Publishers, make peace with the Kindle, nook and iPad
Guest poster and author Gail Farrelly has some advice for publishers, who are scrambling to develop e-boook strategies. Gail, who has owned a Kindle for some time, says some publishers are too concerned about preserving short-term profits, while ignoring the good folks who read books. Here's Gail's take on the issue:
Hey publishers, "Listen to readers!"
I'm annoyed at the way some mainstream publishers are treating e-book readers. For example, by delaying the release of e-books, in the hope that this will increase hard copy sales. I doubt that this controlling tactic will work. Often a reader may want the e-book, not a print book. If the e-book isn't available in a timely fashion (a wait could be like being back in school and serving that dreaded detention!), the reader may decide to borrow the print version from a library. Or just forget about that particular book and turn to something else. Either way, it's a lost sale for the publisher.
I buy a ton of books, both print books and e-books, but I refuse to be pressured into buying an individual book in a format that I don't want. I hate bullying, and I'm not the only reader who feels that way.
Now let's talk price. To think about increasing a $9.99 e-book to $12.99 or $14.99 is ridiculous. Yet that is what is being predicted these days. In a depressed economy, what other industry would threaten increases of 30 to 50 percent?
Then there's the issue of turning off the text-to-speech function (the computerized voice that "reads" the book aloud) of the Kindle. A number of publishers have chosen to do that on their e-books. Very sad. Another blow to readers. This means that these books are inaccessible to the blind and people with a host of other disabilities. These are far from professionally produced audio books. This is the 21st century, when people should be able to "read" (for their own use) purchased books any way they want. There are tons of readers like me who feel strongly about supporting our fellow readers/listeners on this issue. It's unconscionable that corporate greed is denying the rights of our most vulnerable citizens.
There is a silver lining here though. The behavior of mainstream publishers is leading to an interesting development -- an opening for small press books. Many smaller publishers are offering text-to-speech on the Kindle, quality products, and reasonable prices. Good for them. More and more, the people who are on the Kindle Discussion Forums on Amazon are recommending small press books to each other. Three cheers for capitalism, which provides lots of buying choices and empowers the customer! ny company that doesn't serve us well will soon be history.
Publishers, before it's too late, listen to readers.
Comments
I agree and I am also an e-book reader (kindle 2). The publishers need to wake up! The consumers determine the prices in the end. Why pay the same price for a version that you can not loan, has no production cost, no cost in labor, and no cost in deliver?
On the other hand, publishers may know VERY well what they are doing and purposely trying to squash the e-book. Just like the music industry tried and failed to squash the MP3.
In that case, there is no logical reasoning with the publishers.
Posted by: David | March 11, 2010 1:35 PM
This is a good update. Goes to show that in a working economy, free market forces will never be defeated. Hope that established publishers will wake up to this reality and capitalize on this huge e reading opportunity rather than fighting it.
Posted by: e Readers Watch | March 11, 2010 7:19 PM
Or people like me in an effort to thumb our noses at the publishing industry will simply download the book from a pirate site. Which is actually faster then buying from an online store. I feel bad for the authors as I would rather pay for the book, but I am not going to be forced to pay higher prices or wait longer for an e-book then any other book.
Posted by: Duiker | March 12, 2010 9:21 AM
I agree -- especially when it comes to the price of the books on an e-reader. Can publishers not see if a book is 9.99 on an e-reader, an individual will buy more books, I think the price of a book (right now) on an e-reader is just as important as the convenience factor. I also think you make valid points regarding the release decision on hardcover books. Publishers (especially in this economy) need to sell as many books as possible, so they need flexibility to satisfy those who want to purchase the hard cover and those who want the e-reader version
Posted by: Chip | March 12, 2010 11:19 AM
Agreed! And I would add that readers also will go to small press because they tend to price their books at between $5 & $7 instead of $10. I'm unlikely to spend $10 on an Ebook since I can't pass it along and can't take it to a thrift shop. I'd rather wait for the paperback and pay $12 or so.
As an author, I have to tell the commenter above who buys from pirate sites: you're not hurting the publisher as much as the authors that way! Don't support pirates! Use the library or go small press or indie instead. That's the way to help authors and thumb big publishers being too greedy and too restrictive.
If they would lower the price to $8, they would do better. Most of a book's cost is in printing and shipping. Authors don't get much of it. There's no need for Ebooks to be that expensive.
Posted by: LK Hunsaker | March 15, 2010 11:27 AM
reminded me of the article I recently read about grocery stores, and their attempts to treat shoppers as lemmings
Posted by: MizPeg | March 18, 2010 10:46 AM
"free market forces"?
Don't you have any clue how the ebook works? It is the exact opposite. Amazon abuses its monopolistic power to extract concessions from publishers that it wouldn't be able to impose in a true free market.
Amazon forces publishers who want to sell on its site into contracts where they agree to sell ebooks to Amazon at 50% of the hard cover price, which Amazon then sell at $9.99, which is often at a loss for them. Why does Amazon sell ebooks at a loss? Because they can then sell more Kindles, on which Amazon has a monopoly. So you are getting cheaper ebooks in exchange for overpaying for a Kindle. Meanwhile, the publishers don't make anything on the sales of Kindles and by dumping ebooks at below cost, Amazon hurts sales of hard cover books for the publishers.
A true free market would look more like the Apple model, where the publishers set their own prices on the iPad and Apple gets a (very large) cut.
Posted by: M | March 21, 2010 1:57 AM