New eBook company has rights to Catch-22

amjbrown · 10-14-2009, 12:24 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/bo...er=rss&emc=rss

Including Catch-22, Iris Murdoch, and a host of other stuff.

Quote:

Electronic “is going to be the center of the universe,” said Ms. Friedman, a flamboyant and relentless booster of authors during her four-decade career in New York publishing. “We really think that what we’re going to do is to help transform the industry, which is built on models that we all know are broken.”

She'll find plenty of support for that here!!

amjb

poohbear_nc · 10-14-2009, 12:30 PM

No mention of formats or DRM?

amjbrown · 10-14-2009, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

No mention of formats or DRM?

Not in any of the articles I have found, which have all been puff pieces about the venture capital success.

Must be ePub though! Surely!

amjb

poohbear_nc · 10-14-2009, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amjbrown

Not in any of the articles I have found, which have all been puff pieces about the venture capital success.

Must be ePub though! Surely!

amjb

Well - if they really mean this:
"what we’re going to do is to help transform the industry, which is built on models that we all know are broken.”

they should be DRM free and multi-format.

phenomshel · 10-14-2009, 04:44 PM

If this is truly her vision, and it actually works, all I can say is, "It's about darned time!" I have said (ad infinitum, ad nauseum *grin*) all along that publishers didn't get it. Seems like one might finally have a clue!
THIS is why I've always been all in favor of the Google Books initiative. I want it all - all my favorite author's backlists available in ebook format, legally and legitimately. This "ok, here's the second and fifth books in the series in ebook, but the rest are nowhere to be found" stuff gets infuriating FAST.
At this point, as long as they don't lock it down to where you have to have a specialty device (a la Kindle) to access them, I don't care how they do it, as long as the books are available.

AnemicOak · 10-14-2009, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

they should be DRM free and multi-format.

Not to mention have worldwide rights.

zelda_pinwheel · 10-14-2009, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Well - if they really mean this:
"what we’re going to do is to help transform the industry, which is built on models that we all know are broken.”

they should be DRM free and multi-format.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phenomshel

If this is truly her vision, and it actually works, all I can say is, "It's about darned time!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Not to mention have worldwide rights.

amen to all that !!!

this sounds like a brilliant initiative. let's hope it lives up to our expectations. i can't wait to hear more about it. nice find, amjb.

ardeegee · 10-14-2009, 07:16 PM

"Ms. Friedman said Open Road would use a new proprietary online marketing platform to promote backlist titles on blogs, Twitter and social networking sites."

The problem is, you can't sell a new platform without content, and you can't get content without a platform.

Isn't there a term for something like that?

Oh, yeah-- a carborundum.

fugazied · 10-14-2009, 07:33 PM

Let's not get ahead of ourselves lol
Amazon after all were going to "help transform the industry", but that was with DRM attached.
We can all be optimistic though!

Dr. Drib · 10-15-2009, 07:40 AM

I think it's somewhat naive to think these books will be DRM-free, although we can hope. I agree with fugazied.

Don

GeoffC · 10-15-2009, 09:42 AM

I suspect they will be heavily restricted geographically :cynicme:

lilac_jive · 10-15-2009, 10:16 AM

Frankly I'll take the DRM if I can get Catch-22 in ebook!

amjbrown · 10-15-2009, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Frankly I'll take the DRM if I can get Catch-22 in ebook!

Couldn't agree more. It was nearly the deal breaker for me when I was doing my original research, but I assumed that it would get resolved sooner or later.

I must have bought the paperback half a dozen times - I keep giving them away saying "you must read this". Not sure how that is going to work in eBook format!

I can't remember the exact quote, but my favourite part is when Yossarian is with a girl and says "..but I didn't think you believed in God". "I don't" she replies, "but the God I don't believe in is a good God, a kind God, a merciful God. Not the mean, nasty God you make him out to be." Or something like that

Iris Murdoch is good news too. In fact, back catalogues are good news in general - there was some fantastic writing in the 60s, 70s, and 80s - can't wait to see some of it resurface.

amjb

amjbrown · 10-15-2009, 12:13 PM

Ok...had to find the real quote. Thank you internet

Yossarian is talking to Lieutenant Schiesskopf's wife who says...

