Author Urges eBook tie-up

[Sydney's Mom]

I would be fine with this if (1) the price was the same (2) I could automatically gift the pbooks to my local library and (3) I would not have to wait for the pbook to get the ebook. Last night, I read a sample I had downloaded some time ago, and liked it so much I immediately bought the book. When I opened my email and looked at the receipt, it said 1:44 am.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Uhmm... Let's say they are a great move forward for narrative prose and will likely (over time) exterminate MMPB. The premium print formats will endure a while. At least a couple decades more.

Just keep in mind the game is ongoing, ebooks and reader devices are still evolving and there is still big money in the other pbook classes. It won't be long before ebooks break out from the narrative text domain.

Reminds me of a cartoon I saw in the Computer Shopper with a guy holding a computer, which looked like the computer pencil sharpeners, between his thumb and finger and saying "I remember when these were the size of footballs"

Of course this was in 1985-6 when Mini-computers were still widely used, still more than a few in use, but now people are starting to complain about the size and price of Blade servers

Helen

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

I'm not so sure about ebooks taking over the other classes of publication any time soon.

I am. I expect mass market paperbacks to be almost completely replaced by ebooks in another 10 years or so.

[jsmack65]

The fundamental problem isn't that the format, or medium - it's that the vast majority of people simply don't read. That's why bookstores are slowly strangling, and why eInk reader sales plateaued so quickly. A tiny minority of the population, who read voraciously, saw the advantage immediately, and bought them. Once they had them, they only infrequently need a replacement. Tablet sales continue to grow because non-readers can watch Netflix and play Candy Crush on them, not because they really want to experience the new Pynchon on an LED screen.

Giving me a pbook along with my ebook is simply handing me a chore - I've either got to store it, find someone who wants it, or swing by the used book store and sell it. I've got no use for it, and it's not my responsibility to prop up a dying business model by paying for it.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Amazon agrees it is a good idea.
(Angry Robot has been doing it for a while.)

Which is why Amazon created MATCHBOOK to encourage this kind of bundling.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=221578

Of course, that automatically means it's an eeee-vile idea for some...
(shrug)

Doggone it, if I had a real newspaper or magazine, I would whop you on the nose for using that vile "A***** word." (Or maybe just gesture with it.)

On the other hand how do people threaten or discipline pets these days?

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I am. I expect mass market paperbacks to be almost completely replaced by ebooks in another 10 years or so.

I agree, ebooks fill that niche perfectly. Other formats will last longer, but inexpensive disposable reads are going to shift to pure electronics.

[ucfgrad93]

Since I don't buy physical books any more, this doesn't really interest me.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by frahse

On the other hand how do people threaten or discipline pets these days?

[cortman]

Sounds like a fantastic idea, and makes perfect sense.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by frahse

On the other hand how do people threaten or discipline pets these days?

What's wrong with quoting Angry Robot?
(As for discipline, a case of Killian's red would do.)

[Ninjalawyer]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Bookstores, books - same thing to me. They're on the out and no amount of marketing is going to stop the inevitable. As to competition, I liken it to a fight between buggy whip dealers. Survival will require a unique online presence. Failing that, it's adios.

Well, maybe book stores, and the physical books they sell, aren't quite on the way out. Here's a graph from Christian Science Monitor:



The story is here, but it's probably worth mentioning that the increasing number of book stores follows big drops until 2009. Still, an upward trend is still interesting.

More on topic: As someone who just bought a physical copy of the book Oryx and Crake because it was cheaper than the ebook, I love this idea.

[QuantumIguana]

This looks like a good business decision. It's of no use to people who are only interested in e-books and who have no interest in paper books, but it doesn't have to interest them. It's easy to become zealous about something and lose perspective. For people who like paper books, this is a great way to get them to try e-books. For those who like both formats, it's a win, you don't have to choose. You can have your paper books on your shelves, and still take your book with you. Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

This looks like a good business decision. It's of no use to people who are only interested in e-books and who have no interest in paper books, but it doesn't have to interest them. It's easy to become zealous about something and lose perspective. For people who like paper books, this is a great way to get them to try e-books. For those who like both formats, it's a win, you don't have to choose. You can have your paper books on your shelves, and still take your book with you. Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too.

With me it is not zealousness. It is a defect in my nature that would make it hard for me to turn down the paper book if it was included. I could always donate it, but likely I just wouldn't buy. Not 'that that would set them back, but there would be many who would feel that they were paying for something they didn't want as well. Time will tell

Helen

[HomeInMyShoes]

The first R is reduce, so getting both a physical and electronic copy to me just seems wrong philosophically. I don't need to use the energy to transmit the bits or the paper in the book if I've got the other.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

With me it is not zealousness. It is a defect in my nature that would make it hard for me to turn down the paper book if it was included. I could always donate it, but likely I just wouldn't buy. Not 'that that would set them back, but there would be many who would feel that they were paying for something they didn't want as well. Time will tell

Helen

The general idea is that the bundle is a separate sku from the ebook and pbook items. Much as movies are sold as DVD, BD, and a triple combo with DVD, BD, and Ultraviolet.