Dear Publishers,

kwjones · 02-01-2010, 02:18 PM

Before I purchased an ebook reader, my reading experience was something like this:

The newest hardcover was just released by one of my favorite authors. At this point I have a few options.

Option 1: I can go to a national bookstore chain and immediately purchase the hardcover. Sometimes the store offers the book for 20% off and if I have a membership card, I get another 10% off. I go home and enjoy the book. If I found a chapter was missing, or something happened in the printing process and a page was completely not readable, I can take the book back to the store for an exchange or refund.

Option 2: I can get my name put on the waiting list at my local library. I pick up the book from the library, then go home and enjoy the book. If I found a chapter was missing, or something happened in the printing process and a page was completely not readable, I can take the book back to the library and let them know. Once I read the book, I can decide if it's something that I might read again. If it is, I can purchase the hardcover, or wait until the paperback comes out.

Option 3: I really like the author, but I'll just wait for the paperback. A few months later, I go back the the national bookstore chain and buy the paperback, go home and enjoy the book. If I found a chapter was missing, or something happened in the printing process and a page was completely not readable, I can take the book back to the store for an exchange or refund.

All in all, not a bad system. I can lend the books out if I really wanted to, but since I don't even trust my wife not to dog ear a page or crease the spine, I just don't lend out my books. If the bookstore didn't have the book I wanted to purchase, they could order it for me and let me know when it was in.

So last year I bought an ebook reader. I was really hoping that ebooks would mirror my past experiences with paper books, but they don't. The industry seems to be rife with double standards.

Here's what I want in an ebook, and this is where you failed: price, back catalogs and formating. If you failed at any level on one of these issues, you've failed on all of them because they are all linked together.

I would pay $15 for an ebook released the same day as a hardcover as long as I could be guaranteed that the content was the same. I've downloaded several free copies of books and the spelling and formating errors are terrible. If I had bought a hardcover or paperback with these errors, it would be going back to the store for an exchange or refund.

I would pay $5 to $8 for the ebook equivalent of a paperback, but there is no way I am going to pay for an ebook that costs more than the paperback already sitting on my shelf. I know I'm paying for convenience, but seriously, this is just stupid.

Back catalogs are a problem for me. Some books I want to replace just aren't available in ebook format. I want to purchase them...really, I do. I even have a budget just for personal entertainment. The only place I've seen some of the books I want are only available through "illegal" file sharing sites. Someone has taken the time to scan one of your books and transform it into an ebook. Some even take extra time to proof read everything and correct all of the mistakes from the scanning process. Why did they bother to take the time to scan your book? Maybe because you don't make it available for purchase. How is it that a single person can put out a better quality product than you can most of the time? Maybe you could hire one of these criminals to scan your back catalogs and make sure there aren't any formating issues. Or you could just download them yourself and repackage them so you can sell them.

I'm not going to discuss DRM, because frankly, there are so many ways to get around it, it's not even an issue anymore for most people. You might consider saving me a few minutes of my time by not forcing it on me. You might even find that if you save enough people the time and effort of circumventing your DRM schemes, you might sell more books.

So purchasing ebooks has been a source of frustration for me. Thankfully, sites like mobileread.com have a wide selection of free public domain books. The formating is great, and if I notice any major mistakes, I can let the person who created the ebook know, and they will fix it. I've also purchased a few ebooks directly from the author. They seem to appreciate it a lot more than you do.

Sincerely,

Consumer of books

Bremen Cole · 02-01-2010, 04:49 PM

Nice letter, I agree, but the publishers don't care. There are three things you can do to really make a difference..... borrow the book from someone, buy it at a used bookstore, or get it on the dark side. All of these methods net the same result, they keep the money out of the hands of the publishers. Enough people do that, and they will put the customer first instead of their 19th century business model.

kwjones · 02-01-2010, 08:34 PM

I saw a comment today that got me thinking. Someone said download from darknet and send the author money. At first I thought it was a pretty decent idea, but then I reverted back to paper book mode. I don't think I'd tell anyone to physically shoplift anything, but send the author money. You'd screw a lot of innocent people just trying to make a living. Granted, it's not a perfect analogy, but it works for the most part.

I'm not trying to screw anyone out of money, but I have some pretty simple requirements for things I purchase. They have to meet a certain perceived value and quality before I buy it. If you offer me something I think I want or need, and I think that the quality and value are there...take my money, please.

