Comments on: Dear publishers – We don’t believe you

By: asphalt

asphalt — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:19:54 +0000

Gah. I hit ‘submit’ by accident. To clarify:

1st sentence. Should be: ‘large *price* discrepancies’; and: if they exist, I don’t buy *the book*.

Sorry.

By: asphalt

asphalt — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:16:53 +0000

When I see large discrepancies like those described here, with the e-editions being more expensive than printat in any form, I don’t buy it. I add that title to my list of books to check out of the library. I’ve already got more titles on my Kindle than I’ll be able to read in a lifetime; so whatever power publishers may think they have over the reader is pretty imaginary. I agree that the author is the very most important piece of the equation. Second is the editor — a figure whom I value more, the more I read.

Maybe we’ll ultimately see some diminishing of the numbers of clueless middle-people who feel they have to touch an author’s work, and be able to have a more direct financial relationship with our authors.

By: Rob Preece

Rob Preece — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:17:40 +0000

I normally spend a full day per book doing formatting. This includes seven eBook formats (HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipcoket, Microsoft, Sony, and ePub) plus the paper format (a different PDF).

The more fundamental issue is that publishers don’t control when retailers choose to make our books loss-leaders. Sure, a book listed at $15.99 can be sold at $5.99. But most likely the retailer is paying $7.50. Similarly, when Amazon sells my Kindle books for a discount, they still pay full royalty on the list price. It’s up to the retailer to decide what margin (or negative margin) he/she needs. In some cases, they may sell for less than their costs (best-sellers on Kindle on Amazon, anyone) because it brings people to the store in the first place. This has nothing to do with whether books are electronic or paper. It’s all about the business model.

Rob Preece
Publisher

By: Amalthia

Amalthia — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:49:46 +0000

it doesn’t take two weeks to format a document once it’s proofread. (and technically proofing/editing had to happen before the document went to the printer)

If the publishers aren’t using the same electronic document that they send to the printers, then they are a bunch of idiots.

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:49:07 +0000

It takes me about a week to do a conversion – to both mobi and epub becuase I use the same source files for both – but that’s because the conversion from pdf itself causes formatting problems that I then have to find and fix. That involves reading the whole book to find the problems.

It can take me several days to just prepare the html/css, depending on what I’ve got to work with. Steve, you can do it so quickly because you have good source files to begin with. Once my source files are ready, it takes a few minutes to create an epub and mobi from them.

Good article though. I’ve been saying for a long time there’s no way ebooks cost more, or even the same, as pbooks to provide to the public. Publishers are resisting change, which is human nature I suppose, but I think eventually they’re going to realize that they can sell ebooks for as much as pbooks, while it costs them much less to house and distribute, no returns (as the article points out), etc., and the day may come when paper books are hard to find. No reason to go to all the expense if they don’t have to. What we can do is refuse to pay the same high prices, refuse to be ripped off. As long as we will pay it, they’re going to charge it.

By: Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:41:45 +0000

There is nothing in this article that I can challenge… save this:

…some minion could take that copy and turn it into half a dozen ebook formats while the printers and shippers are doing their thing, it probably takes a week or so.

When I take a new novel (assuming an already-proofed and cleaned electronic file) and turn it into a half-dozen e-book formats, it takes me an afternoon. If something about a book’s format doesn’t sit right with me, I may need to devote a second afternoon to getting the formatting right by massaging the files.

Any publisher that tries to convince its consumers that it takes an extra week or two to create e-book conversions… well, I’m telling you, don’t believe that, either.