--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The revolutionary process by which all…" description: "\"The revolutionary process by which all books, old and new, in all languages, will soon be available digitally, at practically no cost for storage and d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jason-epstein-33609_available_the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-b_55776.jpg" --- # The revolutionary process by which all books, old and new… ![“The revolutionary process by which all books, old and new, in all languages, will soon be available digitally, at practically no cost for storage and delivery, to a radically decentralized world-wide market at the click of a mouse, is irreversible.” quote by Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jason-epstein-33609_available_the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-b_55776.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jason-epstein-33609_available_the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-b_55776.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jason-epstein-33609_available_the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-b_55776.jpg) > “The revolutionary process by which all books, old and new, in all languages, will soon be available digitally, at practically no cost for storage and delivery, to a radically decentralized world-wide market at the click of a mouse, is irreversible.” [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote predicts a permanent shift to universal digital access to books, making them cheap and instantly distributable worldwide. **In simple terms:** Digital books will become ubiquitous and cheap. Key Takeaway Digital publishing is irreversible. Themes digital transformation decentralization accessibility economics of scale technological disruption Mood optimistic forward‑looking Type prediction observation When to use this quote - library digitization - educational resource sharing - global publishing - self‑publishing platforms Key Concepts digital media distribution market dynamics cost reduction Practical Applications - e‑book services - online archives Questions to Reflect On - What implications does this have for traditional publishing? - How might this affect authors' revenue models? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Available](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Click](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/click/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Delivery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delivery/) [Delivery Radically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delivery-radically-775080/) [Digitally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digitally-282812/) [Digitally Practically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digitally-practically-775079/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Irreversible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irreversible/) [Languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/languages/) [Market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/market/) [Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouse/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old/) [Old and new](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-and-new/) [Practically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practically/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Radically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radically/) [Radically Decentralized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radically-decentralized-775078/) [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) [Soon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soon/) [Storage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storage/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [The digitally native generation has no idea what has been lost to the freedom of intimacy that has no fear of being recorded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/the-digitally-native-generation-has-no-idea-what-has-been-lost-to-the/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) > [On movies like Star Trek and Star Wars, you have so much that will be created or extended digitally, and it's a slippery slope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-abrams/on-movies-like-star-trek-and-star-wars-you-have-so-much-that-will-be/) [J. J. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-abrams/) > [“Her first digitally published book is The Job Offer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-webb/her-first-digitally-published-book-is-the-job-offer/) [Eleanor Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-webb/) > [If it can be done digitally, do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-traub/if-it-can-be-done-digitally-do-it/) [Charles Traub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-traub/) > [I'd never record digitally. It's not because its' a horrible way to record, it's just not the best way to record my music, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-younge/i-d-never-record-digitally-it-s-not-because-its-a-horrible-way-to/) [Adrian Younge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-younge/) > [One of the advantages of shooting digitally was that we had a lot of time. When you shoot, even if you do a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mapother/one-of-the-advantages-of-shooting-digitally-was-that-we-had-a-lot-of/) [William Mapother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mapother/) > [What's been missing from digital music sales has been the possibility of added depth. In a printed package one can only include so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/what-s-been-missing-from-digital-music-sales-has-been-the-possibility/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [It struck me that working digitally with a small crew, I could lay out a general plan for Famous and hope for mistakes which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/griffin-dunne/it-struck-me-that-working-digitally-with-a-small-crew-i-could-lay-out/) [Griffin Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/griffin-dunne/) > [Boys' brains are being digitally rewired for change, novelty, excitement and constant arousal. That means they're totally out of sync in traditional classes, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-zimbardo/boys-brains-are-being-digitally-rewired-for-change-novelty-excitement/) [Philip Zimbardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-zimbardo/) > [It's nice to be able to communicate digitally with people around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-leto/it-s-nice-to-be-able-to-communicate-digitally-with-people-around-the/) [Jared Leto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-leto/) > [I'm not against digital photography. It's great for newspapers. And there are photographers doing great work digitally. When they use Photoshop as a darkroom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-not-against-digital-photography-it-s-great-for-newspapers-and/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [It would be naive to say that you could make a movie on film for the same price you can digitally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-morrison/it-would-be-naive-to-say-that-you-could-make-a-movie-on-film-for-the/) [Rachel Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-morrison/) > [A lot of filmmakers understand that the work is done digitally, and it's technically possible to change it late in the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/a-lot-of-filmmakers-understand-that-the-work-is-done-digitally-and-it/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Nowadays, people shoot digitally and it's all in color, but you press a button and it all goes to black and white. But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/nowadays-people-shoot-digitally-and-it-s-all-in-color-but-you-press-a/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [Certain films, when shot digitally, the detail is like CG: you can't feel the sweat. I feel like digital is alienating. There's something superficial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hillcoat/certain-films-when-shot-digitally-the-detail-is-like-cg-you-can-t/) [John