Google Book Seach doesn't cannibalize sales, Cader says

Many book publishers see Google as a content pirate, but those who want to survive can no longer avoid partnerships with the search giant, according to publishing guru Michael Cader.

To remain competitive, publishers must allow readers to sample pages of their book for free via Google's Book Search and similar services, said Michael Cader, founder of Publishers Marketplace and publisher of its daily newsletter "Publishers Lunch."

"Some publishers are nervous, but all the evidence -- anecdotal and hard -- is that nobody has lost sales due to people reading some samples of a book for free online," Cader said. "I strongly believe that anybody who's not at least experimenting is missing out on an opportunity and risks making themselves irrelevant."

Google Book Search has been highly controversial among publishers. The Authors Guild of America and Association of American Publishers have each sued Google claiming "massive copyright infringement." Google, however, maintains that its service is "fair use," since users can only view 20 percent of a book's content.

Not only should publishers be participating with Google Book Search, but should also be participating with Microsoft's new book search initiative, Live Books Search," Cader said.

Nowadays Google and the Web is "the place where people turn for information, whether the people in publishing like it or not," said Cader, who was speaking on a conference call Thursday afternoon conducted by the Copyright Clearance Center.

In the unlikely event that display of sample book pages cannibalize sales, publishers could simply take the material down from the Google or Microsoft services, Cader said.