Just how to set e-book prices? In preparing my e-book for Amazon Kindle I’ve been following the discussion at  TeleRead and on other sites such as HarperStudio and iReader. As a trained economist I’m somewhat surprised that people have focused on  cost-plus pricing and a direct comparison with printed book costs. This is understandable, since print publishing and print books are what we know---but I’m not sure the accounting approach is really relevant. Cost, both marginal and total, is an important information signal to the producer, who needs to know if the product is...

I’ve been busy playing with my Kindle and programming---yes, programming---my books. But last weekend I found time to go to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It was a rather sedate affair, mostly about hotdogs, Big Gulps, minor celebrities talking about their books, and reading to kids. The festival wasn’t teeming with technology, but I did attend a few panels on publishing and agenting. I came away more flabbergasted than ever. First, I am very sympathetic to people working in an industry that seems to be fast collapsing in on itself. I’ve...

Welcome to our newest contributor, Michael Harrington, who holds  a visiting scholar fellowship to the Bridwell Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. More bio info at the end. - D.R. At the recent BookExpo in Los Angeles most of the buzz was about digital media and what technology portends for the book industry. It’s unsurprising that the role of the digital book has been folded into a much wider discussion about modern culture. Topics range from “The Future of Reading” to “Print is Dead” to the dumbing down of the Internet and articles asking, “Is Google Making...