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Let's face it: the ebook market is FUBAR, thanks to pure greed
johnk:
Quick question: where did these articles get their numbers? Because I'm beginning to wonder if they're just quoting each other considering how closely their figures match.
-40hz (February 07, 2011, 08:20 AM)
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Well, the reason I started with the Harper quote is that it's from a publishing house (and written by their then boss). And while we can, of course, choose to believe them or not, it is at least from the horse's mouth.
And I'd also be inclined to believe the analyst in the Sunday Times article. These analysts spend their lives studying particular industries, and tend to know their stuff (and won't let themselves be quoted if they're not sure of their information, because it ruins their credibility).
Paul Keith:
*puts on tinfoil hat*
I do often wonder though if there's pressure on these people to make book buying sound like they're going cheaper to derail the masses from adopting e-books.
It's not like authors are going to avoid publishing houses from now on if they are looking for the easy way to market their real books.
40hz:
No need for tinfoil.
If paper wanted to undermine ebooks, all they'd need to do is point out the tradeoffs the reader makes for the 'convenience' such as there is. That and refuse to license to ebook format.
But they won't. Publishers are wimps. They want to keep all their options covered until they can determine which way the wind will ultimately blow.
I'm guessing it will end up with ebooks getting 60% of the market when the dust finally settles and better reader tech finally hits the streets. One thing I do not expect is for any of the crazy restrictions or DRM to go away.
The acid test will be the day some major best-selling author does a book, and they announce it will only be available on Kindle. That will be the first warning that hardball is about to commence.
How the public reacts and (more importantly) buys will determine future publishing directions.
Just my two anyway. 8)
Paul Keith:
The acid test will be the day some major best-selling author does a book, and they announce it will only be available on Kindle. That will be the first warning that hardball is about to commence.
How the public reacts and (more importantly) buys will determine future publishing directions.
Just my two anyway. 8)
-40hz (February 07, 2011, 09:55 AM)
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This seems to have happened already:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur_(novella)
Ur is a novella by Stephen King. It was written exclusively for the platform Amazon Kindle, and became available for download on February 12, 2009.[1][2] It was later released on audiobook.
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Also I feel as wraith mentioned earlier that things like the Dresden Files are better litmus meters. This may be my own preference but even back then, I felt the Nook was getting me more excited than the Kindle.
It's not as advertised or mentioned but the name, the business, the site, the features - only thing keeping me away from the Nook is because it seems like E-book readers are in the PPC stage and I was burned out by it once when I ended up getting a cheap PPC months before the Iphone arrived.
Let's take the last book of the Dresden Files for example: I haven't read the Dresden Files except an IMDB review stating the book is better than the TV show way way back in the past.
However, if I felt the Nook was going to get the last of a popular book, the completionist in me would prefer the Nook over any exclusive titles the Kindle may offer because I feel I must have at least invested in that series of books and willing to support the author to really get that final book barring things like Twilights and Harry Potters. On the other hand, if something was exclusive to the Kindle alone, I get the perception that the author must not be putting as much effort in that book and if it did eventually become popular - it will have a non-Kindle version.
It also strongly correlates with Amazon and Barnes & Noble's perception. Amazon should be the Google or at least Wikipedia of books. You buy Kindle so you can choose between real books and e-books. If an author feels like they won't lose any marketshare from making it a Kindle exclusive on the Google of bookstores - then it puts a sense of doubt whether the author really feels invested in creating a quality book that would have a chance of being read by many.
In reverse, if something is exclusive on the Nook - especially something like the Dresden Files - it makes you wonder if the author isn't sending the message that they really like this e-book reader A LOT and are willing to sacrifice sales for the support of this lesser known reader.
It's all general un-sourced speculation but I don't really have an alternative evidence to show that something else must be the acid test.
johnk:
I do often wonder though if there's pressure on these people to make book buying sound like they're going cheaper to derail the masses from adopting e-books.
-Paul Keith (February 07, 2011, 08:58 AM)
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My impression of "the masses" (i.e. people I know who buy lots of books and have bought/are considering an ebook reader, but don't follow tech news or tech in general and are blissfully unaware of the debate about ebook prices):
All say they hate the idea of losing the feel of a real book, the tactile pleasure, the smell. All love the idea of carrying around lots of books in a small device. All are impressed with the screens on the latest generation of ebook readers. Everyone over 40 loves the fact that you can vary font size! (this is a huge selling point).
And my point is...the price of books is hardly ever mentioned as a barrier/reason to purchase. They all spend lots of money on books, and they'll continue to do so. Real books, ebooks, whatever. Price is always an issue, everywhere, but I've never heard a member of the "masses" complain about the price of an ebook, or say they should be cheaper than they are. They do moan if the ebook is dearer than the print version. This happens quite often these days, due to Apple's scandalous deal with book publishers, which allows publishers to set ebook prices. This will hopefully be declared unlawful in the UK, as it is essentially a re-introduction of the Net Book Agreement*. The Office of Fair Trading is already investigating.
*For non-UK readers, the NBA was an agreement between publishers and bookstores to fix the price of books. Declared unlawful in 1997.
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