Publishers Relegated to Printers

[ebusinesstutor]

Found this interesting article I thought I would share:
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/e-tail-wags-p-dog/

A successful self-published author does a deal with a publisher, but retains the ebook rights.

[crossi]

I think it should be that way. Pay upfront for the editing or as a portion of the books income until the bill is paid but the author keeps the rights.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

Found this interesting article I thought I would share:
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/e-tail-wags-p-dog/

A successful self-published author does a deal with a publisher, but retains the ebook rights.

Good!

[jbcohen]

Forward to the future of book publishing.

[fjtorres]

At least they're making *some* money of that author.
The next evolution of indie publishing (already in progress) is writers handling pbooks themselves, too. It takes a bit of upfront cash but for writers with an established catalog on the ebook side, taking that catalog to print is no longer impossible.
Biggest obstacle is libraries still don't buy indie books. P- or e-.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by crossi

I think it should be that way. Pay upfront for the editing or as a portion of the books income until the bill is paid but the author keeps the rights.

And you have a portion of the income what happens than if the author is not interested in trying to sell the book so that the publisher get back what they are owned?

[crossi]

That's what contracts, lawyers and small claims courts are for. Anyway why would an author write a book, go to a publisher with no intention of publishing the book? A publisher might rarely, very rarely, get burned for the cost of editing but I doubt it would happen often enough to hurt their bottom line. What happens to anyone who hires a service and doesn't pay for it?

[taustin]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

At least they're making *some* money of that author.
The next evolution of indie publishing (already in progress) is writers handling pbooks themselves, too. It takes a bit of upfront cash but for writers with an established catalog on the ebook side, taking that catalog to print is no longer impossible.
Biggest obstacle is libraries still don't buy indie books. P- or e-.

"Next" phase? There's nothing new about vanity publishing. Really. Been around for centuries.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by taustin

"Next" phase? There's nothing new about vanity publishing. Really. Been around for centuries.

Uh, last I looked, the calendar read 2012, not 1912.
Here, a quick catchup link:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=187397

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Good!

Only good if the author chooses to release in eBook format. Some have been brainwashed by publishers and the Authors Guild to be believe that eBooks are EEEEEVIL.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Uh, last I looked, the calendar read 2012, not 1912.
Here, a quick catchup link:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=187397

That win in response to:

"The next evolution of indie publishing (already in progress) is writers handling pbooks themselves, too."

If you don't see that as implying that writers handling pbooks themselves is something new, I suggest a remedial course in reading comprehension. Seriously. Vanity publishing has been around for, literally, centuries.

[crossi]

What hasn't been around is a change to the majority of books being published with the authors retaining the rights, or at least the ebook rights. That WOULD be a large change from the current situation. It would no longer be called vanity publishing (a derogatory term) but simply publishing with a standard contract.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Only good if the author chooses to release in eBook format. Some have been brainwashed by publishers and the Authors Guild to be believe that eBooks are EEEEEVIL.

True in that I guess, but my comment was more about the author controlling the right to their intellectual property rather than signing/assigning it to someone.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by crossi

What hasn't been around is a change to the majority of books being published with the authors retaining the rights, or at least the ebook rights. That WOULD be a large change from the current situation. It would no longer be called vanity publishing (a derogatory term) but simply publishing with a standard contract.

Correct.
More to the point: vanity publishing is when the author is exploited by the printer and never makes a profit. What we are discussing is *indie* p-book publishing, which is a business approach used by savvy hands-on authors who wish to retain their copyrights and still have access to the pbook markets.

In the indie publishing scenario that is now evolving the print services are available from reputable sources at reasonable rates and the result is a sound business practice. Some work through PRINT-ON-DEMAND services, like Amazon's, others by engaging with printers for very small print runs. The upfront costs are non-trivial (4-5 figures) with profit margins in the 20-25% range typically, but as I said, authors with successful ebook catalogs making significant money (visibility!) can do their own print runs profitably. Many are. Times *are* changing even in the print book world.

It is *not* vanity publishing, just the obvious next step of the evolution of indie publishing from ebook-only to ebook-first, p-book second. Think of it as "micro-press" publishing.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by crossi

What hasn't been around is a change to the majority of books being published with the authors retaining the rights, or at least the ebook rights. That WOULD be a large change from the current situation. It would no longer be called vanity publishing (a derogatory term) but simply publishing with a standard contract.

Er, huh? In vanity publishing, the author does retain the rights. You can change the marketing term, but it still isn't new.