Comments on: Harvill Secker releases ebook early rather than late http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/harvill-secker-releases-ebook-early-rather-than-late/ 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: Felix Torres http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/harvill-secker-releases-ebook-early-rather-than-late/comment-page-1/#comment-1149026 Felix Torres Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:06:41 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=32043#comment-1149026 At least there you know what you get for your money; early access. Baen has been doing that for some of their more popular series authors for a while now; offering up Advanced Reader Copies at a premium price as soon as the manuscript is turned it. The price includes access to the final version so the reader ends up with the final release version too, in case of last minute edits. Maybe a three-phase pricing scheme can satisfy everybody; Hardcover pricing for early-access ebooks, $9.99 after the hardcover release and sub-paperback pricing after the cheaper pbook comes out. That way ebooks are always the cheapest release while maximizing the publisher's take. And readers stil have a choice. If you *must* be the first kid on the block, you pay for it; if you can wait, you save. Your money, your choice. Of course, some beancounter somewhere in one of the glass tower will promptly assume that is soe people are willing to pay the premium price, everybody should and we'll be right back where we started. ;) At least there you know what you get for your money; early access.

Baen has been doing that for some of their more popular series authors for a while now; offering up Advanced Reader Copies at a premium price as soon as the manuscript is turned it. The price includes access to the final version so the reader ends up with the final release version too, in case of last minute edits.

Maybe a three-phase pricing scheme can satisfy everybody; Hardcover pricing for early-access ebooks, $9.99 after the hardcover release and sub-paperback pricing after the cheaper pbook comes out. That way ebooks are always the cheapest release while maximizing the publisher’s take. And readers stil have a choice.

If you *must* be the first kid on the block, you pay for it; if you can wait, you save. Your money, your choice. Of course, some beancounter somewhere in one of the glass tower will promptly assume that is soe people are willing to pay the premium price, everybody should and we’ll be right back where we started. ;)

]]> By: Al http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/harvill-secker-releases-ebook-early-rather-than-late/comment-page-1/#comment-1149018 Al Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:42:47 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=32043#comment-1149018 Now that is smart marketing, something I didn't expect from Random House, considering their stand on TTS. Now that is smart marketing, something I didn’t expect from Random House, considering their stand on TTS.

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