We have ourselves an e-book debate going on.
The whole to-do was started by a Wall Street Journal article about independent publisher Sourcebooks’ decision to delay the e-book publication of Kaleb Nation’s BRAN HAMBRIC until at least six months after the initial print publication.
Sourcebooks CEO Dominique Raccah stated, “Hardcover books have an audience and we shouldn’t cannibalize it” and also expressed concern about $9.95 e-books. Kaleb Nation’s agent Richard Curtis concurred.
Trident agent Robert Gottlieb was also quoted thusly regarding simultaneous print and e-book publication: “It’s no different than releasing a DVD on the same day that a new movie is released in the movie theaters. Why would you do that?”
The action then moved to the NY Times, where a whole slew of high profile publishing people and authors were quoted as saying essentially, “Thinking about this…… Um, can I get back to you?”
Except for Dominique Raccah, who said, “If you as a consumer can look at a book and say: ‘I have two products; one is $27.95, and the other is $9.95. Which should I buy? That’s not a difficult decision.”
Into the fray jumped Booksquare blogger Kassia Krozser who, after loading her Kindle for a flight, challenged the opinions of Sourcebooks, Curtis, Gottlieb, and the other publishing folk who are skeptical of simultaneous print and e-book publication.
The choice e-book consumers make, she opines, isn’t whether to buy a title in hardcover for $27.95 or as an e-book for $9.99. The choice for e-book users is one $9.99 e-book or no book (or, possibly, a different book).
She writes: “Think about it: all your marketing efforts are getting customers to the point of sale…and then you lose them. These readers are not saying, ‘Well, that format isn’t available so I’ll just buy this one.’
Nope, they’re saying, ‘That format isn’t available so I won’t buy this book at all.'”
Sourcebooks CEO Raccah contacted Krozser, who published Raccah’s guest post. Raccah notes that publishers do not have a great deal of control over e-book pricing, and thus, in her opinion the only leverage at their disposal is when and whether to publish an e-book. She also shares Gottlieb’s opinion that an e-book publication is akin to a DVD edition of a first run movie. Ultimately, she believes the decision about when and whether to make an e-book available should be made on a book by book basis.
Lastly but not leastly, reader Scott Spern pointed me to an article by Slate writer Jack Shafer who cautions the industry about the perils of resisting our coming $9.99 e-book overlords.
Why? The pirates, of course.
Shafer writes, “While publishers, authors, and agents are well within their rights to attempt to maximize profits by forcing e-book prices up, their efforts may backfire. Put off by higher prices, readers who have grown accustomed to $9.99 Kindle editions may choose to flout copyright law and turn to the lush ‘pirate’ markets for books on the Internet.”
So. After all of this, where do I stand?
A step to the center of Krozser and Shafer, but firmly on the ground of simultaneous publication and the land of $9.99 for most titles.
As many of you know, I’m an e-book fanatic and my opinion is partly borne out of my experience reading for pleasure on the Kindle. As a result, I agree with Kassia that 95% of the time my choice isn’t whether I’m going to buy a book on a Kindle or in print. My decision is which book I’m going to buy on the Kindle. (Also I’ve just given bookstore owners everywhere heart attacks.)
That said, for every book there is a percentage of the audience that is so in love with the author or series that they’re going to buy the book no matter what, whether it’s available electronically or in hardcover, and they’re willing to pay whatever it takes to buy it. If Ian McEwan’s next book isn’t available on the Kindle you can bet I’m going to buy it anyway (from a bookstore! Owners, you can breathe again!). And of course, I’d imagine Stephenie Meyer’s legion of fans would still buy the next TWILIGHT installment if it were printed on poisonous razor blades.
So therefore, for some titles with an extremely rabid fan base, it seems like e-books could potentially cut into hardcover sales if there’s a particularly high percentage of fans who are dying to read a title immediately. That’s not necessarily a hard and fast reason to deny these fans the ability to read via their preferred method, nor is it stopping a publisher from trying to derive the same revenue per e-book copy as they receive for hardcover regardless of what Amazon decides to charge. But I also agree with Dominique Raccah that these e-book publication decisions should probably be made on a case by case basis.
