Digital Book World has published a list of ten predictions for change in the publishing industry for 2012. None of them are surprising.
1. We will see more self-published best-sellers next year with an exponential rise in the number of million-selling authors.
2. Large publishing companies will go through major restructurings, creating new positions and redundancies of all shapes and sizes.
3. Amazon will come out with a larger tablet with an 8.9-inch screen and it will be priced at $299 or lower.
4. Apple will come out with a smaller iPad at a reduced price.
5. Sony will get a second life in the e-reader game when Pottermore launches in the Spring.
6. Literary agencies will engage in a campaign to communicate the value of their services to the book industry.
7. Authors will become disenchanted with the rights they sign away to publishers. Shorter and more flexible copyright terms will become more attractive to authors.
8. The standard e-book royalty from major publishing houses will rise next year and will escalate with increased sales.
9. Standards of what an app and what a book is will change and apps will eventually be sold in the iBookstore.
10. More publishing companies will form in-house transmedia groups.
