As another example of what’s going on in the ebook wave, I received a press release from Knopf Doubleday which shows you how publishers, or at least some publishers, are thinking of the future. Thought you’d be interested:
Not that you had any doubts from the beginning, but the ebook is here to stay. Publishers everywhere are in the process of expanding the number of new titles they plan to make available electronically, and in addition, are making available for the first time older titles that have previously existed only in traditional formats.
At the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, we are working tirelessly to bring out electronic versions for as many of our popular backlist titles as quickly as possible. In an effort to spread the news for these newly digitized books, we will be sending out advisories about their availability, so that you can share the information with your readers. We might even be able to help you get a comment from one of the authors about how it feels to be giving an old book new life, if you think your readers are interested in hearing from them.
The ball rolls on and on.
Sweet. Hopefully they won’t price these like brand-new titles.
Also hopefully they’ll go from “our popular backlist titles” to “our backlist titles”.
Dare I hope?
The rest of the Somerset Maugham titles from Vintage (available UK but not here), John O’Hara, the Modern Library backlist, the Everyman Library backlist, and if as memory serves that group still includes Ballantine and Fawcett mass market, please God, all of John D. Macdonald…
If they’re serious, this kid’s gonna be spending a lot of $$$ over the next couple of years.
Now if Library of America would jump in too, I’d be one happy freakin’ camper.
Bests to all,
–tr
The best part is how the publishers screw over the authors while the consumers cheer. I guess it’s not piracy when an established publisher does it.
But then, if the Google Books Settlement gets approved, the publishers will all be denying any involvement and pointing their fingers at Google. And Google will be pointing at the Settlement.
There’s money to be made in e-books of those older works… if you’re a big corporation.
Interesting. I was looking for an apparently out-of-print book just the other day. I would have bought an ebook version of it on the spot if it had been available. My list of such books I’ve looked for and abandoned due to lack of interest in the effort required is long. They could make a modest bit of nearly pure profit if they’re smart about what books they put up first, and if they’re diligent about it.
Regards,
Jack Tingle