Ultimately I’m a bit skeptical that there is a great deal of cannibalization going on when e-books and hardcovers are out simultaneously. Like many people, I have a “books I want to read” list about 10,000 pages long. If something is not available in my preferred format it’s really easy to just move one notch down the list rather than going and buying it in print.
Other Lisa says
I'd been sitting here pondering these issues (I don't really have strong opinions) but having just read Jenny's comment, I have to say, what she says makes the most sense to me.
So, what Jenny said.
And, jeez, Nathan. Get with the mind-reading already!
HAH – my word verification: "Cable"
AndrewDugas says
Nathan, with all due respect, I have mentioned this in at least one comment to a previous related post.
Of course, you'd be hard pressed to read every comment to every post.
Let me rephrase. I (and I expect others) would relish hearing your take on that subject, especially the ramifications of a publisher like S&S jumping on the Scribd wagon.
I hope you elect to indulge us at some point in the near future.
Nathan Bransford says
jenny-
E-book sales are definitely small, but the more important thing is that they're growing quickly. And particularly as the devices get better they're going to continue to become a bigger part of the landscape. I don't know if there's a tipping point on the horizon, but we're all thinking a couple of steps ahead.
Also Amazon and Sony got there first with their devices, but I don't know that they're going to be able to corner the e-book market very easily. There are lots of different devices that will be hitting the market and I'm confident there will be sufficient competition.
Elaine 'still writing' Smith says
I would buy an e-book (if it was released earlier – not otherwise) and the paper back as soon as it was released – only hard cover seems a waste of money.
Nathan Bransford says
andrew-
I feel like scribd is just a bit tangential to the post. Right now it's mainly an example of publishers using the dispersal of free content in order to build an audience, just as they always have with galleys and other promotions, but I don't necessarily know that it's going to challenge the paradigm.
Where scribd has a potential to be a player is as a content deliverer for books on mobile devices, which is an example of the type of competitor I was talking about with my response to Jenny. I don't think many people are going to sit and read a book on a computer though, even if it's free.
I would be curious to hear your thoughts on it though.
mike_mullin says
Does any research exist to support the idea that e-book readers are more loyal to format than hardcover readers or paperback readers, thus supporting the idea that a lost ebook sale is lost forever? Or are we guessing?
If we're guessing, my experience may be relevant. I prefer paperbacks, because I can jam one into a pocket. I've bought paperbacks when cheaper (remaindered) hardcovers were available. I know others who buy hardcovers almost exclusively, because they value permanence and collectability.
Sure, most people would like to have the DVD at the same time as the theater release, so they can watch movies immediately in their preferred format. But if the movie industry goes that way, theaters will not survive. Similarly, publishers should think long and hard about the survival of retail bookstores before offering ebooks at preferential prices.
Nathan Bransford says
mike-
Yes, that data exists, and my understanding from different contacts in the industry is that there isn't any evidence that e-books cannibalize print sales and the audiences are distinct. I'd be curious to hear from Sourcebooks' CEO though, to see if she has seen some different data.
AstonWest says
I'm certain this comment has already been made before I posted it, but if given the choice, what's to say a reader with $30 to spend on books wouldn't buy 3 e-books (possibly from the same author, possibly from various authors) versus 1 print book.
But then, that likely wouldn't fit the business model. :-
Personally, I think $6 is still the maximum anyone should ever charge for an e-book…and even that seems too rich to me.
Ink says
I guess no one liked my idea. It seems so simple and elegant, though. e-book prices that mirror the paper prices, first with the hardcover release and then shifting with the paperback release. Thus you maintain the price scale while still providing readers their format choice.
Come on, somebody's gotta like it. I just need one person. The banner is hard to hold up all by myself.
I have tendinitis, swear to God. Two person banner… anyone?
AndrewDugas says
Ink —
I like your idea.
Kate says
I like your idea Ink. Your arms can stop hurting.
Jen C says
I think whoever said to price the -book higher when the hardcover comes out, and then drop the price to $9.99 is right on the ….money. This idea makes sense to me.
