I think it is IMPOSSIBLE for ebooks to cost the same with print books to publishers. Even if the "writing, editing, formatting" costs stay the same, there is no cost for "printing, storing, shipping" ebooks. Distributing ebooks (aka putting in on the ebooks selling websites) might still cost something, but as technology advances this will only go lower.
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Originally Posted by Solitaire1
It is possible that ebooks cost about the same to produce (meaning the writing, editing, and formatting) as physical books. But as techology has developed these costs have gone down. For example, the entire process can now be done electronically and the only time the book actually takes a physical form is when the final version is printed.
However, there is a difference when the book is in final form. With ebooks, there is little releasing cost (meaning no printing, packing, shipping, storage, and store sales charges) that are associated with physical books. About the only thing that ebooks require before final release is to format them for the appropriate reader.
To illustrate: a book in the public domain is available for free and is formatted for your reader. The cost of the book to you is $0.00. The same book as a printed paperback book costs $5.25 ($5.00 plus 5 percent local sales tax). In both cases, there is no production cost, but only the printed book has a releasing cost.
Just my thoughts, please feel free to correct me if I got something wrong.
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