Terry Goodkind finally an eBook Author

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm sorry, but to what do you attribute not wanting to read his books. Did you read the full answer that included that line? He didn't say that gang rape was good or he approved of it. His point was that people don't always do the right thing because they are allowed to decided what to do.

BOb

I should have been more clear. I followed the link, and read the whole interview. The quote is more or less out of context (in fact, there's no context or explanation provided within the interview text for the quote).

I find his views (and Ayn Rand's views, for that matter) overly simplistic. By my reckoning, there are very few people on this planet-- especially in the "developed" countries-- who live without the benefits provided by the communities they live in. A lot of these benefits are provided by someone else they will never meet or hear of, often without adequate compensation. Goodkind dismisses the example of the person who has do decide whether to jump into a river to save someone who is drowning as unlikely, and he's right. The everyday decisions are much more subtle, like whether to drink coffee or eat chocolate that is harvested, effectively, by slave labor.

Of course, Goodkind might be a person who never uses products produced by anyone else, but based on the interview, it seems likely to me that he regards the circumstances of the laborers who make his lifestyle possible as not his responsibility. That's what I disagree with, and that's why I'm not interested in reading his books.

That being said, I think he has a right to tell his stories any way he wants, and I'm not trying to make any point about anyone who reads and enjoys his stories-- or anyone who agrees with his stance on objectivism. I'm simply saying that on the basis of this interview, I would be unlikely to enjoy his books, so I won't read them.

[Zedd]

not sure what you mean. He values people who do work for him. They do work, he pays them. He does not cheat people or try to get more then what he has paid for. Value for value.

Now are you suggesting that he buys things without fully researchign wher it comes from to make sure it is produced in certain ways? Becuse if thaT is your problem, then you have a problem with almost everyone. When I got to a sotre to buy clothes, I do not wonder where they come from or who made them. If I eat a candy bar, I do not wonder where the chocalate came from. Don't know a single person who does an dI doubt most other authors do either, so you if that is your basis for reading or not reading, you might have to stop reading a lot of other authors too.

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by Zedd

not sure what you mean. He values people who do work for him. They do work, he pays them. He does not cheat people or try to get more then what he has paid for. Value for value.

Now are you suggesting that he buys things without fully researchign wher it comes from to make sure it is produced in certain ways? Becuse if thaT is your problem, then you have a problem with almost everyone. When I got to a sotre to buy clothes, I do not wonder where they come from or who made them. If I eat a candy bar, I do not wonder where the chocalate came from. Don't know a single person who does an dI doubt most other authors do either, so you if that is your basis for reading or not reading, you might have to stop reading a lot of other authors too.

I do actually look into where the products I buy come from and how they are made, and so do a lot of other people I know. But I wouldn't stop reading an author who didn't, for that reason alone. In this case, however, the author is specifically promoting that philosophy in the novels, as I understand it, so I doubt I would enjoy the novels.

[Zedd]

actually, I do not see how the philosophy promotes what you think it does, but I am not out to change your mind. so...

[JSWolf]

Zedd, are the rest of the book in the series going to be released as eBooks?

[Zedd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Zedd, are the rest of the book in the series going to be released as eBooks?

I've already answered twice that I can not speak to the rest of the series.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Zedd

I've already answered twice that I can not speak to the rest of the series.

A lot of people won't purchase any of the series as eBooks unless they know ahead of time that they will all be released. Too many series are incomplete as eBooks and this is a real issue that will stop people from purchasing series that are not completely available. I suggest you try to find out. not knowing can and very well may affect the sales of WFR.

[TallMomof2]

I know that I won't purchase any of the series until more if not all are available in ebook form.

[Zedd]

then do not buy it. Don't really know what to tell you.

Try looking at it from the authors and publishers point. If peopel are not buying them, why bother releasing more?

They are certainly not going to put them all out at once and if the beginning ones do not sell will not bother ot put out more.

Did you people ever think that your tactics hinder you from gettign what you want instead of helping you and it may be why you are not gettign full series or more books?

[UKHaiku]

Originally Posted by Zedd

then do not buy it. Don't really know what to tell you.

Try looking at it from the authors and publishers point. If peopel are not buying them, why bother releasing more?

They are certainly not going to put them all out at once and if the beginning ones do not sell will not bother ot put out more.

Did you people ever think that your tactics hinder you from gettign what you want instead of helping you and it may be why you are not gettign full series or more books?

Zedd,
I can understand why you might find some of the comments above a little frustrating, in isolation - but there are reasons for people's frustrations - in that there is little real commitment to the medium of e-books right now..

As an example (in paperback) of how frustrating this can be imagine reading parts 1 and 2 of a trilogy, and then the author deciding not to write the 3rd part just yet, or maybe ever (Step forward Melanie Rawn with your Exiles series...). I read parts 1 and 2 back in 1997 - and book 3 is still not published...

For people who are wanting only to use their e-books, for whatever reason, the idea that work that's already written, as part of a series, might not be made available is especially galling - and hence likely to generate some heat...

Given the extremely low cost of producing an e-book from other electronic media (and it's a pretty safe bet Mr Goodkind's books are all held electronically by the publisher at least) - it is very frustrating not to get a clear commitment to publish the whole series, even if there's no commitment to how / when / how much...

