[russell]

"Beyond new structures, we will also see new genres or formats of books that are more light weight and easier to produce. These will enable authors to produce more books."

Really? I read mostly science fiction and CS books. I am not sure what these new genres are, but I dont find the idea compelling. Lightweight books? Half a century ago SF books were 120 to 150 pages long. I like the current 300-400 page books better. Lightweight technical? If I want lightweight, I read blogs. The fiction authors that I read produce 2 or 3 books per year. Writing is hard work, and I dont see format changes changing that. Authors need to make a living. The generally poor quality of OSS documentation attests to that.

There is probably room to squeeze some fat out of $50-100 technical books. Safari rents a selection of books for a reasonable amount per month, so that could be a good model. And there are educators working on low cost/free textbooks.

I would hate to see well written books replaced by crowdsourcing.

ADDENDUM: There is a small but growing trend for authors to put out a free online version at the same time the book is published. It seems to actually increase book sales.