Watching for inexpensive backlist collections

elizilla · 02-05-2011, 04:40 PM

One of the things I watch for, in the bargains and freebies area, are cheap editions of books I already own on paper and love.

I probably own a couple of thousand paper books. I'd pay a buck or two each to own ebook copies of some large percentage of them, at which point I could shed the weight of all this paper. But at $10 to $15 apiece, I'm not going to buy anything unless I want to read it now.

It seems to me that if publishers made large numbers of backlist titles available in bargain editions, they'd pull a lot of buyers like me out of the woodwork. And since the marginal cost of each ebook is close to zero, it seems like they would be better off selling 2000 copies for $2 each, than selling 200 copies for $10 each.

Maybe someday...

starrigger · 02-05-2011, 05:39 PM

May I suggest you check out Backlist Ebooks? It's a growing affiliation of traditionally published authors (including me) who are doing exactly what you ask for, and includes writers in a variety of genres including SF, fantasy, mystery, romance, thrillers, and others, all self-repubbing their backlist titles. It's also a nice bunch of people, and some of them drop in here once in a while.

AndrewH · 02-05-2011, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starrigger

May I suggest you check out Backlist Ebooks?

Thank you so much for that!

Catlady · 02-05-2011, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elizilla

One of the things I watch for, in the bargains and freebies area, are cheap editions of books I already own on paper and love.

I probably own a couple of thousand paper books. I'd pay a buck or two each to own ebook copies of some large percentage of them, at which point I could shed the weight of all this paper. But at $10 to $15 apiece, I'm not going to buy anything unless I want to read it now.

It seems to me that if publishers made large numbers of backlist titles available in bargain editions, they'd pull a lot of buyers like me out of the woodwork. And since the marginal cost of each ebook is close to zero, it seems like they would be better off selling 2000 copies for $2 each, than selling 200 copies for $10 each.

Maybe someday...

I'm with you, except that there are costs associated with getting those backlist titles out.

I would like to see publishers offer some incentive for buying backlist titles in digital form--as some studios did for upgrades from VHS to DVD, and from DVD to Blu-ray. Disney, for example, would e-mail a coupon for something like $8 to $10 off the Blu-ray movie if you sent them the SKU code of your earlier version. With that incentive, I rebought a lot of Disney titles I otherwise wouldn't have gotten, and donated the earlier versions. Seems like it was a win-win situation.

Joykins · 02-05-2011, 10:32 PM

I see a lot of cheap backlist available in the romance genre. Granted, that may not be your cup of tea. Example:

http://productsearch.barnesandnoble....&UGRP=0&SAT=11

starrigger · 02-05-2011, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewH

Thank you so much for that!

You're welcome!

abookreader · 02-06-2011, 09:43 AM

yeah. I'm one of those people that just love to get a whole series or backlist onto my Kindle once I start.

But some of those prices just make it impractical.

elizilla · 02-06-2011, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starrigger

May I suggest you check out Backlist Ebooks?

Awesome! Thanks!

starrigger · 02-07-2011, 01:44 AM

You're welcome. I should add, if you like SF and fantasy, there's another group called Bookview Cafe, with a similar goal. And also Closed Circle. And of course, the Baen Free Library.

JoelArnold · 02-07-2011, 05:24 PM

There are quite a few mid-list/traditionally published authors whose rights to their back-titles have reverted back to them, and they're publishing them as ebooks themselves. Some that I can think of off the top of my head are Scott Nicholson, Simon Wood, and Harry Shannon.

02-05-2011, 04:40 PM	#1
elizilla Addict Posts: 266 Karma: 610286 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Michigan, USA Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Aura One, Sony PRS 650, Sony PRS 350	Watching for inexpensive backlist collections One of the things I watch for, in the bargains and freebies area, are cheap editions of books I already own on paper and love. I probably own a couple of thousand paper books. I'd pay a buck or two each to own ebook copies of some large percentage of them, at which point I could shed the weight of all this paper. But at $10 to $15 apiece, I'm not going to buy anything unless I want to read it now. It seems to me that if publishers made large numbers of backlist titles available in bargain editions, they'd pull a lot of buyers like me out of the woodwork. And since the marginal cost of each ebook is close to zero, it seems like they would be better off selling 2000 copies for $2 each, than selling 200 copies for $10 each. Maybe someday...

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02-05-2011, 05:39 PM	#2
starrigger Jeffrey A. Carver Posts: 1,355 Karma: 1107383 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Massachusetts, USA Device: Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus, Droid phone, Nook HD+	May I suggest you check out Backlist Ebooks? It's a growing affiliation of traditionally published authors (including me) who are doing exactly what you ask for, and includes writers in a variety of genres including SF, fantasy, mystery, romance, thrillers, and others, all self-repubbing their backlist titles. It's also a nice bunch of people, and some of them drop in here once in a while.

02-05-2011, 10:32 PM	#5
Joykins Wizard Posts: 1,601 Karma: 9211856 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: kindle Oasis 2018, kindle 4 NT, kindle PW2, iPhone, iPad mini	I see a lot of cheap backlist available in the romance genre. Granted, that may not be your cup of tea. Example: http://productsearch.barnesandnoble....&UGRP=0&SAT=11

02-06-2011, 09:43 AM	#7
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	yeah. I'm one of those people that just love to get a whole series or backlist onto my Kindle once I start. But some of those prices just make it impractical.

02-07-2011, 01:44 AM	#9
starrigger Jeffrey A. Carver Posts: 1,355 Karma: 1107383 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Massachusetts, USA Device: Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus, Droid phone, Nook HD+	You're welcome. I should add, if you like SF and fantasy, there's another group called Bookview Cafe, with a similar goal. And also Closed Circle. And of course, the Baen Free Library.

02-07-2011, 05:24 PM	#10
JoelArnold Fanatic Posts: 544 Karma: 1036914 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Savage, MN Device: Kindle 3	There are quite a few mid-list/traditionally published authors whose rights to their back-titles have reverted back to them, and they're publishing them as ebooks themselves. Some that I can think of off the top of my head are Scott Nicholson, Simon Wood, and Harry Shannon.