02-02-2009, 07:18 PM | #61 | |
ZCD BombShel
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02-02-2009, 07:24 PM | #62 | |
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02-02-2009, 07:27 PM | #63 |
Literacy = Understanding
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02-02-2009, 07:32 PM | #64 |
Literacy = Understanding
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It isn't more work (or not a great deal more) than creating the paper version, it is the the same (or some more) but it is different so it is nearly like starting with raw manuscript again. No matter how it is done, it isn't as easy as simply choosing a convert-to-ebook option in a dropdown menu. It may be less complex with a straight-text novel, but it is certainly neither quick nor easy for nonfiction books.
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02-02-2009, 07:39 PM | #65 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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I suspect that the difference in work between paper and ebooks is because nobody has abstracted the tasks so they become common and can be automatically translated to the specific output format. I mean SGML was invented to solve this problem and it is surprising that SGML or similar approaches are not used. Or it is not surprising since if you only produce one format (paper) there are no profit in introducing a more complex system. But with the demand for many different versions the situation is different. |
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02-02-2009, 07:49 PM | #66 |
Wizard
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Interesting arguments. Based on his facts I calculate that by self publishing Tracy Falbe and Steve Jordan must have each invested more the $1 million and are actually losing $5 every e-book they sell. For the sake of all thing right.... stop the madness you two!!! The money is going to run out sooner or later.
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02-02-2009, 07:53 PM | #67 |
Reader
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If conversion was as troublesome the the publisher thinks, then how come we have so many freely donated books in our upload section?
It takes a lot more than 5 seconds to make a conversion, but is not nearly as onerous as he thinks. |
02-02-2009, 08:12 PM | #68 | |
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Still, of course, that just covers some of the fixed costs. The marginal costs including retailer share, encrypting transaction and storage fees, and opportunity costs for the loss of pBook sales still have to be accounted for. Some people get it, and some people don't. Publishers are not in the business of publishing, they are in the business of making money. In fact, if they are publicly traded, the have a legal responsibility to attempt to make money and maximize profits. There are more costs associated with producing and selling an eBook than most people realize, plus eBook sales can make up such a small run for a given title that they aren't even profitable at today's prices. As a matter of fact, that's even true of pBooks today. It's the $25 hardcover bestsellers from headline name authors that support publishers taking a chance on the $9.95 new authors' paperbacks. I understand the desire for cheap eBooks - I've been hooked since the Rocket back in 2000 - but an awful lot of people seem to think the books should be just short of free because they don't understand the costs involved. |
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02-02-2009, 08:16 PM | #69 | |
eBookin' Fool
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02-02-2009, 08:28 PM | #70 | |
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And, of course it complete ignores remaindering in place, which is where the books are not returned but instead toted to the bargain bin and highly discounted. Or pulped, where the cover is removed and shipped back for credit and the rest of the book supposedly destroyed. Simply put, remaindering and pulping are not a huge expense given the number of pBooks sold, and therefore not a huge savings in favor of eBooks. |
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02-02-2009, 08:49 PM | #71 | |
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02-02-2009, 09:41 PM | #72 |
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I just took the Word document of Richard Herley's eBook Refuge and converted it to LRF using Book Designer. Took my maybe 10 minutes to do so.
Most books without any sort of complex formatting are rather easy to convert to eBook form from the original source document which is usually some sort of word processing document such as from Word. Now, if I want to go to Mobipocket from here, it would take maybe 15-20 min. |
02-02-2009, 10:01 PM | #73 | |
Wizard
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But seriously, I understand that there are large additional one time costs in creating an ebook and the market is relatively small. The market place will eventually determine the correct price. I personally think that Amazon is closer to the correct price then the publishers. |
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02-03-2009, 12:33 AM | #74 | |
Jeffrey A. Carver
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One thing not mentioned yet is that standard manuscript format for editing purposes is not the same as the format you want for ebooks. (Or for pbooks, for that matter.) Maybe that, too, will change. But right now, you can't take a typical author's Word file and just feed it into conversion software. Not unless you want crappy ebooks. |
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02-03-2009, 01:06 AM | #75 | |
Jeffrey A. Carver
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But to spin that toward the present topic, my reason for doing that was to introduce the books to an audience that didn't know them, and it certainly has worked at least with some of the readership here. But if we were analyzing the process as if looking at a publisher's bottom line, we'd just have to say, well, it's an investment in publicity and promotion, and we hope it'll pay off one day in book sales. But we can't prove it by present returns. Oh, what the hell--I'll give some numbers. My free offering of the Chaos Chronicles has brought in a few hundred dollars in Paypal donations--and I thank everyone who's kicked in a contribution. It's a welcome thank-you. But if that alone represented the return I was looking for, I'd do better joining the people holding out cans at the traffic light. Fortunately, it doesn't; my main purpose was outreach. But what about my commercial ebook editions, which are intended to make a profit? Well, some of them have been available on fictionwise and elsewhere for years (for under $9), and they have yet to earn me a nickel. (That is to say, the earnings have not yet paid off my share of the production costs.) That's not such a good picture. I hope and expect that this will change, or I wouldn't be continuing to put books up. But at the same time, I'd like folks to realize that putting out ebooks, even when you do it right, is still pretty much a business gamble on a market that's still small. |
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