Comments on: ‘Cyberbooks’ author Ben Bova on the current state of e-books http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:46:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Frode Aleksandersen http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/comment-page-1/#comment-1159477 Frode Aleksandersen Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:13:03 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2010/03/07/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/#comment-1159477 What people are forgetting is that Baen is selling directly to the customer, not through a distributor like Amazon. In fact, if you take the new model Amazon has where the publisher gets 70%, those same books would have to cost $8.50 if sold by them as kindle editions. Now consider how much an average Baen paperback sells for on Amazon, and then reduce the publisher profit accordingly due printing to distribution costs. Get the picture? As books go digital, Baen is actually set to make more money, not less. They may be cannibalizing some of their hardcover sales, but the numbers there are pretty low to begin with and all it does is shift the earning split between hardcovers and paperbacks so it covers ebooks as well. What people are forgetting is that Baen is selling directly to the customer, not through a distributor like Amazon. In fact, if you take the new model Amazon has where the publisher gets 70%, those same books would have to cost $8.50 if sold by them as kindle editions.

Now consider how much an average Baen paperback sells for on Amazon, and then reduce the publisher profit accordingly due printing to distribution costs. Get the picture? As books go digital, Baen is actually set to make more money, not less. They may be cannibalizing some of their hardcover sales, but the numbers there are pretty low to begin with and all it does is shift the earning split between hardcovers and paperbacks so it covers ebooks as well.

]]> By: AnemicOak http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/comment-page-1/#comment-1159430 AnemicOak Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:16:42 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2010/03/07/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/#comment-1159430 "I’d remind him that Macmillan was making a profit on them only because Amazon was selling a lot of them at a loss. They weren’t going to go on doing that forever, “price people want to pay” or not. And if they couldn’t “corner” the market, they could at least grab up a Microsoftian chunk of it." Amazon only sells at a loss on the $9.99 titles that are discounted from the higher $25ish (hardcover equivalent) list price. Not on the $9.99 titles that list for less. A big chunk of Amazon's $9.99 titles are discounted from $14-$15 with a print equivalent of a Trade PB or with pubs like Macmillan a MMPB. Some pubs have been charging a $14 list on ebooks that are $8 in print and then bitching when Amazon discounts to $9.99 “I’d remind him that Macmillan was making a profit on them only because Amazon was selling a lot of them at a loss. They weren’t going to go on doing that forever, “price people want to pay” or not. And if they couldn’t “corner” the market, they could at least grab up a Microsoftian chunk of it.”

Amazon only sells at a loss on the $9.99 titles that are discounted from the higher $25ish (hardcover equivalent) list price. Not on the $9.99 titles that list for less. A big chunk of Amazon’s $9.99 titles are discounted from $14-$15 with a print equivalent of a Trade PB or with pubs like Macmillan a MMPB. Some pubs have been charging a $14 list on ebooks that are $8 in print and then bitching when Amazon discounts to $9.99

]]> By: Tony Rabig http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/comment-page-1/#comment-1159428 Tony Rabig Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:52:31 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2010/03/07/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/#comment-1159428 While I don't have a dollar figure for Baen's ebook sales, David Drake's obit for Jim Baen in 2006 noted: "While e-publishing has been a costly waste of effort for others, Baen Books quickly began earning more from electronic sales than it did from Canada . By the time of Jim's death, the figure had risen to ten times that." If that helps any... Bests to all, --tr While I don’t have a dollar figure for Baen’s ebook sales, David Drake’s obit for Jim Baen in 2006 noted:

“While e-publishing has been a costly waste of effort for others, Baen Books quickly began earning more from electronic sales than it did from Canada . By the time of Jim’s death, the figure had risen to ten times that.”

If that helps any…

Bests to all,

–tr

]]> By: Sherri http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/comment-page-1/#comment-1159423 Sherri Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:40:18 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2010/03/07/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/#comment-1159423 The problem I have with the whole "printing costs are only a couple of dollars per unit" argument is that it is true only in the current business model. The current publishing business model is built around printing hardbacks, with the investment in infrastructure and scale necessary to match. The barriers to entry in the business are huge, which is why publishing has coalesced into the "Big Six." But in a future digital world, hardbacks don't drive everything, and the entire business model has to change. The infrastructure is less, the barriers to entry drop, and competition can increase. That's not to say hardbacks go away, just to say their importance will decline, and the current Big Six will have to change their entire business models or slowly die off the way newspapers are dying off. The problem I have with the whole “printing costs are only a couple of dollars per unit” argument is that it is true only in the current business model. The current publishing business model is built around printing hardbacks, with the investment in infrastructure and scale necessary to match. The barriers to entry in the business are huge, which is why publishing has coalesced into the “Big Six.” But in a future digital world, hardbacks don’t drive everything, and the entire business model has to change. The infrastructure is less, the barriers to entry drop, and competition can increase. That’s not to say hardbacks go away, just to say their importance will decline, and the current Big Six will have to change their entire business models or slowly die off the way newspapers are dying off.

]]> By: Stuart http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/comment-page-1/#comment-1159419 Stuart Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:50:36 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2010/03/07/cyberbooks-author-ben-bova-on-the-current-state-of-e-books/#comment-1159419 "...Baen’s execs seem to view e-books as a promotional side-project and apparently do not assign them a proportional tranche of the manuscript’s non-printing-related costs" Not saying you're wrong or anything, but... do you have a link for this info? And how would you calculate a 'proportionate tranche'? By sales numbers? By dollars sold? By profit percentage? How do other publishers split the costs of producing a book between electronic and paper versions? I've been wondering for a while how much money the Webscriptions store is making, and if you have any info it would be appreciated. After all, I've been praising Baen pretty much forever for their ebook strategy, and it would be terribly embarrassing if they then went bust because of it. Having said all that, $6 isn't too far off the average price I pay for an ebook at Fictionwise, after discounts and rebates... "...it is uncertain whether Baen will be able to keep it up when e-books are 50% or even 25% of the book market rather than 5% or less as they are now." One question it might be worth asking is if Baen's ebook vs pbook sales share is any different to the industry as a whole; I would have thought that Baen would have attracted more e-readers than average. “…Baen’s execs seem to view e-books as a promotional side-project and apparently do not assign them a proportional tranche of the manuscript’s non-printing-related costs”

Not saying you’re wrong or anything, but… do you have a link for this info? And how would you calculate a ‘proportionate tranche’? By sales numbers? By dollars sold? By profit percentage? How do other publishers split the costs of producing a book between electronic and paper versions?

I’ve been wondering for a while how much money the Webscriptions store is making, and if you have any info it would be appreciated. After all, I’ve been praising Baen pretty much forever for their ebook strategy, and it would be terribly embarrassing if they then went bust because of it.

Having said all that, $6 isn’t too far off the average price I pay for an ebook at Fictionwise, after discounts and rebates…

“…it is uncertain whether Baen will be able to keep it up when e-books are 50% or even 25% of the book market rather than 5% or less as they are now.”

One question it might be worth asking is if Baen’s ebook vs pbook sales share is any different to the industry as a whole; I would have thought that Baen would have attracted more e-readers than average.

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