Once again the Internet has exploded. I’m starting to think I should chart the explosions. I’m sure there is some kind of pattern…
Anyway, as I’m sure you know Amazon and publisher Macmillan went head to head over the weekend. People on both sides (people not actually connected except loosely to either actually) have been screaming.
Now, I don’t believe either company is evil. Can’t say there are many companies I consider evil….although a few have made it on my “dead to me” list. Anyway, I’m not going into who is right, who is wrong, who is looking out for authors, who is looking out for readers, and who is looking out for the little guy, because quite honestly I think everyone involved is looking out for themselves, including many of the screamers.
But I thought it would be interesting to dig around a little into what at least in part started all of this…hardback editions.
I am not published in hardback, and quite honestly I’m not much of a hardback buyer. But some people are and being published in hardback is still a big deal to many people.
As you know, hardback books can be expensive. They are certainly (until they wind up on the remainder table) more expensive than a mass market paperback. Because they cost more and the traditional print contract for an author is based on percentage of price printed on the book (not what the book actually sells for), authors make more per book on a hardback than they do a paperback.
On paper, you can see why some authors might be against an e-Version coming out at the same time as the hardback and costing them that higher price sale.
Except I don’t think it is that simple. I think the psychology of buying hardback (never mind the complexities of what the author might earn on that eBook which is not necessarily based on cover price and far from standard) is complicated.
I think some people are hardback buyers and I don’t think it is just because the book comes out first that way. I, as I said, do not usually buy hardbacks. I have quit (and I know I shouldn’t admit this) buying many of may favorite authors at all because they went to hardback. They go to hardback; I go to the library. Now if there was a simultaneous cheaper release, I would buy it, but there isn’t so I don’t and they lose my sale all together.
That is one issue I have with the idea that offering the eBook lower at the same time as the hardback will cost authors and publishers money.
The second is I will argue that some hardback buyers are such lovers of the hardback, they might buy both. One to read and not worry about condition-wise, the other to shelve and admire.
You combine these two possibilities and without some kind of study, I don’t know how you can say with certainty that offering the book cheaper when the hardback comes out would result in fewer dollars overall.
Now, having said all of this how do I personally feel about eBook prices? I don’t like them. It is one of the reasons I don’t own an eBook reader. I won’t pay $300 or whatever and then have to pay the same I do now for the books. It doesn’t make sense to my cheap little brain.
But I do think publishers have the right to not release a cheap version when the expensive version is out. I, personally, would wait and release the eBook when they released the paperback, but hey, that’s just me! Movie companies don’t release DVDs when the movie is in the theater and while readers may want their cheaper eBook right now, we are used to waiting for the paperback…of course, I’d still be going to that library…
How about you? Do you buy hardbacks? If a cheaper version was available at the same time, would you buy it instead? Would you buy both? Or do you not buy hardbacks at all?
And just how much do you think an eBook should cost? What is your “no thanks I’ll borrow, beg, or steal” rather than buy price?
Zombie Moon
I agree with you about the argument, Lori. We’re all conditioned to wait for the cheaper alternative to come out after the hardback, so waiting for the cheaper ebook to come out the same time as the cheaper paperback sounds fine to me.
I’m not much of a hardback buyer, but there are sometimes when I will by a hardback. I love to have my classics in hardback when I can find them that way at a reasonable price. There are also a few authors that I will purchase in hardback because I’m impatient and don’t want to wait.
However, I will never pay the full price on a hardback book when it’s released. I’ll only purchase it if there’s some kind of discount.
And, as for how much is too much to pay, I think I’d have to say that anything over about $17.00 is too much and I’ll wait for either a bigger discount on the hardback, the paperback, or I’ll get it from the library.
by Karin February 1st, 2010 at 5:00 pmI am not a hardback buyer unless it is on the super sale table and I adore the book. Which means I own it in paperback already. I can wait for the cheaper version to come out be it ebook or paperback. I bought one ebook at hardback price because Fictionwise gave me a 100% rebate which meant I got to buy more books and essentially that one was free.