Jen C says
Oh, that was you Ink! It took me so long to read down that I'd forgotten who it was!
Anonymous says
I have approximately 600 books in my library. These are real, physical books. I am in love with books and have been since birth (if you believe my mother).
In May I got a Kindle. I worship my Kindle. Sure, there will be books that I MUST OWN in a certain format (for me, HC is the preferred for those books that I just must have for the rest of my life). For everything else, there's Kindle.
Since my purchase in May, I've read approximately a book every other day. The genres are not always those that I would ordinarily read or choose to purchase for my personal collection. I am reading more and buying more books because I have a Kindle and it's just so damned convenient for a compulsive-must-have-it-now consumer such as myself to indulge in whatever book blurb strikes my fancy in the middle of the night.
Not all the e-books I have purchased were $9.99. The low range was $2.60 and the high was $39.99 (yes, that's correct – forty bucks for an e-book, but it was non-fiction and worth every penny).
Will I be irritated if publishers decide to delay electronic formats for new titles? Nope. I'll just move on to something else from someone else until the format I prefer is available. If I must read right now, sure, I'll buy the HC, but if I'm that eager for it, I probably would've wanted it on my shelves anyway.
The movie/DVD example sort of feels like apples/oranges. I think a more relevant comparison would be to ask these same publishers if they are opposed to the multitudes who NEVER buy books but check them out at public libraries free of charge… or borrow books from friends who continue to pass them along. I'm a nice person, but trust me, there will be no passing along of my Kindle to my friends who want to read the last book I couldn't put down. My advice to them so far has been, "Buy your own or hit the library."
Mira says
Ink, I'm sorry – I love bookstores, and I think there will always be a demand for them, but I pretty much agree with Nathan on this one. I think people will just wait for the price to drop, buy something else or pirate it.
I know I never buy hardback. I'll wait months for the paperback – partly because I just don't like hardback. It takes up too much space on my shelf.
One way to sell books is to price higher. Another way is to move more product. E-books will offer tremendous accessiblity.
I think alot of the price of e-books can be made back with advertising (sorry, but does anyone really doubt this will happen?) especially advertising other books in the publisher's stable, as well as product tie-in with games, etc. All those extras that are loaded onto DVDs will eventually be loaded onto books as well. You'll also probably be able to order books directly through the e-book itself, making instant consumer access. The money making opportunities with e-books are diverse. Undoubtedly Amazon will take advantage of all of those potentials, and….
———————
Can I interrupt this post to mention an incredible product? The Query Slushpile, helmed by Rick Daley, is a free resource for authors. Post your query! have your query reviewed! review other people's queries! meet people and make new friends! It's a can't miss opportunity! Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry. That's the Query Slushpile by Rick Daley.
Hurry over there today.
(Seriously, it's really great – and free, all joking aside.)
————————-
….but undoubtedly the publishing industry will not. What is with them? Do they not read blogs? Get on the ball, people. I know you're intelligent, get with the program!
p.s. Rick – the gold monopoly money, please.
ClothDragon says
Someone on the other blog I read with this topic (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books) had a comment I thought made sense. Offering the ebook for free with purchase of the paper copy. Of the hardcover or softcover as they come out. (If it was me, I'd offer the option of forgoing the paper edition, for those making the decision for environmental reasons, but it seems like that would give people the version they want without making either party feel too screwed over.)
I don't buy ebooks because they feel limiting to me, but I know some people only read that format. Would they buy it bundled with the book? The thing I can't figure out is how publishers are losing money on ebooks which sell for more than paperbacks, but would logically cost less to produce — at least after the first one. They don't lose money on paperbacks do they? Some books are only published in that format and I can't see publishers paying those authors purely out of the goodness of their hearts. Anyway, little boy is climbing all over me, so I probably stopped making sense five minutes ago. Hopefully, there's a coherent sentence or two in here.
Nathan Bransford says
bryan-
Former Random House CEO Peter Olson agrees with you too.
Technoslick says
I find quite often that technical books will come both ways, paper and electronic, with a break in price when purchased bundled. If the price is right and I want the publication, I usually go with both. Why? PDFs are great for portable browsing when needed, but I am middle aged and still find a good paper book the best reading format for me.
