I propose that book publishers allow readers to download individual short stories, similar to iTunes providing the means to download individual songs without having to buy the entire album.  In fact, it seems that Apple may be able to compete with Amazon’s superiority in the e-book market, as book downloads has increased by 280% in Apple’s iPhone App Store.

The number of Books applications has tripled in the last three months. Instead of releasing a book on Amazon alone and hoping the 30 million iPhone/iPod touch readers pick it up through the very capable Kindle.app, many authors and publishers are going right to the source of their readership.

Should Apple release a netbook or tablet device (sizes that I find to be more conducive to reading than the iPhone for most users) I would love them to be able to entice publishers to participate in a digital “Book Store,” based upon the iTunes music interface. In addition to buying complete novels and works of non-fiction, one could buy individual stories. Say, for example, you hear interesting things about Junot Diaz, but don’t want to buy his collection of short stories, Drown, without sampling some of the goods. Go into a digital Book Store and download a story or two at $0.99 or $1.99 a pop. If you like it, you can purchase the remaining stories to complete the collection. If you’re unimpressed, you’re only $2 to $4 in the hole.

Like the iTunes music store, there should be user reviews, as well as a barometer for the work’s popularity to influence potential sales.  The increased accessibility of content would transform an increasingly unpopular and unmarketable niche of fiction into a slightly more salable medium. In addition, this would provide more exposure for independent and self-publishers to share their work, as their books would be next to popular authors such as Tom Clancy, David Sedaris, and Amy Tan. The same cannot always be said for traditional book stores.

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