers. As a result, publishers cannot support the backlist, which should be the backbone of their businesses.

The major problem, he said, lies in inefficient distribution. While online bookselling might seem like a solution, Epstein said his experience with the Reader's Catalog taught him how expensive shipping and handling of books can be. A few months into the experiment, his accountant told him that they were losing money on every order.

But digitizing books and printing them out at point of purchase would revolutionize the business, Epstein said. He mentioned a digital printer that he said now exists as a prototype that can print a "library quality paperback." He said this would differ from print on demand because POD current machinery still requires technical attention. In addition, POD does "nothing to change the supply chain," because it does not allow books to be printed at the point of sale. Epstein was reluctant to talk more specifically about "The Machine," but said that he would have something to announce in about six months. He did add, "If there were still 4,000 independent booksellers in the U.S., I wouldn't be thinking of this new technology."