Is SCIENCE-FICTION in print dying out?

That's interesting, but I'd also consider that ereaders aren't exactly considered 'cool' and are simultaneously an upfront expense that many less prolific readers would sneer at. Both of these factors would likely keep younger readers from getting them.

The upfront expense of getting an ereader has also helped paperbacks during these dark times, with people wanting to read but not wanting to spend quite so much on a device they are unfamiliar with.

Older people tend to be bigger readers and them being more likely to have an ereader was surprising, though with the customisation options on font size it shouldn't have been.

As to the textbooks, I agree schools are going digital (one of my previous points), I was just saying as a personal opinion that I think having a physical book for learning is better as I like to be able to flick back and forth easily.

I won't go so far as to say that print books will die completely, just that ereaders are more comfortable to read on and are not 'screens' as you might think of them. They really are like reading on paper. I predict an ever-increasing number of ebook sales in relation to paperbacks over the coming generations, but nothing quickly as so many people are too used to having paper in their hands to change their minds.

I’ve read on them a lot and actively hate them and don’t find them at all like a paper book - and that’s what many many customers tell us as their reason for returning to paper. As fo the cost - paper books are expensive. One really good e-reader could be reclaimed in under 10 books. Cost is not the factor - what seems to be the factor, based on what we’re told - is that some people like reading on them and some people really really don’t. For that reason, I think both markets have a place and will continue. :)
 
I remember in around 1979 there was a prediction that soon we'd have a paperless world.
41 years later...
The sun is also going to die---someday.
And then there will be no more need for paper books.
 
Someone in this thread suggested that science fiction had no new ideas and this is the reason it was dying. My response is that many publishers are reluctant to publish today's true explorative SF.
 
Someone in this thread suggested that science fiction had no new ideas and this is the reason it was dying. My response is that many publishers are reluctant to publish today's true explorative SF.

My experience with publishers and agents indicates that they are looking for relatively young authors who can crank out at least one book a year featuring some character who gets into one adventure after another. It seems every book these days is #24 or #16 in a series. That indicates it is the READERS who do not want new ideas.
 
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My experience with publishers and agents indicates that they are looking for relatively young authors who can crank out at least one book a year featuring some character who gets into one adventure after another. It seems every book these days is #24 or #16 in a series. That indicates it is the READERS who do not want new ideas.

Harsh. Somewhat true, but harsh. I'd say that readers want dependable stories, and often when I try something really new, it's also hopelessly weird. But new things can catch on. Thing "The Martian," "Murderbot," or "The Dogs of War."
 
I noticed Amazon.com has a ton of Space Opera, Star Trek,& Star Wars books.
 
While getting new stories published by traditional publishers in any format might be harder than it was, the internet has created the opportunity for any one to publish their own ebook, because no money is needed besides a computer and an internet connection. This has created a much bigger pool of authors to choose from. Not all of them write science fiction but enough do.

The market for used books has exploded thanks to the internet. It used to be hard to find already published books, you went from store to store. Books sat on shelves, authors went unread. The internet used book market has brought back to life countless numbers of books and authors, and keeps bringing more to the table. The ebooks still don't have a used market yet, though there is always the free route. The internet has destroyed local bookstores but in their place, global distribution puts far more eyes on books than a local store could.

The supply of used books is dependent on whether the people who end up with them, want to resell, keep, or throw them away. There is now a group of sellers who are book flippers. They cringe when they see a used book selling for $4, that's the old 1 cent for the book, 3.99 for shipping trick. You make a little money on the shipping. The book flippers go in and out of the market depending on what's going on. They constantly predict the end of $4 dollar books, and long for anything that returns a good profit. With a smart phone and an optical scanner app they are rescuing books, because a good number of used books are thrown away every year. There a organizations that look for books about to be thrown away and ship them to places in the world where there is a shortage of books, and sometimes no internet. This gives used books a new lease on life, getting to people who would never normally see a good selection of books.

Then we have the translation market which I believe is steadily growing in size and selection. This opens up both new stories and old stories to the market place. Technology can cut through a lot of the labor it used to take to look for, secure, translate and remarket science fiction, as well as other subjects, from a vast reservoir that goes back a hundred years.

Even if the percentages go down, and they do wobble a lot, serving 8 billion people means that even with a decreased percentage, there can still be more people reading or writing science fiction than there was with the higher percentage number. Formerly small niche markets can now have physically large numbers of readers and still barely show up as a blip on the horizon.
 

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