That said, I agree with the concept that the decision release both or just the book should be decided on a per book basis.
ryan field says
Sounds to me like they are planning for the future. But it could backfire. People who prefer e-books (growing in numbers) and have invested in expensive e-readers, will just wait for the e-book to launch without giving it a second thought.
AndrewDugas says
Nathan,
When I first stumbled across Scribd last fall, I thought nothing of it. In fact, I couldn't even understand it. Why would anyone publish documents for sharing when we have this thing called the Internet? Is it because it's easier to put up PDFs than HTML? Because someone else is doing it for you?
But then in May, three San Franciso authors decided to publish their new titles directly on Scribd. Two dollar books! Their argument: they're getting an 80 percent royalty. One of them explained they were making more per copy this way than with a traditional book deal, minus the bureaucracy (we'll see).
Very well. That might work for established authors. But then I noticed small publishers like ENC Press and then suddenly S&S putting their titles up for sale there too.
What's a struggling author to think? With every query rejection I get, the temptation to self-publish on Scribd or Lulu or some such gets harder to resist. And that's a bad thing. Because those rejections have led me to reexamine my work and revise it, tighten it, make it better. IMHO, if the status quo serves any positive purpose, it creates competition that culls inferior work from the pack. Therefore, most of what gets published is superior. Sure, the system has its flaws and weakness, but like democracy, it's the best we have.
So, my take? A lot more crap getting self-published, but the good stuff will always find its way to the top. Ultimately, a wider market is a more open market, giving more sellers a chance to present their wares, to compete for readership. There will be a great many more layers, but layers there will be and therefore a hierarchy of quality. And perhaps a more equitable one today. Digitization is extending the revolution that began with the Gutenberg press, even if it's disrupting Gutenberg-based business models.
And yet the business model persists. Consider that even as self-publishing has become easier and cheaper than ever imaginable, it has become less an alternative to traditional publication than an alternate route to it. Very often authors turn to self-publication to proof their books' viability and marketability. If one self-publishes and can sell five thousand copies, it's not that hard to attract a traditional book deal. The Celestine Prophecy, one of the biggest publishing phenomenoms of the last decade, was originally self-published.
As for book pricing, I'm sure that for decades after Gutenberg's first Bibles hit the stores, traditional buyers still forked out big money for the hand-copied and illuminated ones. But sooner or later, subsequent generations didn't see the point. That's a simplification, of course, and probably a misrepresentation of history. Gutenberg's intentions were modest; he had no idea his invention would lead to widespread literacy; stablize spelling, grammar, and usage; make literary works (Shakespeare being an early example) to a widespread audience; and lead to the Enlightenment, which in turn led to the overthrow of the Church as the dominant authority over society. Gutenberg just wanted to improve the quality of the humble screeds he sold to make a living.
So who really knows where all this is going, how it will shake out. No expected Twitter to play such a significant role in the local updeaval in Iran.
I also expect the role of literary agent to shift significantly, but I've said enough for now.
Melissa says
@ Tomas, that's why I specified ebooks that are also being released in print.
If a book is being released in print, the publisher has already accounted for the advance, the editing, the layout, and the cost of shipping and printing.
The cost to create and sell an ebook, after they're set up to do so — and I disagree @Jonathon Lyons that there's significant cost to the setup because they're ALREADY working with a digital file — is very close to zero. Add to that zero returns and zero future cost to keep the book available, and you have a HUGE profit percentage.
For books that are not also going out in print, there is, indeed, the cost of editing and layout to figure, but those are one-time charges that will be covered by a fairly small number of books. Then they're back in that huge profit territory!
Other Lisa says
I think offering the eBook for free with the paper copy (especially the hardback) is a stellar idea.
Mira says
Aw, Ink. I feel like a meanie.
You know, you have an on-line section to your bookstore right? I bet alot of your friends here would order from you.
Have you thought of posting your website on your profile?
and I LOVE bookstores. I think e-books are the future, but bookstores will always have a very special place. Btw, not everyone who has an e-book will be computer savvy. Some might prefer to go to a brick and mortar place and download there…..
