Comments on: Dear e-publishers: Think about the readers, please! http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:57:10 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Bill Davidson http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/comment-page-1/#comment-1065602 Bill Davidson Tue, 26 May 2009 22:27:34 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/#comment-1065602 Good ideas in the article and comments. There are more that crop up from time to time. The idea of listening to the user-base is the common ground. How do we get them to the publishers aside from writing each one individually? They have control. We do the buying, or not. Sharing isn't a bad idea. Good ideas in the article and comments. There are more that crop up from time to time. The idea of listening to the user-base is the common ground. How do we get them to the publishers aside from writing each one individually?

They have control. We do the buying, or not.

Sharing isn’t a bad idea.

]]> By: Ellen O'Connell http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/comment-page-1/#comment-1065544 Ellen O'Connell Tue, 26 May 2009 20:46:39 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/#comment-1065544 It's my hope that publishers will see greater sales of reasonably priced books and lesser sales of books at the prices they want to impose on readers and that they will be forced to wise up. I'm a rabid reader and have never turned to the dark net. Pricing is making me do more and more sampling of reasonably priced indie authors. For well known authors, if their ebooks aren't reasonably priced, there's always the library, which means instead of getting a reasonable return, the author and publisher get nothing. Same result as the dark net, different path. It’s my hope that publishers will see greater sales of reasonably priced books and lesser sales of books at the prices they want to impose on readers and that they will be forced to wise up. I’m a rabid reader and have never turned to the dark net. Pricing is making me do more and more sampling of reasonably priced indie authors. For well known authors, if their ebooks aren’t reasonably priced, there’s always the library, which means instead of getting a reasonable return, the author and publisher get nothing. Same result as the dark net, different path.

]]> By: Bill McHale http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/comment-page-1/#comment-1065520 Bill McHale Tue, 26 May 2009 20:00:09 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/#comment-1065520 The basic problem with the book industry as it currently stands is that it is filled with many layers of middle men, only a few of which actually add anything of value to a book. Many of which could probably be removed for even a paper book if the industry from top to bottem was willing to toss our the old publishing model. Ultimately, in the modern world of ebooks, the number of people needed to produce and distribute any books is a tiny fraction of what was needed even a few years ago for a paper book. Until the industry is willing to take a hard look at their costs (and I mean a really hard look, not just cutting out the fancy lunches the publishing industry is famous for) and to cut ruthelessly, they are going to continue to overprice books (especially ebooks) and are going to increasingly enourage people to go to the dark net. -- Bill The basic problem with the book industry as it currently stands is that it is filled with many layers of middle men, only a few of which actually add anything of value to a book. Many of which could probably be removed for even a paper book if the industry from top to bottem was willing to toss our the old publishing model.

Ultimately, in the modern world of ebooks, the number of people needed to produce and distribute any books is a tiny fraction of what was needed even a few years ago for a paper book. Until the industry is willing to take a hard look at their costs (and I mean a really hard look, not just cutting out the fancy lunches the publishing industry is famous for) and to cut ruthelessly, they are going to continue to overprice books (especially ebooks) and are going to increasingly enourage people to go to the dark net.

–
Bill

]]> By: Joseph Gray http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/comment-page-1/#comment-1065448 Joseph Gray Tue, 26 May 2009 17:52:54 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/05/26/dear-e-publishers-think-about-the-readers-please/#comment-1065448 And how about doing away with those ridiculous 40%-60% percentages that go to the seller (Amazon is more draconian than most). This is especially lopsided in regard to ebooks. When I read stories about an author who is making more profit by selling an ebook on Scribd at $2.00 than a pbook sold conventionally at $15.00, it makes me angry. This is just as bad as the music industry. And how about doing away with those ridiculous 40%-60% percentages that go to the seller (Amazon is more draconian than most). This is especially lopsided in regard to ebooks.

When I read stories about an author who is making more profit by selling an ebook on Scribd at $2.00 than a pbook sold conventionally at $15.00, it makes me angry. This is just as bad as the music industry.

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