Quote:

"You'd better not talk that way about Him, honey," she warned him reprovingly in a low and hostile voice. "He might punish you."

"Isn't He punishing me enough?" Yossarian snorted resentfully. "You know, we mustn't let him get away with it. Oh no, we certainly musn't let Him get away scot-free for all the sorrow He's caused us. Someday I'm going to make Him pay. I know when. On the Judgement Day. Yes, that's the day I'll be close enough to reach out and grab that little yokel by His neck and -"

"Stop it! Stop it!"

"What the hell are you getting so upset about?" he asked her bewilderedly in a tone of contrite amusement. "I thought you didn't believe in God."

"I don't," she sobbed, burting violently into tears. "But the God I don't believe in is a good God, a just God, a merciful God. He's not the mean and stupid God you make him out to be."

Yossarian laughed and turned her arms loose. "Let's have a little more religious freedom between us," he proposed obligingly. "You don't believe in a God you want to, and I won't believe in a God I want to. Is that a deal?"

amjb

braver · 10-15-2009, 07:12 PM

Author to reader market should be direct. All those middlemen and -women are excited about grabbing their peddling agent's position and cashing the surcharge. This is what publishers used to live on during the paper era, and this is where the readers nust cut them loose in the ebook era. Why should we all be happy for some schmuck who managed to build up a network of connections to grab rights and entice ebook readers to pay them? Buy direct! Buy from owner -- the author! Hopefully the ebook revolution will send those agents home, finally, and increase authors' pay and lower the prices.

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10-14-2009, 12:30 PM	#2
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,801 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	No mention of formats or DRM?

10-14-2009, 04:44 PM	#5
phenomshel ZCD BombShel Posts: 4,793 Karma: 8293322 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: The Frozen North (aka Illinois, USA) Device: iPad, STB Kindle Oasis	If this is truly her vision, and it actually works, all I can say is, "It's about darned time!" I have said (ad infinitum, ad nauseum grin) all along that publishers didn't get it. Seems like one might finally have a clue! THIS is why I've always been all in favor of the Google Books initiative. I want it all - all my favorite author's backlists available in ebook format, legally and legitimately. This "ok, here's the second and fifth books in the series in ebook, but the rest are nowhere to be found" stuff gets infuriating FAST. At this point, as long as they don't lock it down to where you have to have a specialty device (a la Kindle) to access them, I don't care how they do it, as long as the books are available.

10-14-2009, 07:16 PM	#8
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	"Ms. Friedman said Open Road would use a new proprietary online marketing platform to promote backlist titles on blogs, Twitter and social networking sites." The problem is, you can't sell a new platform without content, and you can't get content without a platform. Isn't there a term for something like that? Oh, yeah-- a carborundum.

10-14-2009, 07:33 PM	#9
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	Let's not get ahead of ourselves lol Amazon after all were going to "help transform the industry", but that was with DRM attached. We can all be optimistic though!

10-15-2009, 07:40 AM	#10
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,737 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	I think it's somewhat naive to think these books will be DRM-free, although we can hope. I agree with fugazied. Don

10-15-2009, 09:42 AM	#11
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	I suspect they will be heavily restricted geographically :cynicme:

10-15-2009, 10:16 AM	#12
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Frankly I'll take the DRM if I can get Catch-22 in ebook!

10-15-2009, 07:12 PM	#15
braver Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 86 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle DX	Author to reader market should be direct. All those middlemen and -women are excited about grabbing their peddling agent's position and cashing the surcharge. This is what publishers used to live on during the paper era, and this is where the readers nust cut them loose in the ebook era. Why should we all be happy for some schmuck who managed to build up a network of connections to grab rights and entice ebook readers to pay them? Buy direct! Buy from owner -- the author! Hopefully the ebook revolution will send those agents home, finally, and increase authors' pay and lower the prices.

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