That is a good deal! Otherwise, I would never buy a hardback at full price.
by Danielle Yockman February 1st, 2010 at 7:35 pmI am also a no-hard cover person. I never liked them — too heavy, large, can’t fit them easily in a bag, and the dust covers slip off, etc etc. I bought paperbacks, but also had problems there — they stack up (I don’t re-read a lot) and I end up with clutter and books I didn’t know what to do with.
For all of that, I LOVE LOVE LOVE e-books. They were a total Godsend to me, BUT, I started out reading them on my Dell Axim, and the backlit screen killed by eyes, and the books were just too darned expensive. So, for me, Kindle was fantastic — and still is. I love it. It’s perfect, and the book prices are a huge blessing (especially for people on limited income, like MIL, who also has a Kindle). I can read more, I buy more, and I enjoy more. If big six pubs go to higher pricing or delay models, I’d probably just amend my reading habits, like I did with hard covers (like you, I stopped reading several authors who went to HC because I get tired of waiting on the PB).
When you buy a print book, you have an item you can share, give away, or do whatever the heck you want with. It’s a material item that took certain amounts of material to manufacture.
Not so with e-books — you have an initial cost of formatting, etc but the art, editing, etc is already done, and there is no reason for them to be the same price as HC, or even PB, for that matter. You get one copy that in most cases you cannot resell, share (in most cases), loan, or do the same things that you can do with a material book.
The cost should not be the same, ever.
I would not want to wait for e-book releases with paperback, especially at the delays they are talking about (7+ months). There are enough other authors out there I’ll turn to instead.
Sam
by Samantha Hunter February 1st, 2010 at 7:42 pmHowever, I will never pay the full price on a hardback book when it’s released. I’ll only purchase it if there’s some kind of discount.
What Karin said. That said, I’m a whore for books! If I want it, I don’t care what format it’s in. I won’t wait a year for the paperback!
but the art, editing, etc is already done
It is but those peeps in the art dept etc still have to be paid.
That said, I DONT think there should be a delay between the hardcover release and the ebook release. (sorry for repeating myself since i said this on twitter this am) To me, it’s more like a DVD/BluRay release than Theater then DVD release.
Regardless of the format, I think the reader is paying for the experience of reading the book as much as all the stuff that goes into making a book a book
by AmiE Stuart February 1st, 2010 at 8:01 pmAmie, sure, we all want to get paid, including me. *G* But I have no problem with my ebooks being less expensive, especially since they are available forever, basically, so there are potentially many more sales over time, which is maybe one of the very best perks of ebooks for authors.
I like your BlueRay/DVD comparison.
Sam
by Samantha Hunter February 1st, 2010 at 8:09 pmKarin, $17? You are a better book buyer than I am. :)
by Lori February 1st, 2010 at 9:49 pmDanielle, I mainly buy hardcover at book signings. I will also buy my very favorite authors in hardcover, but I really have to want the book. I even feel kind of guilty asking for a hardcover as a gift…
The Fictionwise deal though totally sounds worth it! Borders sometimes sends those $5 bonus buck things. That is a great time to spring for a hardcover you have been wanting.
Sam, I’m confused when you say the Kindle prices are a blessing. Are you saying they are cheaper than print books–you mean the $9.99? I think the Kindle editions of my books are the same price as my print editions–all under the $9.99 though.
And I’m with you on the not being able to pass the book on etc. To me that is another reason as a reader I think the book should be cheaper. The value just isn’t the same until I can trade it with my mother, etc. (without jumping through hoops and feeling like a pirate)
Amie, interesting to compare it to DVD vs. Blu Ray. I can see that kind of…except DVD came first so there was no fear of cannibalizing those sales…and the new thing is the more expensive thing. With the hardback eVersion thing we are switching both of those.
Okay…
I work in a bookstore and I can tell you what the consumer says. ENOUGH! Consumers are frustrated and walking away from Hardcovers. They are starting to notice now that a book doesn’t go from Hardcover to Mass Market paperback anymore….Oh no….they are going to Trade size! What does this mean?
Canadian Dollars:
Hardcover: $32.99
Trade: $19.99 (8 to 12 months later)
Mass Market: $9.99 (6 months after trade)
Now let’s think about this…if you collect old and new authors like I do…and you average 40 books a month (purchased)…what kind do you think I buy?
