More big news in the ever-evolving e-book landscape as two publishers, Hachette and Simon & Schuster, told the Wall Street Journal that they would be delaying the e-book release of some of their important upcoming titles, HarperCollins told the New York Times that they would delay “5-10 titles a month,” and Macmillan said they’d delay case by case.
Why are publishers doing this?
Carolyn Reidy, CEO S&S: “The right place for the e-book is after the hardcover but before the paperback.”
David Young, CEO Hachette Book Group: “I can’t sit back and watch years of building authors sold off at bargain-basement prices. It’s about the future of the business.”
One thing this doesn’t seem to be is a short term financial calculation on the part of the publishers. Right now, according to most accounts, including the NY Times, publishers are receiving roughly the exact same amount for every e-book sold as they do for new hardcover sales. Yes, Amazon and Sony and others are selling many e-books for $9.99, but that doesn’t mean publishers are making less money per title. The e-book retailers are taking loss leaders on e-books to sell more devices.
Instead this position seems to be borne out of fear of what’s over the horizon: publishers are nervous that people will begin to feel that $9.99 is what all books should cost, wreaking havoc with print pricing models, and that Amazon and others will start turning the screws and demanding a bigger share of the revenue. (UPDATE: Along these lines, Mike Shatzkin speculates that this is really about controlling Amazon).
So is a long term fear about what’s over the horizon worth potentially alienating some of your most motivated customers, the people who read so much and buy so many books that they plopped down $250 to buy an e-reader?
You tell me.
It seems to me that customers understand that there’s a difference between print books and e-books and that they should cost different amounts – people know that printing and shipping paper and ink should cost more than sending electrons through the ether. It’s understandable that publishers are frustrated that they can’t control what Amazon actually charges, but they can’t control actual retail prices for print books either.
And in the meantime, as we’ve seen repeatedly over the last decade, alienate digital consumers at your peril. People who read e-books want to read on their devices when they hear about a book, and the best deterrent against piracy is making a digital edition readily available for sale at a fair price. Resisting the conversion to digital sure didn’t work for the music industry, and publishers are extremely fortunate they’ve had a decade of breathing room and lessons learned to prepare for the e-book wave.
All that said, authors may well be motivated to delay e-book releases since they may be receiving a better royalty for hardcover sales than they do for e-book sales. So for some authors, it may indeed make financial sense to encourage/force publishers to delay e-book releases if e-book customers will be motivated to go out and just buy the (higher royalty generating) hardcover during the delay period. This probably only applies to the top authors with rabid fans – everyone else will probably want to strike with e-books while the publicity iron is hot. In that sense, a case by case approach may indeed be warranted.
What do you think? Is this savvy business or misguided?
T. Anne says
As an e-book owner, I'm a little ticked at the concept. I don't want to wait months to read books available in other forms now. If I buy the book in paper it defeats the purpose of my e-reader.
Bane of Anubis says
It seems like they're trying to copy the movie studio mold of cinematic release –> DVD… though I imagine the profit motive/reasoning is dissimilar.
Since hardback books don't offer a significant advantage over digital copy (whereas the cinematic experience is usually significantly better than home theater viewage), it seems quite short-sighted. The pubs are grasping at straws that are quickly filling with swamp water.
Josin L. McQuein says
The delay makes sense to me. They get as much as they can out of the hardback sales off the top.
However, I think there should be a compromise. If a reader shells out for the hardback, they should get a voucher inside (like with DVD's and digital copies) for an e-book "copy" as soon as it's available. That way, they still make the sales, but people with e-readers don't have to buy two copies of everything.
The ones who want to wait for the e-book can still wait. Everyone wins.
Christy Pinheiro, EA ABA says
I blogged about this issue yesterday– I understand the publisher's position, but it's a lost cause. They are just stalling the inevitable.
Maybe publishers are holding back on releasing e-books in some vain attempt to staunch the tide of book piracy. The newest Stephen King book is a case in point. The publisher held back on releasing the e-book because they wanted to maximize hardcover sales. But the book was pirated immediately and showing up on file sharing websites the next day. Stephen King said that his decision to delay the e-book was an attempt to help struggling bookstore owners. In the end, this decision backfired, because WalMart, Amazon, and Sears all got into a discounting frenzy and priced the book at $9.99, which is even less than wholesale. So independent bookstores got shut out of the sales anyway.