While I can understand the Publishers / Authors maybe wanting to 'dip their toes in the market' that only works with standalone books, not with series of books... (And to start e-books at part 2 or later of a series is just as bad - for any Publishers reading this!) However, the Catch-22, is that a lot of sales will BE series of books, given that many paperbacks are series in some sense or other, even if it's not 'part 1 / part 2 / ...' etc

So, given the low cost of production, and the relatively low penetration of e-book readers at the moment, this seems like an ideal time to really up the game, so that mechanisms, costs, pricing can be worked through before e-book readers become more endemic - and the best way to get a real understanding of purchasing patterns etc is to launch some popular series' of books as e-books, with a commitment to launch the whole series - so that the Publishers can get some stats on, for example, percentage of people buying the first book who then buy the second etc... (Also might lead to the first book being freely available for some established series' - sort of a literary loss leader).

So, in essence, what I'm trying to say is that I understand (some) of the motives behind the Publishers' / Authors' approach at the moment, but I disagree as to the appropriateness of the approach, given that (a) material is available (which also calls into questions launching novels with the traditional gaps between them - one every month / 2 months would be a better distribution frequency perhaps?) (b) lack of commitment to publish later material will hinder uptake of early material - which will distort the information being gathered and (c) this is an entirely new business model, and re-hashing models based on high initial costs, distribution costs etc etc isn't the right approach...

I hope this helps us all have a better understanding of the two sides to this debate - and if anyone disagrees with any specific points above please do open them up for debate, this is my opinion after all...

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Zedd

then do not buy it. Don't really know what to tell you.

Try looking at it from the authors and publishers point. If peopel are not buying them, why bother releasing more?

They are certainly not going to put them all out at once and if the beginning ones do not sell will not bother ot put out more.

Did you people ever think that your tactics hinder you from gettign what you want instead of helping you and it may be why you are not gettign full series or more books?

Right now, we have no guarantee that the rest of the series will be available in eBook form. Until we do have that assurance, it does make sense to hold off purchasing WFR. Would you purchase book(s) in a series not knowing if you'll ever get the complete series? book series in eBook form have been a problem. There are lots of series out there that are just incomplete. We don't want this. We don't want incomplete series. Sales would do a lot better if we could get all the books. The WFR would sell a lot better as people dip their toes into the series and if they decide they like it, move on to purchasing the next book and so on. But if people see book 1 and don't know if they'll ever get any of the others, they may not purchase WFR until the others are available.

It is not a case of "If WFR doesn't sell well the rest won't be out". It's a case of "If the rest are not out, WFR won't sell well". We've been taken advantage of for too long in regards to series and not having The Sword of Truth series complete would just be one more issue and sales will show this. Now if we have a guarantee that the rest will be released, then that's different. But as it stands, it's saying "If you do not purchase WFR, then the rest will not be released". But even if we do purchase WFR which most of us cannot (bad move if you need sales to put out the rest of the series) we have no way of knowing if and when the next book will come out and then we are back to square one if the next book comes out as well. Terry needs to commit the entire series in order for for salkes to be good. If he doesn't, then sales will tank.

[Barcey]

Originally Posted by Zedd

then do not buy it. Don't really know what to tell you.

Try looking at it from the authors and publishers point. If peopel are not buying them, why bother releasing more?

They are certainly not going to put them all out at once and if the beginning ones do not sell will not bother ot put out more.

Did you people ever think that your tactics hinder you from gettign what you want instead of helping you and it may be why you are not gettign full series or more books?

Hi Zedd,

Not buying the e-book and advising the publisher/author why is a reasonable tactic in my view. If we just didn't purchase the e-book then I agree with you.

[Argel]

Originally Posted by Zedd

then do not buy it. Don't really know what to tell you.

Try looking at it from the authors and publishers point. If peopel are not buying them, why bother releasing more?

Hi Zedd,

First of all, thanks for the sanity and courtesy of your contributions, which have been a joy to read

In this case, however, JS Wolf is on the side of the angels. Bringing out only one book in a series is self-defeating.

Compared to the cost of the original paper edition, producing a subsequent ebook is almost trivial in terms of both effort and cost. There are plenty of people on these boards who produce well-formatted ebooks with a few hours work, starting with files that are much less satisfactory than those available to a publisher.

On the other hand, I as a reader am not going to commit hard cash (not to mention reading-time) to the first book in a series if I suspect that I am going to be left feeling irritated by the unavailability of subsequent volumes. I am simply not going to buy a dozen paperbacks in a series, period; that phase of my life is over. But I will [I have] buy whole series in electronic form - often in one purchase, since I don't have to carry them home!

Publishing only the first volume is also self-defeating for publishers in that people who do buy the first book and then find themselves left in the lurch will be far more prone to turn to illegal copies, which are out there anyway. Failure to produce legitimate editions simply feeds the pirates.

I'm sorry you're being made the focus of the frustration many of us feel at the fact that that publishers seem incapable of realizing that the market is already there - if they would just produce the goods in a timely and reasonably-priced manner. We are like kids with our noses pressed to the window of a bookshop that too often seems closed to us for no good reason.

And once again, thanks for the graciousness of your replies.

[Zedd]

I can say, I have no idea what it costs a publisher to produce and distribute an e-book.

All I can say is I can not give people the information they are demanding. Well one seems to be demanding.

[Zedd]

I will however ask. Can't promiss a response, but I can ask.