I refuse to pay $33 for a book. I support authors the best I can and I know for a fact they have no say in how their books are published. But the big publishers must notice they are losing money & customers. Used book stores are thriving! Libraries are busier than ever. (If they can get the book as soon as they are released…which they can’t)
Bottom line…customers see the price…put it down and leave our store. I’m a customer and I agree. I won’t even pay for a trade size. I will wait 2 years if necessary for the mass market…if I haven’t lost interest in the series.
As for ebooks…well not only would that put me out of a job…that would make my library look pretty ugly! I have bought a few ebooks. Mainly because the authors I met online or in real life can’t get into print so I buy their ebooks to support the author.
I think ebooks should cost at least a couple of dollars less than a paper book because the cost involved is a lot less. But I think the publisher should take the hit on the price drop…NOT the author!
If it comes out in hardcover…wait 6 months to put it on ebook at a fair price. I would never pay $17.00 for an ebook or a hardcover. I wait for bargain books. I get top sellers for $9.99 in hardcover a year later! Just watch the bargains.
Off my soapbox…
by Wildwitch February 2nd, 2010 at 12:53 amI think another thing people don’t consider is that the big publishers don’t have a lot to gain by things going electronic. Yes, their profit margin can be higher, but in an electronic world competition is a lot more viable.
by Lori February 2nd, 2010 at 9:14 amWhich isn’t to say I think that was a motivator in this scenario…just always good to keep in mind that others may not be looking at any given situation in the same way you are.
Lori, on average, the Kindle books are all discounted, so they are cheaper than print books (my Blaze are cheaper at Kindle for instance, than ebook or print are at eHarl, etc). Also, I don’t have to pay shipping or tax (other places have free shipping if you spend $25, but I don’t always spend $25 at a shot).
All in all, this has led me to buy probably twice as many books as I usually do, and all new. I don’t buy used books (nothing wrong with them, but I prefer to support authors by buying new, even if at a discount price).
Sam
by Samantha Hunter February 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 amI buy hardcovers only when I can get a great discount… I budget myself each month and am very specific on what I use the money on… I would love to get any and all books that I could but, money is key… As for e-books, I have built up a nice big file of them, but I still prefer to have an actual book in hand… nothing beats curling up with a great read!
by Colleen February 2nd, 2010 at 12:51 pmI think ebooks should never go above ten dollars. It’s ridiculous. To my knowledge (I may be wrong and I’ll be happy if anyone disproves me) it costs the publishers less than nothing to send a copy of a word document or pdf for reading. I only buy paperback unless the hardback versions are seriously discounted (my personal rule is to never pay more than $10 USD for books unless they are more than one book in one or rare). I realize that hardback books can last for a lifetime so its somewhat reasonable to charge more fore them (I personally get the hardback from the library and buy paperbacks). However, the ridiculous price of some ebooks, considering that you only have so much space to save them in and various incidents could make someone loose them forever, annoys me. I only buy ebooks that are six or less dollars, and the only time I was tempted to pay more for a collection the ridiculous %2 off sale turned me off. I agree with whoever said above that they should release ebooks after paperbacks for cheaper prices. Now I’ve realized what I was doing was illegal and wrong, but there was a time when I downloaded ebooks off of sharing websites for free. Since then I’ve completely deleted them and bought the paperback books of the ones I like (it introduced me to some authors I would never have known otherwise), but my experience basically shows an important point. The high price of ebooks make them prime targets for online pirating. If ebooks were around the price of paperbacks, I would definitely be more likely to buy them. Currently, I wait until the paperbacks come back and miss the days of ignorant bliss when I got free ebooks without qualms, although I do read the free ebooks offered directly from the publishers, like in Baen Free Library.
by Kristian Edosomwan February 8th, 2010 at 1:17 amAnd after this extremely long rant I have to make another point. Why buy and ebook (except for the convenience of getting new books immediately and the ebook readers, which still doesn’t seem worth the extra money to me, a student still dependent on parents for necessities) when you can buy books online for discounts and no taxes from websites like DeepDiscount, Amazon, and so many other online booksellers?
Hi Lori!