Gavin Brown says
I think we may not be giving Amazon enough credit here. You have to remember that they are heavily into the book business, and if the value of books is undermined they will lose whether they're publishing paper or e-book.
With music, many people now view it as an asset that should be entirely free. The long battle with the hated record labels and the publicity of RIAA lawsuits did not help.
Amazon is pricing the e-books at 9.99 to establish that as a baseline price. I suspect that they've targeted that as a pricepoint that's sustainable in the longterm, which is why they're losing money on every book they sell.
If e-books end up being priced at 27.95, it may not be long before the market is broken.
Establishing a sustainable longterm habit and social acceptance is more important than how much profit is turned this year, and right now Amazon is eating the cost of creating that market.
Carolin says
Fascinating – read your blog, and just minutes later, the Lehrer News Hour on PBS had a segment on exactly that topic. It covered pretty much the same territory you did.
Have to admit, I'm one of the old-fashioned ones who likes the feel of a real book in her hands. Kindle – nah. Audio books – on long trips.
AndrewDugas says
@Gavin Brown. I think Amazon would love to sell ALL e-books. Their overhead includes massive warehouses, inventory systems, and armies of employees for unpacking shipments and then repacking and mailing out very heavy items. No such overhead for e-books. It's ALL profit.
Ink says
I knew it had to be a good idea.
Mira,
Thanks. The profile thing is a good idea. Though I doubt I get enough profile hits to do much good.
And my pricing thing… well, it's okay if the customer waits for the cheaper model. Because that's what they were selling it for anyway. And buying something else… well, at least they're buying a book. But it protects the idea of the profitable hardcover sales, so that e-books won't kill off that market. As for pirating… well, that's the bugaboo beyond any such pricing plan. Yo ho ho. Can't stop the pirates.
Anonymous says
$9.99 is a lie! As long as publishers are printing on paper, they can produce ebook content with minimal cost per book (if any). The cost is in setting up the process to begin with, but over the long term, that cost is dispersed to 0 for a dedicated ebook publisher. $9.99 is a pie to divide between Amazon and the publishers where they have no production overhead (again, if they're printing the paper book and they've established an ebook conversion process appropriately).
How do I know this? Because this was part of my job at the last publishing company I worked at. I want ebooks rather than regular books (except for my favorite authors who I want sitting on my shelves), but I'm not willing to pay more than a paperback for something that cost less to create. It's a scam and these kinds of wrestling matches help push the public perception that $9.99 pricing is a good thing. We should be happy that we're so lucky to pay $9.99 for something that cost next to nothing to create.
Price your ebook at five or less and I will never buy a paper book again (unless the name on it says Twain, Williams, or Gabaldon). Try to keep pulling the wool over my eyes and we'll see just how many books my IKEA bookshelves can hold.
Laura Martone says
Mira, LOL. I loved your example of an ad interruption. And while I, too, am a huge fan of Rick's Public Query Slushpile, I would hate it if such interruptions really happened while reading books on my e-reader. Ads have gotten out of control… in movie theaters, at the bottom of television screens, as annoying pop-ups on websites like IMDB. Please, oh, please don't let it happen to e-books, too!
If Mira's example is any indication, I had totally forgotten what she was talking about by the end of her "Slushpile" ad.
KK says
Everyone has really thought this through, judging by your comments.
However, what about selling the hardcovers at the regular price, but for an additional fee, they can get the e-book? The advertising could announce the e-book being available at the bookstore counter, just tell the clerk and they'll give you one for a nominal extra fee. I don't think asking for $5.99 or something on top of the cost of the hardcover would make anyone think twice, because they'd be getting 2 for one. The hardcovers could even have a sleeve inside a cover for the disk.
That may not help in the return department, but if it sold more hardcovers for someone who likes both, either/or, whatever, I feel they would feel like they got a bargain. I'd buy it packaged that way, easy.
Of course, the input from publishers regarding a deal like that – and lowering the price of the e-book – would be a huge discussion.
Why not combine, take advantage of the excitement, and give buyers a deal?