GhostHawk · 02-01-2010, 09:21 PM

Yes there are a lot of people who get paid to put together, promote, and distribute a paper book.

How many of those are getting paid for Ebooks? Few if any that I can see.

In my opinion, for Ebooks it comes down to publishers, distributors/resellers, and authors.
And the fact is Publishers seem to be realizing that there is money to be made there. And they are taking steps to get a bigger piece of the pie. Isn't that what all the hoopla with MacMillian and Amazon boils down to? Greed, and the realization that the money is there for the taking!

Greed, pure and simple.

I for one would have no problem sending a donation directly to the Author and cutting out the publisher.

MR Modesitt, checks in the mail.

guyanonymous · 02-01-2010, 09:30 PM

Just to muddy the waters, though, is that author, by accepting your money (and mine), violating a contract with the publisher for distribution of said work? Presuming, of course, that they don't pay the publisher the agreed upon percentage of the money accepted?

Lemurion · 02-01-2010, 10:00 PM

If you're going to download from the darknet and still want to compensate the author, your best option is to buy the dead tree book. That way the author gets paid and the sale counts on the books (which is important for getting the publisher to support the NEXT book in the series).

guyanonymous · 02-01-2010, 10:02 PM

Good point (about numbers). But when you don't want to support the publisher one iota? How can we separate the two?

tyche · 02-01-2010, 10:03 PM

Maybe in 5-10 years the hands taking their cut from the consumer to the author (and there are a lot) can be trimmed down or removed. I would much rather pay a more fair price if I knew it was going to the person who actually wrote the book. I get the feeling, like mp3's, most authors see little if any of ebook profits. Unfortunately, there is little reason for them to reinvest a fresh revenue stream and instead look at it as bonus money.

Just imagine if we bought books directly from authors websites (or book portals), who sub contracted copy editors and other facets of their craft as they saw fit instead of the other way around.

I've recently bought some older used books (particular editions) online that I've been meaning to get. While I finally got my books, I do feel a little bad the author won't see a dime. If I could send a paypal donation off to them, I would.

But to get back on track with the OP, I agree, current ebook design is in a real mess. I find myself editing and proofing books now as I read them. I write down all the errors and fix them during my lunch break. So the next time I read the book, it will be fixed. We may have to wait for electronic sales rise enough that people can put pressure to have more proofing done.

From what I've seen of Google books, I shudder at the mess they are in. Now, that's a place where some money needs to be put into fixing all that content up.

theducks · 02-01-2010, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

Good point (about numbers). But when you don't want to support the publisher one iota? How can we separate the two?

Convince the Author to dump ther Publish or DENY them the e-book rights and hire someone like webscription.net to publish the e-version .
But for this to work, the Author has to hire the editorial services and prohibit the publisher from changing 1 letter.
$16 for a DRM infested e-book, that I can buy the MMPB at my local Target store for $6. Robbery. I would not scream (gripe, yes

) if it was the sold at "cover price" of the current edition.
I do lend books (mainly to people who provide hostage

books for the duration)

guyanonymous · 02-01-2010, 10:18 PM

Choice has been greatly expanded - publishers have many many more possible authors to hire.

Has this caused any reduction in the fees/earnings of Authors?

bwaldron · 02-01-2010, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GhostHawk

I for one would have no problem sending a donation directly to the Author and cutting out the publisher.

Absolutely.

Of course, one of the sad parts of this latest skirmish has been being directed to, and reading, blog and forum posts by some of my favorite authors -- cheered on by their fan "hives", that make me think less of them.

There's just too much snark in my world these days.

I understand that one must separate the artist from the art -- but I do find it difficult sometimes.

MikeRo · 02-02-2010, 12:27 AM

I think the best form of protest is to only support those publishers who understand ebooks, produce them properly and price them accordingly. We could start a list here of ebook-friendly publishers.

CopperTrail · 02-02-2010, 01:28 AM

Great post. I get my books from 2 sources: New releases from my local library by requesting them a month or more in advanced and paperbacks from a great used bookstore in my area. I will gladly pay the their prices because of the personal service and recommendations I receive when I stop in.

I do own a Kindle but it's been sitting unused in a drawer for over a year.

sabredog · 02-02-2010, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyche

Just imagine if we bought books directly from authors websites (or book portals), who sub contracted copy editors and other facets of their craft as they saw fit instead of the other way around.

