Comments on: Kindle books NOT a hit among Boing Boing readers http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/kindle-books-not-a-hit-among-boing-boing-readers/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:05:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Logan Kennelly http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/kindle-books-not-a-hit-among-boing-boing-readers/comment-page-1/#comment-1108481 Logan Kennelly Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:55:46 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/07/21/kindle-books-not-a-hit-among-boing-boing-readers/#comment-1108481 I read Little Brother exclusively in electronic form and I bought the paper version because that is what the author told us to do (buy a paper copy and donate it). I would normally have donated directly to the author, but he explicitly declines such an offer because he doesn't wish to cut his publisher out of the loop. Kindle/Fictionwise versions don't have the publisher issue, but, as Mike states, why pay for the crippled version when you can buy paper and donate (or pay nothing because payment wasn't an option). I read Little Brother exclusively in electronic form and I bought the paper version because that is what the author told us to do (buy a paper copy and donate it).

I would normally have donated directly to the author, but he explicitly declines such an offer because he doesn’t wish to cut his publisher out of the loop. Kindle/Fictionwise versions don’t have the publisher issue, but, as Mike states, why pay for the crippled version when you can buy paper and donate (or pay nothing because payment wasn’t an option).

]]> By: Mike McDermott http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/kindle-books-not-a-hit-among-boing-boing-readers/comment-page-1/#comment-1108313 Mike McDermott Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:51:55 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/07/21/kindle-books-not-a-hit-among-boing-boing-readers/#comment-1108313 As much as I admire Cory Doctorow's work and his copyfighter message, I think it is highly skewed logic for him to base a judgment on the commercial significance of ebooks on the Amazon numbers for his audience and titles. As he points out -- he has a "supertechy audience." People looking for his books are likely to know that he gives away free, technologically superior e-book versions of his works. In fact, his business model counts on readers discovering his work through the free e-book editions, and then buying the paper. Why would someone discover his work through his free version, and then go to Amazon to pay for a different, crippled e-edition? The fact that he has sold ~25,000 copies to BB readers seems to prove his model works, but the fact that he hasn't sold many kindle editions doesn't necessarily prove that e-editions aren't viable. And on your situation with Amazon: that certainly does smell like malice aforethought to me. :-) As much as I admire Cory Doctorow’s work and his copyfighter message, I think it is highly skewed logic for him to base a judgment on the commercial significance of ebooks on the Amazon numbers for his audience and titles. As he points out — he has a “supertechy audience.” People looking for his books are likely to know that he gives away free, technologically superior e-book versions of his works. In fact, his business model counts on readers discovering his work through the free e-book editions, and then buying the paper. Why would someone discover his work through his free version, and then go to Amazon to pay for a different, crippled e-edition? The fact that he has sold ~25,000 copies to BB readers seems to prove his model works, but the fact that he hasn’t sold many kindle editions doesn’t necessarily prove that e-editions aren’t viable.
And on your situation with Amazon: that certainly does smell like malice aforethought to me. :-)

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