Video stores are closing all over the world because of the internet. Newspapers are downsizing, magazines are closing their doors because of the internet. It's another logical step to see book stores downsizing/closing as well. There will probably always be book stores around, but it's going to become a niche market where instead of having a book store in every town you will only have them in major city centres. It's inevitable. Kicking and screaming about it is just wasting oxygen. As for the publisher, you add a table of contents, some proofreading and expect a 30% cut! Word can add a bloody table of contents, pay some underpaid English school teacher to proof read it, get on Deviant art and get some underpaid Art student to do a cover and voila, instant publisher. The only need for a publisher was to upfront the costs of printing the fvcking book! That's gone now, and so should publishers. I have read about authors who eventually became big big names who were continually rejected by publishers because they had their head stuck up their own asses. How many masterpieces are lying rejected and discarded because some publisher did not enjoy the book or actually did not take the time to read it. I don't need some opinionated greedy middle man deciding what is good enough for me to read. Get rid of them.
