The e-reader has negatively impacted the traditional publishing industry

The rise of the e-reader are drastically changing the way the publishing industry operates: 'The publishing industry’s traditional supply chain will be faster and shorter, and the associated costs will be proportionally less.'^[1] This new, shorter supply chain might be more efficient and cost-effective, but what about the jobs created by the supply chain, such as production, printing, warehouse, retail staff? Are e-readers eliminating more jobs than they are creating? It is also incredibly hard to track and monitor the sales of e-books and their impact on the publishing industry. It is clear that Amazon have a monopoly over the e-book industry, however they refuse to publish their exact sales figures: 'Amazon doesn’t report its ebook sales to any of the major industry data sources, and it doesn’t give authors more than their own personal slice of data.'^[2] But this is not for lack of trying, many independent analysts have attempted to clarify Amazon's exact percentage share of the e-book market.^[3] This lack of accountability of a company with such a massive stake-hold in this industry shows the murky waters in which electronic publishing lies. Publishing houses must rely on Amazon to distribute their titles to the majority of the public, which account for around 15% of overall sales revenue.^[3]