I have purchased a number of books direct from Michael McCollum's Arizona Sci Fi booksite. He self publishes and offers printed, audio books or DRM free ebooks of choice. I have a number of his books in paperback format back when he was witha large publishing house and was delighted to find his site several years ago.

His ebooks are around the US$6, similar to Baen.

http://www.scifi-az.com/

guyanonymous · 02-02-2010, 01:40 AM

Is there a thread, already, where people have listed authors who sell-direct, such as this fellow, J.A. Konrath, etc?

02-01-2010, 02:18 PM	#1
kwjones Groupie Posts: 178 Karma: 1546 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Rising Sun, MD Device: Sony PRS-505; Motorola Droid	Dear Publishers, Before I purchased an ebook reader, my reading experience was something like this: The newest hardcover was just released by one of my favorite authors. At this point I have a few options. Option 1: I can go to a national bookstore chain and immediately purchase the hardcover. Sometimes the store offers the book for 20% off and if I have a membership card, I get another 10% off. I go home and enjoy the book. If I found a chapter was missing, or something happened in the printing process and a page was completely not readable, I can take the book back to the store for an exchange or refund. Option 2: I can get my name put on the waiting list at my local library. I pick up the book from the library, then go home and enjoy the book. If I found a chapter was missing, or something happened in the printing process and a page was completely not readable, I can take the book back to the library and let them know. Once I read the book, I can decide if it's something that I might read again. If it is, I can purchase the hardcover, or wait until the paperback comes out. Option 3: I really like the author, but I'll just wait for the paperback. A few months later, I go back the the national bookstore chain and buy the paperback, go home and enjoy the book. If I found a chapter was missing, or something happened in the printing process and a page was completely not readable, I can take the book back to the store for an exchange or refund. All in all, not a bad system. I can lend the books out if I really wanted to, but since I don't even trust my wife not to dog ear a page or crease the spine, I just don't lend out my books. If the bookstore didn't have the book I wanted to purchase, they could order it for me and let me know when it was in. So last year I bought an ebook reader. I was really hoping that ebooks would mirror my past experiences with paper books, but they don't. The industry seems to be rife with double standards. Here's what I want in an ebook, and this is where you failed: price, back catalogs and formating. If you failed at any level on one of these issues, you've failed on all of them because they are all linked together. I would pay $15 for an ebook released the same day as a hardcover as long as I could be guaranteed that the content was the same. I've downloaded several free copies of books and the spelling and formating errors are terrible. If I had bought a hardcover or paperback with these errors, it would be going back to the store for an exchange or refund. I would pay $5 to $8 for the ebook equivalent of a paperback, but there is no way I am going to pay for an ebook that costs more than the paperback already sitting on my shelf. I know I'm paying for convenience, but seriously, this is just stupid. Back catalogs are a problem for me. Some books I want to replace just aren't available in ebook format. I want to purchase them...really, I do. I even have a budget just for personal entertainment. The only place I've seen some of the books I want are only available through "illegal" file sharing sites. Someone has taken the time to scan one of your books and transform it into an ebook. Some even take extra time to proof read everything and correct all of the mistakes from the scanning process. Why did they bother to take the time to scan your book? Maybe because you don't make it available for purchase. How is it that a single person can put out a better quality product than you can most of the time? Maybe you could hire one of these criminals to scan your back catalogs and make sure there aren't any formating issues. Or you could just download them yourself and repackage them so you can sell them. I'm not going to discuss DRM, because frankly, there are so many ways to get around it, it's not even an issue anymore for most people. You might consider saving me a few minutes of my time by not forcing it on me. You might even find that if you save enough people the time and effort of circumventing your DRM schemes, you might sell more books. So purchasing ebooks has been a source of frustration for me. Thankfully, sites like mobileread.com have a wide selection of free public domain books. The formating is great, and if I notice any major mistakes, I can let the person who created the ebook know, and they will fix it. I've also purchased a few ebooks directly from the author. They seem to appreciate it a lot more than you do. Sincerely, Consumer of books

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02-01-2010, 04:49 PM	#2
Bremen Cole Wizard Posts: 1,115 Karma: 2718 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Texas Device: iPad	Nice letter, I agree, but the publishers don't care. There are three things you can do to really make a difference..... borrow the book from someone, buy it at a used bookstore, or get it on the dark side. All of these methods net the same result, they keep the money out of the hands of the publishers. Enough people do that, and they will put the customer first instead of their 19th century business model.