Mira says
Oooo. A picture. Cool.
I always have the right priorities.
So, I'm copying what I wrote in the forums. I know there's alot I don't 'get' about business and the power plays, but here's my two cents anyway:
I think the pros of holding off on e-books are small, and the cons, large. Publishers would be wise to see the writing on the wall and start fostering good relations with e-book customers. They need to start looking at increasing quantity of sales, rather than holding out for high prices – which are doomed, anyway.
Personally, with a few exceptions, I have always refused to buy hardcover. I don't want it – it's bulky, hurts my hands to hold up and takes up too much space on my shelf. I'll wait a year or more for paperback. Pretty soon, I'll wait however long for an e-book. So, it's not like making me wait will get me to buy the book. I DO NOT want hardcover.
For example, I borrowed Dan Brown's new book from a friend. If I didn't have that option, I just would have waited.
The danger, with someone like me, is I'll forget to buy the book by the time it comes out in e-book or paperback format.
This is one of the reasons books have historically been a low sale item. Forcing hardcover books first slows the market down. It leaves out entire segments of the population who would have bought at a lower price, but forget about the book by the time it comes out in paperback.
You have to move your product when it's ready. If you're advertising for it now, meet the market demand, and match what the market is willing to pay for it.
Go to the market. Don't try to force the market to come to you. Some may come to you, but the rest may just get distracted by bright shiny video games, DVDs, movies and you-tube.
Thermocline says
Delaying the release of e-books only makes sense if people who own e-readers are willing to buy a more expensive hardback. I haven't read any research that suggests this will occur in large enough numbers for it to create a net gain. If not, then publishers are just alienating a segment of their audience who are willing to pay for immediate access.
It's a risky strategy – accept a lower price in return for an immediate e-release versus the hope that the reader will be frustrated enough to go buy a paper book.
Annoyed customers = Increased hardback sales?
I'm thinkin'- not so much.
My guess is that e-reader owners are more likely to wait for a new title to be released in an electronic format. I can't speak from personal experience since I don't have one. Any thoughts on this from those of you that do?
Angela Korra'ti says
Significant delays of e-book releases do absolutely NOTHING for me as a reader. Since I've been shifting heavily over to buying electronic copies of mostly everything I read these days, it will NOT make me more likely to buy a hardback book. Electronic copies are still significantly cheaper than hardbacks, and if I don't want to buy a hardback book, making the e-book come out later is not going to change my mind. Especially if I can't afford the hardback.
All it will do is _maybe_ make me check the book out from the library if I have to read it right this instant, but more likely, I'll just go buy some other book.
atsiko says
I don't read e-books. And I don't particularly like them, either. But the same thing goes for hardbacks. I never buy them, even if I am desperate to read a sequel, or a much-touted new book. I like my paperbacks. So, keep that in mind when considering my response.
While I can appreciate the reasoning behind this decision to some extent, I think it is a bad one. It will not likely convince aanyone to buy the hardback if they were planning to buy the e-book. it will make e-readers unhappy. It may cause some people to forget about the book. I do it all the time unless I have a list in hand in the bookstore. As much as I support print, I have to weigh in on the side of the e-book readers.
Mark Terry says
I hope that in the publisher's boardrooms they're viewing this as an experiment. At the moment they can probably say that e-books are only a relatively smaller percentage of overall sales; well, to clarify, let's assume the authors they're talking about come out in hardcover, e-book, and mass market paperback. 99.99999% of the time the order and apparently most profitable way to introduce that is: hardcover, followed by a mass market paperback approximately 11 months later, to be followed the next hardcover a month after the mass market paperback.
So, where to put in the e-book. Simultaneously? Well, if e-books were selling as well as the hardcover, then "instead of" perhaps, but at the moment that's probably not the case, so if publishers are viewing it (as they probably should AT THE MOMENT) as ancillary revenue as opposed to replacing revenue that came from the hardcover, then treating as three separate products with three separate schedules and release dates makes sense.
I just don't think it'll last. I think it's only a matter of time, particularly with the e-books priced so much lower than hardcovers, once we get a decent market penetration for e-readers (what would that be, 30%, 50%, 75%????), that publishers will be forced to reverse the schedule–release the e-book first, because that's where the bulk come out, release hardcovers for libraries (maybe) and for collectors, then mass market if mass market can survive at all (actually, my bet over 20+ years is that hardcovers will be for collectors, most everyone will get e-books and possibly mass market paperbacks, although I'm not sure I'd sink my money into a bet on MMP.)