Heck, it may sell more hardcovers and Kindles at the same time.
Michael Pickett says
I think the DVD argument is an apt one. True, there are some people who are only goign to buy books on their kindle, but there are people out there who only watch movies when they are in cheap theaters or on DVD. For me, there are a lot of movies I do that for, especially now that I have Netflix. That doesn't mean that movie studios should start releasing the DVD on the same day that the moive is released in theaters. They aren't that desperate. If they were, prices would be much more reasonable. So, why should book publishers be desperate for you e-book purchase. After all, e-books only make up about three percent of book sales, anyway. If they were desperate to get people to buy their books, they'd price them at 1.99 or something. My final point is, if someone wants to read a book, they will, no matter what format it's in. And most people won't read most of the books in the book store. I'm an avid reader and I've only read about .015% of the books in the book store. So aren't we getting all worked up over nothing?
mardott says
I don't see how an e-book is like a DVD. If I watch a movie in the theater and it's one I really like, I'll probably buy the DVD, so I can watch the movie whenever I want.
But if I've bought the hardcover book, I'm not buyin' the e-book. I mean, why the heck would I do that? And if I have a Kindle, I'm not gonna buy the hardcover. I'll get the e-book.
For me, the Kindle is not about price, it's about space. The whole reason to buy a Kindle would be so I don't have to buy a bigger house to hold all the books in my future. I'd resent having to buy another one just because the publisher didn't want to put it in e-format.
I'll check it out of the library. But you know what? I'd rather buy the e-book, and support the author.
So Publishers: put both options out there. You've got an audience in both areas.
Minnette Meador says
Oregon must be a solid paperback/ hardback supporter(we are home to Powell's Books, of course, but I wonder if there are red and blue "book" states out there). Two of my books came out in eBook format and the print books were clamored for! Funny how things twist in the publishing wind… It's going to be an interesting year…
Gavin Brown says
@AndrewDugas:
I absolutely agree. The point I was trying to make is that Amazon has a huge incentive to get the price point right.
In the same way that they have used extensive scientific testing to figure out the best design for their website, I bet they've done studies to see how different prices affect the consumer mindset.
A large part of Amazon's success is in optimizing their interactions with customers, for instance they did the test to prove that 100 milliseconds of delay in loading pages costs them 1% of sales.
Instead of worrying about cannibalizing hardcover sales, we should all be worrying whether 9.99 will be a sustainable model.
Author Guy says
People who like a real book in their hands aren't going to buy an e-book regardless of the price. When they make a reader that looks and feels and reads like a book reads then there'll be a shift.
AndrewDugas says
I don't think the DVD argument holds. Maybe for folks with huge home entertainment centers. The key part of going out to see a movie is not the "movie" so much as the going out. It's like saying you wouldn't go see a band if you could just buy the CD.
I never buy DVDs unless it's a film I've seen and want in my library or a film I wished I'd seen and want in my library.
Movies and DVDs are two different experiences. E-books and books are similar experiences. Consider scrolls vs. bound books. Not a whole lot different. As e-readers become cheaper and more common, physical books will likely be limited to cheapo paperbacks and high-end reproductive works, like art books.
That said, in the last few years, I moved all my CDs onto my computer(s). And you know what? As a result I listen to a lesser variety of music. Call me old fashioned, but scrolling down a list of album titles on iTunes is a lot less exciting than flipping through stacks of CDs and coming across an old friend, and remembering how the case got chipped at that one party, and on and on.
I expect it will be the same when I do all my reading on an e-reader.
Physical objects. Ain't nothing like 'em.
Alyssa says
This is a tough subject.. I'm one of those consumers who doesn't really look at the price of some books, only the availability, and so I will shell out for the hardback if it's the only edition available. Which seems like an argument for the decision to delay the e-book, but I think that's a really bad idea. The market may not be swamped with e-readers now, but eventually that will not be the case, and more of more of the audience will be e-book exclusive and won't want to wait for the e-version. There have been plenty of books I've lost track of and didn't end up buying until years after publication and that's the sort of thing you risk by delaying the release of the e-book. I think most books go through phases, people read them when they're new and try to get all their friends to read them.. if you wait until the buzz is stale to release the e-book, that's a lot of customers you're going to miss out on. So why not just charge more for the e-book initially as someone upthread said, and then drop the price later?