02-01-2010, 08:34 PM	#3
kwjones Groupie Posts: 178 Karma: 1546 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Rising Sun, MD Device: Sony PRS-505; Motorola Droid	I saw a comment today that got me thinking. Someone said download from darknet and send the author money. At first I thought it was a pretty decent idea, but then I reverted back to paper book mode. I don't think I'd tell anyone to physically shoplift anything, but send the author money. You'd screw a lot of innocent people just trying to make a living. Granted, it's not a perfect analogy, but it works for the most part. I'm not trying to screw anyone out of money, but I have some pretty simple requirements for things I purchase. They have to meet a certain perceived value and quality before I buy it. If you offer me something I think I want or need, and I think that the quality and value are there...take my money, please.

02-01-2010, 09:21 PM	#4
GhostHawk Data Privateer! Posts: 586 Karma: 62887 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fargo ND Device: Ectaco Jetbook& Jetbook Lite	Yes there are a lot of people who get paid to put together, promote, and distribute a paper book. How many of those are getting paid for Ebooks? Few if any that I can see. In my opinion, for Ebooks it comes down to publishers, distributors/resellers, and authors. And the fact is Publishers seem to be realizing that there is money to be made there. And they are taking steps to get a bigger piece of the pie. Isn't that what all the hoopla with MacMillian and Amazon boils down to? Greed, and the realization that the money is there for the taking! Greed, pure and simple. I for one would have no problem sending a donation directly to the Author and cutting out the publisher. MR Modesitt, checks in the mail.

02-01-2010, 09:30 PM	#5
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	Just to muddy the waters, though, is that author, by accepting your money (and mine), violating a contract with the publisher for distribution of said work? Presuming, of course, that they don't pay the publisher the agreed upon percentage of the money accepted?

02-01-2010, 10:00 PM	#6
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	If you're going to download from the darknet and still want to compensate the author, your best option is to buy the dead tree book. That way the author gets paid and the sale counts on the books (which is important for getting the publisher to support the NEXT book in the series).

02-01-2010, 10:02 PM	#7
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	Good point (about numbers). But when you don't want to support the publisher one iota? How can we separate the two?

02-01-2010, 10:03 PM	#8
tyche Addict Posts: 227 Karma: 2530 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, iPad	Maybe in 5-10 years the hands taking their cut from the consumer to the author (and there are a lot) can be trimmed down or removed. I would much rather pay a more fair price if I knew it was going to the person who actually wrote the book. I get the feeling, like mp3's, most authors see little if any of ebook profits. Unfortunately, there is little reason for them to reinvest a fresh revenue stream and instead look at it as bonus money. Just imagine if we bought books directly from authors websites (or book portals), who sub contracted copy editors and other facets of their craft as they saw fit instead of the other way around. I've recently bought some older used books (particular editions) online that I've been meaning to get. While I finally got my books, I do feel a little bad the author won't see a dime. If I could send a paypal donation off to them, I would. But to get back on track with the OP, I agree, current ebook design is in a real mess. I find myself editing and proofing books now as I read them. I write down all the errors and fix them during my lunch break. So the next time I read the book, it will be fixed. We may have to wait for electronic sales rise enough that people can put pressure to have more proofing done. From what I've seen of Google books, I shudder at the mess they are in. Now, that's a place where some money needs to be put into fixing all that content up.

02-01-2010, 10:18 PM	#10
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	Choice has been greatly expanded - publishers have many many more possible authors to hire. Has this caused any reduction in the fees/earnings of Authors?

02-02-2010, 12:27 AM	#12
MikeRo Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 15588 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Sony PRS-300, Kindle 3	I think the best form of protest is to only support those publishers who understand ebooks, produce them properly and price them accordingly. We could start a list here of ebook-friendly publishers.

02-02-2010, 01:28 AM	#13
CopperTrail Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 57 Join Date: Feb 2005 Device: Dell Axim X3i	Great post. I get my books from 2 sources: New releases from my local library by requesting them a month or more in advanced and paperbacks from a great used bookstore in my area. I will gladly pay the their prices because of the personal service and recommendations I receive when I stop in. I do own a Kindle but it's been sitting unused in a drawer for over a year.

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02-02-2010, 01:40 AM	#15
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	Is there a thread, already, where people have listed authors who sell-direct, such as this fellow, J.A. Konrath, etc?