Comment by rramadass

Right; there are lots more options available to authors today.

However, hard copy textbooks are still the dominant form in much of the developing world. We "technically literate" people often forget that we live in a bubble of our own making. A large percentage of students in the developing world simply do not have the means nor access to technology the way we do. They are dependent on low-cost printed textbooks to study and avail opportunities to get ahead in life.

The Textbook publishing industry is a cartel often pricing their offerings out-of-reach of economically disadvantaged students. Education and its prerequisite, access to textbooks, should be treated the same way we make available generic drugs in the pharmaceutical industry i.e. cheap/low-cost, decent quality offerings available to everybody. The prices of many of the textbooks is often eye-watering and that is why you have many low-cost textbook publishers in the developing world.

My main frustration is that most(all?) authors/professors are quite willing to forego any profits if it means they can get their textbooks into the hands of the students who need them. It is the publishing industry acting as the middleman and focused solely on profits which is ruining everything for everybody.