Paperbookwriter says
[I'm copying what I posted at Quill & Quire (Canada) yesterday]
James McQuivey suggests these publishers are being shortsighted, that the analog business model is on life support, while the digital model requires fresh thinking:
https://blogs.forrester.com/consumer_product_strategy/2009/12/urgent-note-to-book-industry-theres-a-better-way-to-window-ebooks.html
There is no easy fix, that’s for sure. I’m a novelist and vast consumer of print. Every available space in my home is shelved and booked. But I do like technology and have started to read in multiple platforms to maximize time: audiobooks on the road, or when my hands are occupied cooking, cleaning, gardening, walking; e-books when stranded with only my i-Phone, or in bed (no lights to keep hubby awake).
I recently consumed one novel (necessary for research) in all 3 formats and have consumed others in at least two. McQuivey [and others] suggests bundling e-books with hardcovers. I’d pay for that. I’d pay more than $9.99 to have an e-book (and/or audio version) available on day of release, in some cases, too. Maximize our choices, don’t limit them.
Anonymous says
I think the publishers are shooting themselves in the foot over this one. I don't want to wait. I don't want DRM. I don't want to pay hardcover prices for electrons that I won't be able to read 10 years from now.
I think you are absolutely correct when you suggest the best way to minimize piracy is to make what the consumer wants readily available at a good price.
Adrianne
Anonymous says
Yeah, e-books should come out at the same time as hard backs. So should paperbacks.
No, seriously, if you're pissed off, tough. I have to wait 18 bloody months for the paperback to come out. It costs less and its not as bulky, and thats why I do it.
If you have to wait 24 months for something that costs even less and is even less bulky, I'm thinking that's fair.
In the meantime, you can read something else.
Chris
Anonymous says
I'm kind of waiting to see how things fall into place.
But I will say this. Authors must start thinking about e-books very seriously. I just heard a story that no one could have predicted four years ago. Many writers were paid a flat rate (25.00) for short stories that were published in print books. Some in many print books by this publisher. And now the publisher is selling these print books in digitial format, and the authors will never see a royalty check for their work. It was a sneaky situation, and no one could have predicted a publisher would do this. But I hope writers will not sign contracts with any publisher unless there is something that says they will receive quarterly royalties from digital books. These quaterly royalties can add up eventually.
David Kubicek says
This is a difficult issue that could have lots of ramifications. But as an author, I'm against releasing the e-book version simultaneously with the hardcover. That would mean authors are competing with themselves. In the olden days books were published first in hardcover, and then about a year later in a less expensive paperback edition. I think if the hardcover and e-book are published at the same time, hardcover publishing will be on the way out; hardcover books will be too expensive to publish and not enough people will buy them to make publishing them worthwhile.
Marilyn Peake says
It sounds to me like the big publishing houses are afraid to let go of the idea that paper books are "real" books … or, much more likely, they own a lot of the infrastructure devoted to the business of printing paper books but don’t yet control a large enough sector of the eBook industry or know how to make huge enough profits from eBooks to let go of their older model of producing books. The corporations that own many of the printing companies, distribution companies for paperbacks and hard covers, and brick-and-mortar bookstore chains don’t yet own a large enough sector of eBook production to make it worth their while to promote eBook sales. The Amazon Kindle is perhaps the most popular eBook device around right now. Amazon’s started running commercials for it on TV and Dr. Phil gave away Kindles to his entire audience on his TV show today. Amazon owns the Kindle and is getting a huge amount of publicity for it. I heard today on TV that the Kindle is the #1 selling item on Amazon. My guess is that, once the big corporations invent some brand new eBook device that does something much more amazing than the current devices do, or one of them actually buys Amazon, or they figure out how to produce and sell eBook devices very cheaply, they’ll start selling off their infrastructure to increase profits and will then put their hearts and souls behind producing and selling eBooks.
subets says
Since a few people have mentioned the movies/DVD comparison:
You go to the theater for an experience.
Getting a DVD is owning a thing.
Reading an e-book is an experience.
Buying a hardback is owning a thing.
