The new Apple tablet is all set to redefine the future of publishing by offering new methods of charging for digital content.

Print media companies have suffered from the amount of free and accessible content available these days. This may be all set to change with this new device as Apple gears up to market its product.

Past releases have proved that when it comes to these types of devices, consumers are more ready and willing to shell out their hard earned cash. People are happy to pay small amounts of money towards apps for their iPhone and download ringtones.

Many magazine publishers will soon offer their content on this platform and three have now signed up with Apple to do just that.

Ever since Amazon released the popular Kindle electronic reading device, other software developers have been frantically working on their own version to grab a slice of the market.

As Apple gears up to release its own version, with e-books accessible through its iTunes store – and Google is also expected to follow suit later in the year – publishers, authors and readers will be spoilt for choice.

The true value of an electronic book is still yet to be fully determined with Amazon setting its prices competitively and publishers working hard in negotiations to secure the best deal. Their positions could be strengthened somewhat with the introduction of Apple, and so a royalty terms battle is all set to commence.

With the recent demise of Borders Books just before Christmas as well as the poor sales over the festive period, Waterstone’s has not only decided to get rid of its boss Gerry Johnson but that enough is enough with regards to its strategy.

The book retail market has been dominated in recent years by online Amazon sales as well as cheap celebrity book sales at the likes of ASDA and Tesco. Waterstone’s has now decided it cannot compete and has decided to focus once more on being more of a ‘local’ bookshop.

This is hopefully good news for all those writers and small time publishers looking for their voices to be heard.

AOL, the American Internet services and media company, has announced this week that it is planning to lay off over 1,000 of its staff. This announcement was made as the business streamlines its efforts towards Web content publishing.

The company will be focusing on new online content and news blogs such as Politics Daily and Engadget.
Scott Steinberg, analyst with Digital Trends the media research site, has explained:

“This is a large behemoth trying to reposition itself as a smaller, more agile player in the online publishing space.

“The big question is whether AOL is going to be able to adapt fast enough.”

If you had been asked this question a few years back you would expect to be met with a sharp response. Any novelist or writer would have thought it futile to try and publish their own work. In this day and age of the Internet and online books, the reality is, there is more opportunity than ever before.

Some people have decided to invest in self-publishing packages to get their work published and keep the a greater share of the proceeds themselves without handing most over to publishers and advertisers. But this is not just about making money. In fact, many people who publish their own books do it out of the satisfaction that their book is out there in the public domain.

So, if you are starting to despair that no publisher will consider you for a book deal, think again. Maybe self-publishing is the way forward for you.