According to Mintel’s latest books and e-books report, around a third of consumers who have bought an e-book over the last year actually prefer to read the printed word, but buy the digital product as they are often significantly less expensive (Gee, 2014). These figures do not necessarily mean that publishers have to choose to work on their e-book or book sales exclusively, but rather that they may have to find new ways to market both.
Companies such as Unbound have based their whole business model on the latest 21st century trend, crowdfunding. Founded in 2011, by 3 authors: Dan Kieran, Justin Pollard & John Mitchinson, Unbound focuses around the idea of giving more power to both the reader and author, who receives a 50% cut of net profits (Unbound (a), 2014). Combined with the potentially lower risk of having to face large discounts from retailers and extended waits for unsold books to return (Clark & Phillips, 2014, p. 115), this power dynamic is working wonders. Offering tiered rewards to the fans, depending on the amount of money pledged through the website, such as supporters names being printed in every edition for as little as £1, Unbound have successfully funded 54 books, equalling £1m worth of projects since their launch (Hesse, 2014).