When publishers delay an e-book release, they are getting the model exactly backwards.
Jamie says
I honestly can't give a decent opinion – I am nostalgic and am not warming up to the e-book concept – it saddens me greatly to think of books in print going by the wayside…. so from my emotional corner I recognize my opinion would have nothing to do with good or bad business, but history and not wanting to change.
Anonymous says
The real problem here is Amazon's penchant for predatory pricing practices.
They give one Kindle discount to some publishers, another, much lower one, to others.
Small presses are offered a smaller discount than large. Take it or forget about selling your e-book on Amazon.
Publishers are right to worry that if Amazon completely controls the pipeline they will control the discounting rather than the publisher.
I look forward to seeing Apple's newly announced e-reader. They have stated they'll be offering the same discount to all publishers–a more generous discount than Amazon gives all but the 800 pound gorillas.
If Apple can draw e-book business away from Amazon then we might see competition set a price that is fair to all parties in the deal.
Laura K. Curtis says
Horrible mistake. I don't think they understand either genre fiction readers *or* financial concerns at all. Right now, they're making a LOT more money off me than before I bought my Kindle, and one big reason is that I am willing to pay $9.99 not to wait for paperback. Several other people I know feel the same way. None of us, however, are willing to:
A) Pay $17-$20 for the hardcover (which is usually what you'll get it for discounted)
B) Lug the hardcover around with us.
On the other hand, if I really love an author, and I am collecting signed first editions, I will not only buy the hardcover to keep, I'll buy the Kindle edition AS WELL, so I can read it.
Deke me out of the ability to buy my $10 Kindle edition and I won't buy the hardcover, I'll just wait til the paperback comes out so I can get it for $6. Or less. On my Kindle or in paperback, whichever is cheaper and/or comes first.
And if you delay my $10 Kindle copy in the hope that even if I won't buy the hardcover, I'll be so anxious to read the book that I'll pay $10 to read it, say 6 months before the paperback comes out (since there's usually a year between the HC and the MMPB), it won't work. I won't pay the premium price because I'll be too irritated.
So I think they're cutting off their noses to spite their faces, and authors should revolt. This is a great way to drive your publishing house, already faltering, into bankruptcy.
Michael Pickett says
Should a $5.99 mass market paperback edition come out the same day as a hardcover just because the publisher is afraid that people who don't want to pay for the hardcover won't buy the book at all? No one is quite sure yet where ebooks fit into the publishing framework, and these publishers see big problems on the horizon in they take over and Amazon decides that it doesn't want to take a hit with every ebook it sells. That wouldn't be problem if the cost to produce an ebook was significantly lower than the cost to produce a printed book. It isn't. They still have to pay the author, editor, designer, marketer, etc. Paper and ink make up a very small portion of publisher's costs. You cut into their revenue and they'll produce fewer books of less quality, and none of us want that. I don't blame ebook reader owners for being annoyed at this, but you laid down the money before the dust really settled on ebooks.
A name will be forthcoming. says
I don't see the difference between waiting for the electronic format and waiting for the paperback. There are certain authors, and certain books that I purchase in hardcover. There are certain books and certain authors that I will wait for paperback. Since I doubt I will completely switch to e-books unless I have no other choice I don't mind waiting for the electronic release.
scott g.f.bailey says
If ebooks still only account for 5-10% of total book sales, then who cares? Maybe this model won't work in the future, but tell me how it's significant today.
Nathan Bransford says
scott-
I personally think it's significant because it's a quickly growing market, and early habits are tough to break, both in terms of arrangements between publishers and retailers and between consumers and e-books. People are still conditioned to think it's okay to pirate music, and I'm really wary of publishers opening up a window for piracy to thrive.
Laura Martone says
I'm with Mira – I won't be forced to buy a hardback. I've bought very few in my lifetime – and usually, those have come from the bargain tables. With all my traveling, I don't have the space for hardbacks.
Hence, why I adore my e-reader.
As Mira did with THE LOST SYMBOL, I borrowed the first two TWILIGHT books (hardback) from my stepmom, then paid for e-book versions of the other two.
From a reader's standpoint, I want to be able to purchase the e-book now… or else you risk my forgetting about it (at least for a while).
From an author's standpoint, I'm a little concerned. Royalty agreements are already pretty low for authors. What will happen to their piece of the pie when the pie costs less to consumers?