I'm a bit surprised by the comments that people aren't making money off the $9.99 Kindle books, given that the mass market books which retail for a lot less are often the only editions available for many books. Is it just that not enough people buy e-books to recoup the investment to produce the initial e-edition? Because that will certainly change over time. Is it that Amazon is taking too big of a cut of the profits? As big an Amazon fangirl as I am, their Kindle business does trouble me. I really want to like the Kindle, (I really want to buy one!) but I'm a little uncomfortable with all the stories that have been coming out lately about the raw deals they've been giving newspapers on royalties and this new idea to put ads in lower-priced versions of books.
Mira says
Ink – actually this one would be more about internet buddies than massive amounts of hits. Hits are nice, and over 500 is nothing to sneeze at, but it's buddies who would support you. I might link it, and I might also maybe do a personal blog about the bookstore and stuff….adventures at the bookstore. If you want….
RW says
As I understand it, publishers anxious about lower profits on e-books are for the time being talking about a hypothetical situation, because they are still able to charge Amazon a wholesale price on e-books closer to the the wholesale price for hardcover, and Amazon is retailing it for a loss in order to create demand for the Kindle. In theory, that's setting a customer expectation on price that could hurt the publishers later when Amazon is able to negotiate for a lower wholesale price. But it seems like another (more productive) way to look at it is that Amazon is subsidizing a period of transition that publishers could be using to build profitable relationships with ebook customers instead of treating them like the enemy.
Donna says
I don't think it's a question of price and availability so much as its about prefered format. I equate e-books the same way I would a paperback novel. If you're an established author, first comes the hard back, and usually it pretty expensive. (I remember paying over $30 for Stephen Kings final Dark Tower novel.) After several months, the paperback comes out and though its not nearly as expensive as hard back, it's quite a chunk of change. By that time, however, you've probably found the hard back in a used book store somewhere, or borrowed it from a friend or family member. Some people are dedicated to buying the hard cover books; it looks good on a shelf. Others only buy backs they can carry in a purse or backpack or brief case easily.
I buy hard backs when I can afford them, and if there is just no way to wait for whatever sequel to come out in paper back, but usually buy the paper back for carrying convenience.
I don't believe the same people buying an e-book are necessarily the same buying printed books. They are a marketing target all their own. Its like saying you should not publish an audio version of the book until it's been on the bookshelves a certain amount of time. A person who prefers audio books is not going to consider pricing first in their decision to purchase that format. I think the same would apply to e-books. If the e-book is $9.99 and the paper back $5.99, you wouldn't buy the paperback just because it's cheaper.
Well, I wouldn't anyway. Some of the books I'd like to read are more expensive in hard back, but I don't go to Kindle just because its cheaper. It's not the format I want to read in.
marye.ulrich says
I'm still laughing about reading the next edition of Twilight on "poisonous razor blades". God, that is great.
But, if you really want a cutting edge battle… check out this week's convention as RWA vs. Romance Writers for Change. It is all about ePublishing and the very practical ramifications it brings to the authors, editors, readers and the marketplace. The blood is still flowing, but it looks like the print paradigm is changing.
FictionGroupie says
Anon–to your comment "We should be happy that we're so lucky to pay $9.99 for something that cost next to nothing to create."
A book does not take next to nothing to create. The author, for one, puts their blood, sweat, and tears into writing a novel(not to mention the work of the editors, agents, etc.) We don't buy paintings based on the cost of canvas and paint. We buy them based on the art produced and the talent behind it.