Interesting discussion and topic. I love hardback books, but they are too expensive, esp. in this economy. Standard sized paperbacks are more reasonable to purchase, not those oversized jobs. And ebooks? I think it’s a matter of what you want. There is so much available at many epubs now it’s hard to choose. Some of the authors are good writers; some not so much but its true, epubs are getting picky about the authors they choose which is better. The downside is that some ebooks cost as much or more than buying a paperback. Ebooks are easy and convenient however.
(I’m an ebook author who aspires to publish with the bigger print houses.)
by Kaye Manro February 10th, 2010 at 1:39 pmOn expense of creating an ebook there are a couple of ways to look at that. One is that at this point in time with major publishers the cost of editing, much of the formatting, etc. is already covered in the paper format part…so looking at just incremental expenses of taking that and converting to electronic. That expense can not be a tremendous amount (also not figuring in the cut the retailers want).
by Lori February 10th, 2010 at 2:52 pmHowever, as electronic versions grow in popularity and print books decline those expenses will still have to be covered. So, I think it is smart, necessary even, for publishers to price as if those expenses have to be covered by the ebook sale alone.
That all said I do really worry about books being priced too highly and losing readers because of it. I’m afraid the pricing strategy for ebooks is starting in the wrong place…with the publisher instead of the reader. Meaning publishers are looking at it from the point of view of where they are now rather than looking at what they would have built if nothing existed before.
Kaye, I quit thinking of authors as epub and print a long time ago. It took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about. :) Since all NY books are now epubbed, it’s more a small press vs. big press distinction, or maybe straight to e vs. print…kind of like straight to mass market vs. hardcover. I hadn’t checked to see how the smaller presses are pricing their ebooks. Many of them offer shorter books too, don’t they? That to me should be a consideration for pricing too. Category is cheaper than single title, etc.
Lori
I buy hard covers occasionally, and will pay full price if I have to, but many of my fav authors don’t release in hard cover anyway… That said, I have some negative feelings about e-books. At first, I was excited about the new platform, but then I started hearing about how the $9 prices were going to put such a pinch on publishers that they wouldn’t be able to bring in new authors as much. That got me thinking about how much I value the work that goes into writing a book, and that low ball prices are not indicative of how much I value the product I’m getting. SO, I have decided not to purchase e-books until they can be more appropriately priced (paperback price, or a dollar or two less). The lack of convenience is awful, but its my way of showing how much I value the work and to support up and coming authors.
by Kass February 16th, 2010 at 12:19 pmI rarely ever buy hardcovers at regular price. Most of the HCs I own are from the remainder table. I find them too expensive and though I like the look and quality of HCs, I much prefer the size and weight of mass market paperbacks. If a book comes out in HC, I tend to either hit up the library or wait till the MMPB release.
Releasing a cheaper ebook version at the same time as the HC seems like self-sabotage. I’m also with you on ebook prices. I think ebooks should be no more than 6$(CND) as the average mass market paperback book is about 10$ or 11$. Like you said, if I have to fork over so much for an ereader, I don’t want to have to pay just as much for an ebook as a regular book version. And you can’t even lend an ebook to a friend.(I’m not a huge fan of ebooks.
)
by Jacqueline L. February 17th, 2010 at 3:28 pmKass, I don’t think the $9 prices are going to put a pinch on publishers. I just don’t see how that can be true, unless you mean from lost sales in hardbacks. I wouldn’t let that stop you from buying ebooks.
by Lori February 17th, 2010 at 3:45 pmJacqueline, I hate the no lending thing too. I think some publishers…Carina maybe? is trying to work something out with that. There is also the issue of reselling ebooks. I personally have no problem with used bookstores, but when you start reselling ebooks which you can sell a thousand copies of and never wear out…well then I see a problem for authors.
Also, I was at the bookstore yesterday and noticed a big trend (in fantasy) to trade sized paperbacks–the ones that cost $12 to $15. I like the bigger size, but I would have preferred the option of buying mass market. It just wasn’t available for a lot of books though. I was surprised…
Which made me think of something else. With ebooks you can set your print size so the premium of getting a trade size with bigger print just won’t hold.
I also saw something today that predicted in five years 20% of book sales will be electronic. It will be interesting to see if that happens.