Is this going to be a trend or something?

[artemisblossom]

I pre purchased Kim Harrisons new book Black Magic sanction and was told I could download it Feb. 23.......Feb 23rd came and I was unable to download it and was told that the publisher had pushed the release date back to March 2nd. Today I tried to download it and seen the release date has been changed to April 6th. Are new ebooks not going to be available the same time as the pbook anymore? I checked several ebook sites and they all seem to have changed the release date or taken the book off their site completely.

[rlparker]

Originally Posted by artemisblossom

...I checked several ebook sites and they all seem to have changed the release date or taken the book off their site completely.

Sounds frustrating!

If that ever happens to me, I'll vote with my $$ and cancel the sale.

[poohbear_nc]

Some of the major publishing houses have announced planned delays in ebook release dates - trying to bolster/force pbook sales. Probably will be an ongoing trend unless consumers vote with their wallets and don't the the delayed releases.

[Sydney's Mom]

That would drive me crazy! I'm afraid I would try the dark net, but I need to learn more patience.

[Kemp]

A conspiracy nut could think that they're being unenthusiastic about the ebook market, maybe trying to slow the growth of it by encouraging people to choose the print version?

[Billjr13]

They will not get my money before I can get my ebook. It will not help the Hbook sales from me I will just wait. If anything it might cost them a sale because there will be more time for reviews to come out and if they are bad it might keep me from getting a book. I know it has been said before but I think they should be released at the same time and if it is a higher price (same as the Hbook) for the first three months or so fine but I will most likly wait for it to drop to $9.99.

[emonti8384]

Hmmm, I wonder how much an author/publisher gets paid when you read library books...

[artemisblossom]

I have asked for a refund or a credit but I haven't gotten a response yet

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by emonti8384

Hmmm, I wonder how much an author/publisher gets paid when you read library books...

In the UK, slightly over 6p (US 10c). The payment from the "Public Lending Right" varies from country to country, and some countries (curiously) don't have a PLR at all. The money goes directly to the author, not to the publisher.

[weedfreak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

In the UK, slightly over 6p (US 10c). The payment from the "Public Lending Right" varies from country to country, and some countries (curiously) don't have a PLR at all. The money goes directly to the author, not to the publisher.

Small correction. The lends are estimated, a number of libraries count the lends from their collection and the total is extrapolated nationwide. It could be the author gets nothing if all the lends are from non counting libraries. In addition there is a maximum payment, not sure what it is now but is used to be 10k gbp. Catherine Cooksen for example always gets a maximum.

[KarateMonkey]

Same thing happened to me. Same book.

This is a popular enough series that I suspect it will hit the darknet before the official eBook release date. I'll probably download it then, and read it, but I'll leave the pre-order standing. That way I can have a decent copy when it's officially released. Maybe a polite letter to the author explaining that her publisher is pissing off her fans is in order.

The funny thing is, if they had been honest about the release date from the beginning. I wouldn't mind. I'd have been perfectly willing to wait a month for the cheaper eBook. If I didn't have it on pre-order now I might even shell out $20 to download the audiobook, but that's not going to happen now.

[mr ploppy]

I think ebooks should be positioned (and priced) at the second hand market level. So first you get your hardback at £14.99, then a few months later the paperback at £6.99, then a few months after that the ebook at £2.99.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I think ebooks should be positioned (and priced) at the second hand market level. So first you get your hardback at £14.99, then a few months later the paperback at £6.99, then a few months after that the ebook at £2.99.

But what if you don't want to wait 18 months to read the book? What should be the price if you wish to read it coincident with the hardback release?

[KarateMonkey]

Apparently a polite letter to the author is unnecessary.

From her blog:

What does this mean to you, the consumer? From what I’ve been told, the delayed release of the Black Magic Sanction e-book is affecting Kindles, Fictionwise, Nooks, Soney e-readers, along with a handful of others. (April 6th Go ahead, groan. Amazon priced them as a mass market, so that’s where they are sliding.) However . . . there are alternatives as I’ve been finding out.

Harpercollins/Eos was looking ahead, and though no one had a clue that the e-book situation was going to explode, they had someone out at my office with a camera about a month or so ago, gathering content for an enhanced e-book. This enhanced e-book content was designed for Iphones and Itouch, and since everything went boom, they decided to release it the same day as the hard cover, February 23rd. If you have a Iphone or Itouch and access to ITunes, you’re good to go. And you should see where you’re going! (grin)

Apparently there's an enhanced version available from iTunes, or apple anyway. It sounds like it includes the full text + audio book + some video interviews. I didn't think Apple was selling books yet. Does anybody know anything about this?

[pagansoul]

Via my iphone, the iTunes store. I guess you can go directly to audiable.com for more information.