Oh, I'm so befuddled! Thanks a lot, Nathan. 😉
scott g.f.bailey says
Nathan,
That makes sense. Unfortunately, publishers are having to develop strategies when they don't have control over the final product. Which is to say, people buy e-readers and then want books for them, so the books have become accessories to expensive toys. Random (or the immense German conglomerate who owns Random) should market its own e-reader. And then sell them on Amazon.
Rick Daley says
I think it's a short-sighted decision based on the perspective of the publisher (which includes the author) but without equal weighting to the incentives and behaviors of the consumer.
An equally important question is: how are the publishers going to market the ebook release if it is delayed?
A delayed ebook release will require a second marketing push. While I assume that ebook marketing has some nuances that are independent from standard marketing (co-ops, etc.), there must be marketing strategies and tactics that are effective for both mediums.
If they are running two separate marketing campaigns, they are increasing expenses and most likely paying for the same thing twice.
If they have one consolidated campaign and release print and ebooks at the same time, they may get a better return on their marketing dollars and see a higher margin.
If they only have one marketing push, at the time of print release, and then expect that people will remember the title months later when it's available as an ebook I think they are overly optimistic about the attention span of the American consumer. They would be shooting ebook sales in their little digital feet.
scott g.f.bailey says
Laura Martone said, "From a reader's standpoint, I want to be able to purchase the e-book now… or else you risk my forgetting about it."
Don't you ever go to bookstores?
Laurel says
This decision is based on the current market. Kindle is dominant but Sony and Nook are making inroads. If Amazon decides to play 800 lb gorilla down the road what's to stop publishers from releasing eBooks on their own in a format for the inevitable universal reader? Direct to consumer from the publishing house. They already have websites advertising their titles and authors so just add a click here to buy feature.
I don't understand why publishers aren't already aggressively looking into this. It would give them a lot more leverage and make them far less susceptible to the limitations of only three or four major book buying accounts in the country.
So no, I don't think the answer is to delay the eBook. The answer is to stay ahead of the trend instead of play catch up later.
Anonymous says
I personally don't care which they release first, or if they release any version first over the other, as long as author's royalties don't suffer – period.
However, I do take issue with the comment that people who buy e-readers are the "most motivated" readers. I beg to differ. I have an e-reader because I can afford one, and I don't mind reading books on them. My best friend does not have one because she hates e-readers. The woman reads 3-4 books a week. She is not less motivated as a reader.
Courtney Price says
Misguided. I like the idea of a digital copy included with hardbacks… like they do with DVDs now… a lot of my kids' disney ones come with digital copies now. Good idea!
JoeGKushner says
They need to be charging far less anf hope for market penetration through casual buyers as opposed to dedicated fans. The authors of the future need to think more about incorporating more value in physicially printed products and more e tools in electronic books if the prices are going to remain so high. An e book should be cheaper than a paperback by at least half. The limitations of electronic media verus say the price of free, needs to be seriously considered.
Nathan Bransford says
anon@1:47-
I didn't mean to suggest that people who buy e-readers are the most motivated customers, though I realize it came across that way in the original post and thanks for pointing it out. I just meant that they are among the most motivated (you'd have to be to pay for an e-reader). I adjusted accordingly.
Laura Martone says
Hi, Scott!
Sure, I go to bookstores. I love them!
Although I love my e-reader, I still like books of the printed kind. But I'm more likely to purchase a mass-market paperback or even a trade paperback over a hardback book… and oftentimes, I'll find a book in the bookstore and then download it later to my e-reader. As a travel writer who moves around A LOT, I have to keep my packing amount relatively low.
Soooo… If said publisher wants me to purchase, let's say, the latest Stephen King, I'm more likely to buy it upon its release if it's available as an inexpensive e-book or paperback. If they delay such options, I'll purchase something else… and as Mira said, that particular publisher takes the risk of losing my business altogether. Without the urgency, I might forget about that particular book for a while.
Alas, I can't read everything! Time and money are major issues for this wee travel writer. 🙂
Matt Heppe says
I'll just wait for the ebook. And if I hear bad reviews about the hardcover, I might not purchase at all. The delay could cost them a sale.
Kalika says
Their stupidity is astounding. There are two ways to get ebooks. Legally, and less than legally. If you close one option, people will go with the other. It's what I'd do anyway.
