Dorchester Publishing Switching From Paperback to Digital Books

Posted on August 6, 2010

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that paperback publisher Dorchester Publishing has decided to go all digital. Staring Monday, Dorchester will switch from mass paperback to ebooks and print-on-demand. The WSJ says Dorchester decided to make the switch to digital books after its book unit sales fell 25% last year.

Dorchester publishes 25 to 30 books a month. Nearly 65% of its titles are romance novels. The WSJ article says romance readers have been embracing ebooks. One reason why romance readers like them is "because customers can read them in public without having to display the covers."

Dorchester Chief Executive John Prebich says, "It wasn't a long, drawn out decision, because we've been putting in the effort but not getting the results."