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Preaching to the Choir
Roundup of news & blog links, several of which are just confirming what most avid ebook readers already know. I've wasted far too much time in the "bookery" section of my Google feed, and I'm inflicting some of the results on the rest of you.
Publishers Desperately Trying To Protect Print Sales, And Failing
Despite all the breathless talk of “transmedia” and “metadata” and the furious rate of backlist digitization, the overarching strategy was clear: protect print sales at all costs, and pray that e-books will plateau soon (and that international markets won’t take to them with quite the same relish).
Paying authors more might be the best economics for publishers in the long run
If the stores and other intermediaries they rely on go away, they have to find other ways to sell their books. That’s a challenge, no doubt.
But if the authors don’t play along, they have nothing to sell. Making deals with authors is the publishers’ price of admission to the game.
The Business Rusch: Traditional Publishing & Its Suppliers
It’s no different than the relationship the local orchard has with a grocery store. The orchard provides apples that the store puts out for sale. The store might even do some promotion. It gives the orchard a bit of retail space, which costs the store money. In return, the store hopes to make a few pennies off the sale of each apple. But the store has more than one variety of apple, from more than one supplier.
Literary Agents: Soon to be Obsolete?
A good agent wears many hats. I picked a few that came to mind just from the things I’ve done in the last few weeks. This list is by no means exhaustive. To each activity I’ve arbitrarily assigned a number on the Obsolescence Danger Scale, with 1 being absolutely secure and 10 being on the proverbial career banana peel. The low/secure end of the scale are the jobs an author would be foolish to tackle at home or that require contacts or expertise an author couldn’t possibly have. Those on the high/danger end of the scale are jobs that may become unnecessary or that an author might be able to do for himself or hire out.
Publishers still missing the point on e-book prices
Lorraine Shanley says that high prices for mainstream e-books could easily convince more readers to try self-published novels from authors using Amazon’s Kindle publishing platform — since many of them are priced at $5 or cheaper.
E-Book Readers Face Sticker Shock
Mark Weaver, a New Yorker who owns an iPad 2 and used to have a Kindle, says he is "definitely buying fewer" e-books because of higher prices. "It's hard to justify the purchase of e-books that are priced at $10 to $15 when you can buy the real book on Amazon used for $2 or $3," he says.
An Open Letter to Simon and Schuester CEO Carolyn Reidy
Your company fundamentally mistreats its editors, writers, and all its staff. If you don’t change course, you’re fucked and out of business very soon.
I don’t say that as an artist. I say that as a businessman. Your company is stuck in the year 1850 or whatever, when ships came from England with books to sell to the New World.
Ereader for $100 or less? Be careful and please check with blogs before buying one
It used to be that any ereader for $100 or less could safely be considered to be a junk ereader, but this is no longer the case. ...
Now it has become more complicated, many reputable companies are now offering ereaders for around the $80 to $100 mark, thus making them look the same in the stores as their less reputable imitators from China.
Publishers Desperately Trying To Protect Print Sales, And Failing
Despite all the breathless talk of “transmedia” and “metadata” and the furious rate of backlist digitization, the overarching strategy was clear: protect print sales at all costs, and pray that e-books will plateau soon (and that international markets won’t take to them with quite the same relish).
Paying authors more might be the best economics for publishers in the long run
If the stores and other intermediaries they rely on go away, they have to find other ways to sell their books. That’s a challenge, no doubt.
But if the authors don’t play along, they have nothing to sell. Making deals with authors is the publishers’ price of admission to the game.
The Business Rusch: Traditional Publishing & Its Suppliers
It’s no different than the relationship the local orchard has with a grocery store. The orchard provides apples that the store puts out for sale. The store might even do some promotion. It gives the orchard a bit of retail space, which costs the store money. In return, the store hopes to make a few pennies off the sale of each apple. But the store has more than one variety of apple, from more than one supplier.
Literary Agents: Soon to be Obsolete?
A good agent wears many hats. I picked a few that came to mind just from the things I’ve done in the last few weeks. This list is by no means exhaustive. To each activity I’ve arbitrarily assigned a number on the Obsolescence Danger Scale, with 1 being absolutely secure and 10 being on the proverbial career banana peel. The low/secure end of the scale are the jobs an author would be foolish to tackle at home or that require contacts or expertise an author couldn’t possibly have. Those on the high/danger end of the scale are jobs that may become unnecessary or that an author might be able to do for himself or hire out.
Publishers still missing the point on e-book prices
Lorraine Shanley says that high prices for mainstream e-books could easily convince more readers to try self-published novels from authors using Amazon’s Kindle publishing platform — since many of them are priced at $5 or cheaper.
E-Book Readers Face Sticker Shock
Mark Weaver, a New Yorker who owns an iPad 2 and used to have a Kindle, says he is "definitely buying fewer" e-books because of higher prices. "It's hard to justify the purchase of e-books that are priced at $10 to $15 when you can buy the real book on Amazon used for $2 or $3," he says.
An Open Letter to Simon and Schuester CEO Carolyn Reidy
Your company fundamentally mistreats its editors, writers, and all its staff. If you don’t change course, you’re fucked and out of business very soon.
I don’t say that as an artist. I say that as a businessman. Your company is stuck in the year 1850 or whatever, when ships came from England with books to sell to the New World.
Ereader for $100 or less? Be careful and please check with blogs before buying one
It used to be that any ereader for $100 or less could safely be considered to be a junk ereader, but this is no longer the case. ...
Now it has become more complicated, many reputable companies are now offering ereaders for around the $80 to $100 mark, thus making them look the same in the stores as their less reputable imitators from China.
no subject
But the prices of ebooks can be ridiculous. I'd bet they'd get much better reception if they lowered the prices.
no subject