It's not a good thing to spit in the face of people who love books so much they're willing to pay lots of cash for Kindle or similar e-readers.
jtb says
It's going to be like the mircowave was to the cooker; people are going to want both sometimes and maybe have their purchase bundled as such.
Some people thought the microwave was going to change cooking it didn't. Same for the ebook.
As for when to release it, I think publishers need to get out there and test the water and try a combination of things. But I tell you this: the ebook will actually improve the quality of some paper-based, handhelds.
Anonymous says
Nathan, I realise we can't just change the entire publishing industry ourselves, but I do see another option that no one here (or anywhere) seems to have considered.
Release the e-book and the paperback at the same time. There's not much difference in price between the two, and a lot of customers will buy these cheaper options.
After a while, release the hardcover. Include extras in it, like a foreword by the author, or a short story that won't be published anywhere else. Have the cover artist do a few illustrations inside. Make it special. Make it something the people who bought the cheap versions are going kick themselves for not holding out for.
Not only will you kill piracy, you'll double your income.
Chris (again)
scott g.f.bailey says
@Kalika: You love books so much that you're willing to pay lots of cash for an e-reader (which is not a book) but you're willing to steal the e-file (which is a book). Huh?
scott g.f.bailey says
Hey, Laura!
I wasn't trying to sound snarky; I was just wondering. I know a couple of people who can't remember the last time they were in a bookstore, and can't even tell you where to find one in this city.
Scott
Natasha Fondren says
First, e-readers are of the convenience and instant gratification preference. They also want up-to-date, "NOW" stuff.
When the delayed release finally comes out, I'm more likely to buy what's NEW and not what's now OLD.
Second, I'll FORGET by the time it's released. Publishers don't market the paperback release a year (or whatever) nearly as much as they did the hardcover, and I don't expect the ebook release will be much different.
Third, if I want to read a book badly, I'll end up reading it in the library, with the intent to buy it when it comes out in ebook. But by then… again… I forget, because I've already read it.
Natasha Fondren says
I also have to somewhat guiltily admit that I won't pay more than $9.99 for a book anymore, and often not even that.
Hardcovers are $27-$35 now. I simply can't afford it. I can't. The money is simply not there. If I had lots of excess money, I'd buy them just to support the authors, but… I just don't have it.
My income has stayed the same the last ten years. My groceries and gas and necessities have quadrupled. That took all my book money. (I used to spend $200 a month on books!)
Kristin Laughtin says
Economics is not my strong point at all, so I have to come at this from my viewpoint only as a consumer:
I don't have an ebook reader yet, but I do plan to get one in the future. Right now I usually do wait for paperback releases of hardcover titles because they're often significantly cheaper. I have a lot of books to read. I can fill the time while I wait. So I would probably be willing to wait for an ebook version, even if it annoyed me a little to have to do so. But it seems a bit pointless to me if publishers are making roughly the same amount on ebooks and hardcovers for most titles. I'm not going to buy the hardcover just because that's all that's available. Chances are if I have to wait too long, I'll borrow it from a friend or the library, and the probability that I'll buy any copy of the book diminishes greatly then (unless I really, really like it.)
However, a lot of people I know wouldn't wait, and I think it would only be a matter of time before book piracy became a major issue. I think the publishers are running a huge risk of shooting themselves in the foot.
Nick says
Personally I've never bought hardcovers beyond the first release Harry Potter books (hey, I was like 7 when the second book went to print. They were kinda big for me and everyone else my age as they came out, though I admit I loved them less with each passing year to the point that the last one I read solely out of obligation to finish the series) and the first two books of Inheritance Cycle, because I picked those up on the cheap. Generally I find hardcover books too inconvenient (price, I don't mind so much, considering I've payed much more for forms of entertainment which have lasted me much less time). Honestly I'm already only paying like $10/book. Agatha Christie tends to run $7.99-$9.99 depending upon what I'm getting, most of the books I pick up just browsing are in the $6.00 to $9.99 range. Aside from Fleming and the occasional book (like The Ghost), most of the paperbacks I pick up are $9.99 or less. My solution would be to do away with hardcovers. I know, the bigger price tag on hardcovers is what helps recup publishing costs. Maybe I'm wrong here, but it seems to me paperbacks costs less because they're cheaper to produce. So it would cost less to do a paperback-only run, and it might coax some people who would otherwise keep in the Kindle Camp due to cost differences into buying a hard copy (which, for me, would be victory, what with my dislike of e-readers). And if worse comes to worse, go back to printing on pulp.
