Comments on: Wanna publish an e-book? Here’s a list of outlets–good and bad

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:13:50 +0000

Thanks for the update, Mark. That was a 2005 post, and much has changed. David

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:16:46 +0000

Hi David, I think companies like Amazon and BookSearch now also enable just about anyone to have a ebook published. They can even do the proofreading for you.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 18:39:54 +0000

Hi, Roger. PA’s list is of publishers of both paper and electronic books (they can do one or the other or both, and I’m counting POD in the “paper” category). He seems to be talking about ways to get published, period. By that criterion, e-publishers and other small houses are easier to break into than the big guys. But as for “e-prints” of existing books done by large houses? I agree with you. Since the costs are lower and since there’s less fear of piracy of midlist titles, the big publishers have a more democratic approach. I hope this clarifies things. HpyNYr. David

By: Roger Sperberg

Roger Sperberg — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 18:14:39 +0000

[He] maintains a long list of publishers of e- and p-books–and …. [h]e focuses on small presses, a useful approach,given the waning interest of big mainstream publishers in the works of nonVIPs.

I think you’re mistaking lack of marketing of and lack of initiative in e-books and combining it with the longstanding blockbuster attitude publishers have towards authors/books. And while the latter is unmistakable, I don’t think it affects big mainstream publishers’ treatment of midlist authors getting their titles prepared as e-books.

Random House, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins have all been preparing electronic editions of their frontlist titles for years now, not just a handful of bestsellers. While they want to focus on the titles most likely to sell, they also fear the bestselling titles’ release into the electronic wilds. So I’d say they feel lots more comfortable with e-book versions of a Piers Anthony-level author than they do with John Grisham books.