Amazon: "Would you like the e-book with that?"

I remember burning hundreds of CDs to get the songs I already owned in one format into my now-digital system, because I didn't want to buy (at full price) all those albums again.  But if a music retailer had offered a good deal on simply downloading the albums, they would have made money on it.  And I would have saved all that time.

So in publishing, what if when you bought a physical copy of a book, you could get the e-book at a big discount, maybe even for free?

What if they offered $2.99 or less e-book versions of all the new hard-copy books you've purchased in the last 18 years?

Well, it's happening.  Amazon has announced their Kindle Matchbook, scheduled to launch in October 2013.  As Christopher Shultz reports for litreactor,

Now, mind you, this doesn't cover all book purchases, as Amazon has partnered with only a select few, unnamed publishers. That being said, some 10,000 titles will be available in October, including works from Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, Jodi Picoult, Neil Gaiman and Neal Stephenson, amongst others.

What does it mean for publishers?  For indie bookstores?  For readers?  And for us authors and illustrators?  We'll all be watching how this plays out, but it's another interesting development as our industry moves into the future.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee