Harper Collins concentrating on their digital business.

"“What we’re seeing now is that if a book gets a good review, it gets a faster lift on the digital side than it does on the physical side because people who have e-readers can buy and read it immediately.” Frank Albanes, senior vice president

This is interesting because we already know  that Amazon is now selling more digital books than hard-covers, but this comes directly from a publisher and a major publisher at that.

While there is clearly room for debate in the world of print books vs digital books it looks like yet another major publishing house is beginning to realize the power of going digital. HarperCollins made the statement after seeing the first week sales for the recently released “I’d Know You Anywhere” by Laura Lippman leap dramatically on eBook to become a bestselling title. In its first five days the title sold 4,739 e-books and 4,000 physical hardcovers, said News Corp.’s HarperCollins Publishers.

 

 In recent weeks, a number of leading publishers have indicated that e-books today account for about 8% of total revenue, up from 3% to 5% in the same period a year ago. Some expect that e-books will account for as much as 20-25% by the end of 2012.