Hillcoat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hillcoat/) ## More by Jason Epstein > [Trade book publishing is by nature a cottage industry, decentralized, improvisational, personal; best performed by small groups of like-minded people, devoted to their craft,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/trade-book-publishing-is-by-nature-a-cottage-industry-decentralized/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [Wherever the title of streets and parks may rest, they have immemorially been held in trust for the use of the public and, time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/wherever-the-title-of-streets-and-parks-may-rest-they-have/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [ “Yet the extravagant enthusiasm for profit persisted among businessmen. In the spring of 1969 Senator Long \[spoke out against\] a partisan of the oil… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/yet-the-extravagant-enthusiasm-for-profit-persisted-among-businessmen/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [The marketplace for books when I entered the business shortly after World War II consisted of a thousand or so well stocked independent booksellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/the-marketplace-for-books-when-i-entered-the-business-shortly-after/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [What is true for book publishing is true for civilization: the books that survive the test of time are humanity's backlist, our collective memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/what-is-true-for-book-publishing-is-true-for-civilization-the-books/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [A civilization without retail bookstores is unimaginable. Like shrines and other sacred meeting places, bookstores are essential artifacts of human nature. The feel of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/a-civilization-without-retail-bookstores-is-unimaginable-like-shrines/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [“Technological change is discontinuous. The monks in their scriptoria did not invent the printing press, horse breeders did not invent the motorcar, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/technological-change-is-discontinuous-the-monks-in-their-scriptoria/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [Technological change is discontinuous. The monks in their scriptoria did not invent the printing press, horse breeders did not invent the motorcar, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/technological-change-is-discontinuous-the-monks-in-their-scriptoria-2/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [You stand now between anarchy and law. The Police have done their duty. Let the jury have the same courage so that the police…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/you-stand-now-between-anarchy-and-law-the-police-have-done-their-duty/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [By the mid 1970s, the great downtown bookstores had begun to disappear as their customers migrated from city to suburb where population density was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/by-the-mid-1970s-the-great-downtown-bookstores-had-begun-to-disappear/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [Editors and their authors seldom form deep friendships for the same reason that psychiatrists and their patients keep their distance: The relationship requires candor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/editors-and-their-authors-seldom-form-deep-friendships-for-the-same/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [The primary goal of publishing general fiction and non-fiction was never profit - though profit was essential to stay in the game. Publishing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/the-primary-goal-of-publishing-general-fiction-and-non-fiction-was/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [Bookstores will not disappear but will exploit digital technologies to increase their virtual and physical inventories, and perhaps become publishers themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/bookstores-will-not-disappear-but-will-exploit-digital-technologies/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) [Explore all 14 Jason Epstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) ## More Available quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [No actor wants to choose - they just want all of the options available to them all the time; we tend to be pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/no-actor-wants-to-choose-they-just-want-all-of-the-options-available/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I used practically all the money I had available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-ebbers/i-used-practically-all-the-money-i-had-available/) [Bernard Ebbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-ebbers/) > [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I m Single , Eligible But Not Available .. Limited Edition :D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faisal-khan-neal/i-m-single-eligible-but-not-available-limited-edition-d/) [Faisal Khan Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faisal-khan-neal/) > [I do worry because it takes all types to make our culture, to make our art. We need it to be available to all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-mcintosh/i-do-worry-because-it-takes-all-types-to-make-our-culture-to-make-our/) [Neve McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-mcintosh/) > [So-called Western Civilization, as practised in half of Europe, some of Asia and a few parts of North America, is better than anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/so-called-western-civilization-as-practised-in-half-of-europe-some-of/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The internal peace of every country depends upon the knowledge that force is available to uphold law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/the-internal-peace-of-every-country-depends-upon-the-knowledge-that/) [Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/) > [It is truly amazing that, with much less neuroscientific knowledge available, Hayek's model comes closer, in some respects, to being neurophysiologically verifiable than those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-fuster/it-is-truly-amazing-that-with-much-less-neuroscientific-knowledge/) [Joaquin Fuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-fuster/) > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [I'm in production year round. I work long hours. I have a dog and a wife. There's not a lot of available time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-in-production-year-round-i-work-long-hours-i-have-a-dog-and-a/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) [Browse all 2,134 Available quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The revolutionary process by which all books, old and new, in all languages, will soon be available digitally, at practically no cost for storage and delivery, to a radically decentralized world-wide market at the click of a mouse, is irreversible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jason Epstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-books-old-and-new-in-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Available" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-books-old-and-new-in-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jason-epstein-33609_available_the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-b_55776.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jason-epstein-33609_available_the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-b_55776.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jason-epstein-33609_available_the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-b_55776.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The revolutionary process by which all books, old and new, in all languages, will soon be available…” — Jason Epstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jason Epstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The revolutionary process by which all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-books-old-and-new-in-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-books-old-and-new-in-all/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```