P.A.Brown says
I'm afraid I've become a little suspicious and paranoid about Amazon's motives. They're selling ebooks dirt cheap right now and admittedly losing money on them and I have to ask myself why? It's not altruism or a desire to make ebooks more accessible to readers. It's certainly not because they want to help authors or publishers realize a profit. All along their goal has been to corner the book selling market. They've helped to drive out local independent bookstores because no one can compete with their prices. Now their goal is to corner the ebook market by encouraging the sale of their Kindle. If they ever achieve a substantial number of those on the market do you really think books will still be selling for $7.99? (It was announced today that Amazon dropped the price on a lot of new best sellers) Amazon can't keep losing money, so where is it going to give? Do we all just bypass publishers and publish our own books? I've seen some authors suggest that. I don't know what the answer will be, but I don't trust Amazon as far as I can throw a brick. This move to lower prices even more does nothing to increase my trust.
Laura Martone says
No worries, Scott. I didn't care if you were being snarky or not. I understand where you're coming from… I do think it's a shame that some people avoid bookstores like the plague. But it doesn't surprise me. Some people haven't been to the movie theater in years – they probably don't know there are other ways to see a movie beyond their own TV and/or laptop.
But not me. I love me some bookstores and movie theaters. Can't stay at home forever… no wonder there are so many agoraphobes in the world. 😉
Elizabeth says
Since I got my Kindle last May, I have read more books than I did in the last two years combined.
There are two reasons for this:
1) Instant gratification. I can see a book and buy it in less than one minute, at three in the morning, if I want. And I have.
2) Samples. Those samples are the biggest reason for the increase. Who has the time to stand in a bookstore and read the first chapters of five or six books before deciding which one to buy? Not me. But with the Kindle, I can read them at my leisure and then decide. Because of this, I have purchased books I may have passed over in the store. More money, PTB.
To penalize ebook purchasers because we pay a percentage less than the hardcopy books is ridiculous and shortsighted. Do they PTB really think that I will go ahead and buy the hardcover just because I can't get it on the Kindle? No. No, and no. (Ok, one exception, Catching Fire, I had to have it asap so I bought the hardcover. But most books will not elicit that type of response in me).
So if this is their stance, I will just wait until the ebook comes out, with the chance that by the time the ebook does arrive, I will have forgotten I want to read the book, which equates to lost sales.
My advice? Don't piss off the people paying the money.
Elaine 'still writing' Smith says
I'm a paper back reader.
I'm waiting for Dan Brown's offering on paper back over paying the same price for the hard cover edition at Asda!
Although, I am considering learning some e-book bad habits… Nathan, I hope you're on commission at iPhone and Kindle 🙂
Dawn Maria says
More than anything, I'm worried about the fate of bookstores, both independent and big chain. Do we really want Target and Walmart being the only physical stores to walk into and buy books from? That's far more scary to me than debating about e-book release dates.
JoeGKushner says
A similiar problem is potentially going to hit red box in that the studios want to delay releases to them. Hello stupid. If I see someone moving my merchandise that quickly but in a manner I don't like, I don't penalise them, I. Try and get them on my side with exclusive editions or limited availability merchandise.
as others have noted, with e books, you can find an electronic copy somewhere for nothing. Price it to move. Build bundles of products together like book clubs such as the science fiction book club do.
The loss of cost in terms of printing and distributing means authors too need to become much more involved in how their content is handled. The markets don't have to be contolled by a few large print houses if distribution is electronic but it requires much more author involvement.
These pricing factors need to include the buyers loss of ownership. Any one remember when Amazon showed they could delete a downloaded book? Are thesee e book sellers guaranteeing that ten years from now their format will be viable if they're not around? Can you buy them at a reduced price at a half priced book store or from a friend?
Becca says
I already have trouble remembering about hardcover books that look interesting. I have to buy my books immediately or else I completely forget by the time that they come out in paperback. I don't currently own an e-reader, but I'm planning on getting one and if I had to wait to get copies of books that I want I might start to wonder what the point was of shelling out $250 in the first place.