Alyssa says
Someone (I forget who) wondered if people really would pay for multiple different editions of a book.. *raises a hand* I'm totally that girl. 😉 I've bought 3 different copies of one particular book, because I'm a bit anal about format. I want them all in the same format. Generally it's hardback or trade paper, since those are the first ones to come out and I can't wait for the cheaper editions. I've been known to track down used hardbacks to replace paperbacks, I've tracked down American edition hardbacks to replace my UK edition hardbacks (I know, I'm over the line crazy) because the book came out in the UK first (and the single quotation marks make me crazy.) 😉 That book I bought 3 copies of, I originally bought in mass market, and I pounced on the opportunity to get the trade when they reprinted. I also bought the Kindle edition when I got my iPhone.. Let's just ignore the 3 copies I bought in an attempt to convert my friends, but couldn't bear to be parted from my own copy. When the new book from that series comes out, I'll probably pay for both editions, since they each have their own charm. 😉
That being said, there are some books I'll only buy in audio format. The reader that does Diane Duane's Young Wizards series is so genius, I have to have the audiobook. It angers me that they delay the audio release. I know I said upstream that availability is the only factor, but I guess for certain books, that's not true, and I'll wait for my preferred format. I can see the day coming when I'll wait for the e-version to come out. I just don't have the space to keep buying physical books and when e-books become more available, my plan is to buy the e-version first, and then buy the paper version if I love it so much I have to have that experience too.
K.C. Shaw says
Pirates! The perfect scapegoat! It's publishing's version of "but think of the chiiiildren!"
I almost never buy hardbacks–they're far too expensive. I'm already not happy about having to wait a year for a paperback to come out. Don't make me wait for the ebook too.
Much as I like my Sony, I also really like owning hard copies of books I love. I know I won't lose them when I (inevitably) drop my Sony and break it. I've only had my reader a few months and I've already bought one ebook (on the day it was released) that I later ALSO bought in paperback.
Oh, and I go to the theater almost every weekend. I'm a consumer!
Anonymous says
FictionGroupie,
hear, hear!
Dawn Maria says
Hmmm… I downloaded my first e-Book to my iPhone using a Kindle app from iTunes just this week. It was Jennifer Weiner's latest- BEST FRIENDS FOREVER and it was $14.99. I chose that one because I thought it best to try something new (e-reader) with and old, favorite author.
Price was not a factor, I would have bought the book either way. What did occur to me was that this purchase was disposable. Once I read that book (if I actually do all the way through and don't resort to a hard copy out of frustration) I will delete it. That seems odd.
As a book lover, the ceremony and joy of bringing a new volume home is less so in e-format. Still, this is the future, a big part of it at least, and I want to be ready as both a reader and a writer.
Thermocline says
We can discuss price points and profit margin but I just don't see e-books becoming a threat until they become so commonplace that the masses feel entitled to access them for free, like borrowing a book from a library. I'm not knocking libraries here. All I mean is that there are a whole group of readers who don't buy any books but are still going to want to read them when e-books eclipse paper versions someday.
Laurel says
K.C.:
After several years in textbook publishing I can tell you definitively that pirates are NOT a scapegoat. Piracy in ebook and print form is very real and I have several friends who lost their jobs over the lost revenue.
Dawn Maria: Kindle, at least, offers an online library for your account, I think. You can store titles in a virtual library and come back to them later if you like.
That this eBook vs. hardcopy is even debated seems so odd to me. It's the last bastion of publishing to fight this inevitability. Remember this debate:
Newspapers? They'll never go! The mystique of the Sunday paper, the smell of the ink….the comics! No. It's irreplaceable. The internet can never replace newspapers.
I like books better, too. But I grew up in a different era. Times are changing and publishing has got to figure out a way to make this trend work for them. Some of you guys threw out some great ideas here.
Vacuum Queen says
I don't have a Kindle, but if I did, I would imagine that I wouldn't want to wait the 6 months for the Kindle version. But I also wouldn't pay the hardcover price, knowing that the cheaper version would be out soon. I'm guessing I'd forget about it by the time it came out as Kindle version and I'd skip it, most likely bogged down by other new "hot" books.
I'm guessing.
Marsha Sigman says
I think you have your die hard e-readers and book readers. Some enjoy both but I don't see a sale being lost by releasing on the same day. People are going to buy the story in the format they enjoy the most (even you audio book lovers).
I really hate the idea of a book being disposable. I never thought of what you did with it on a Kindle after you read it. You delete it? That is so disturbing to me.