Tor

Taylor514ce · 05-18-2008, 07:26 PM

Does Tor actually sell ebooks? Or publish ebooks, for purchase on other sites? If so, where? Of their free ebook offerings, I actually read one all the way through and liked it, John Scalzi's "Old Man's War". It's part of a trilogy. All right, the free bait hooked me, and so I'm ready to purchase the other two. Here's my money... but no one wants to take it. I don't see any ebook options on the Tor/Forge MacMillan website.

What's the story? I see that there is a Kindle edition of "The Ghost Brigades", which tells me that the book has been published electronically, but certainly not just to Kindle owners?

Taylor514ce · 05-18-2008, 10:14 PM

Apparently, they do publish ebooks, but only for Amazon/Kindle. This is the kind of thing that drives people to piracy. TOR can make ebooks. They have made ebooks. They have made these books as ebooks. They only provide them, though, to Amazon, who only makes them available to Kindle owners. I want to smash and sue and boycott Tor and email Scalzi.

Nate the great · 05-18-2008, 10:26 PM

That's not true. You can find Tor books on Fictionwise. Search for a publisher called holtzbrinck.

There isn't much, though this could be a result of Fictionwise needing to upgrade their website.

Taylor514ce · 05-18-2008, 10:34 PM

That publisher isn't even in the list of publishers on FictionWise. A search for "Scalzi, John", only shows the first book, "Old Man's War", which was already given away as a free ebook from TOR. The next in the series, The Ghost Brigades, is available to Kindle owners but not, apparently to anyone else in the ebook universe.

The third book is only available, apparently, in hardcover.

Nate the great · 05-18-2008, 10:45 PM

Yes it is. I'm looking at a list right now.

I found it under Advanced Search.

DMcCunney · 05-18-2008, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Does Tor actually sell ebooks? Or publish ebooks, for purchase on other sites? If so, where? Of their free ebook offerings, I actually read one all the way through and liked it, John Scalzi's "Old Man's War". It's part of a trilogy. All right, the free bait hooked me, and so I'm ready to purchase the other two. Here's my money... but no one wants to take it. I don't see any ebook options on the Tor/Forge MacMillan website.

What's the story? I see that there is a Kindle edition of "The Ghost Brigades", which tells me that the book has been published electronically, but certainly not just to Kindle owners?

Good question.

Tor is certainly aware of ebooks. Tor CEO Tom Doherty was a friend and former boss of the late Jim Baen on Baen books. He was aware of what Jim was doing with the Webscriptions program, and at one point had put together a deal with Jim to offer Tor content over Webscriptions, and things had progressed enough for both companies to announce it.

Unfortunately, Tor is a unit of the German outfit Holtzbrinck (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_v...blishing_Group), and Tor's corporate parent pulled the plug on the deal when they discovered Webscriptions books were not protected by DRM. Cue much annoyance all around.

Holtzbrinck seems to have rethought its opposition, and things may be moving again. But offhand, I'd say Tor is in the process of figuring out the best way to do it, and I see part of Tor's ebook offer as a test of the market for electronic editions and the acceptance of particular electronic formats. (I have no doubt someone is tracking numbers of downloads of each format.)

There may also be contracts to be amended to permit Tor to offer electronic editions, if an author's contract doesn't explicitly provide for that.

And the trilogy Old Man's War is a part of is definitely worth it, even if you must resort to paper.

______
Dennis

Vesper · 05-18-2008, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Yes it is. I'm looking at a list right now.

I found it under Advanced Search.

I searched Fictionwise and couldn't find anything else from Scalzi apart from OMW.

DrS

Nate the great · 05-18-2008, 11:04 PM

On any page of Fictionwise, in the upper left hand corner, there is a search box. Below the box is a link to Advanced Search.

You can search by publisher, and one that will work is holtzbrinck.

P.S. I just went looking for OMW, and Fictionwise screwed up. They listed it with the wrong publisher.I guess this means who the hell knows what you'll find if you look for it.

Taylor514ce · 05-18-2008, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Yes it is. I'm looking at a list right now.

I found it under Advanced Search.

Found it... but not the particular book I'm wanting. The point of my rant is that this book is available as an e-book, but only as a Kindle Edition through Amazon. That's what gets my blood boiling.

Taylor514ce · 05-18-2008, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

And the trilogy Old Man's War is a part of is definitely worth it, even if you must resort to paper.

______
Dennis

I'm not going to have book one as an ebook, book two as a lousy paperback, and book three as a bulky, overpriced hardcover. I'll just move on to another author, and try to remember Scalzi as well worth a read if/when he has a publisher willing to get their act together.

Nate the great · 05-18-2008, 11:12 PM

It's also in Topaz, so it's DRMed up the wazoo. If someone bought you a copy, you couldn't use it.

Vesper · 05-18-2008, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

On any page of Fictionwise, in the upper left hand corner, there is a search box. Below the box is a link to Advanced Search.

You can search by publisher, and one that will work is holtzbrinck.

P.S. I just went looking for OMW, and Fictionwise screwed up. They listed it with the wrong publisher.I guess this means who the hell knows what you'll find if you look for it.

I can only find OMW and nothing else. This is way to weird

And I tried search by author, title (every title by Scalzi), click on "by John Scalzi" on OMW page - and one big nothing.

DrS

Nate the great · 05-18-2008, 11:23 PM

Yes, the problem you're having is caused by the crappy software that Fictionwise is using to run the website.

Nate the great · 05-19-2008, 09:49 AM

Do you know what I want from TOR? I want the works of James White as ebooks. He wrote a series of novels and short stories set in a multi species hospital. Most are SF medical mysteries, with solutions dependent on some intricate detail of an alien species' anatomy or psychology.

None of his work is available in electronic form. I would gladly pay for a legitimate copy. Unfortunately, TOR doesn't want my money.

JSWolf · 05-19-2008, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Yes it is. I'm looking at a list right now.

I found it under Advanced Search.

Link please?

05-18-2008, 07:26 PM	#1
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	Tor Does Tor actually sell ebooks? Or publish ebooks, for purchase on other sites? If so, where? Of their free ebook offerings, I actually read one all the way through and liked it, John Scalzi's "Old Man's War". It's part of a trilogy. All right, the free bait hooked me, and so I'm ready to purchase the other two. Here's my money... but no one wants to take it. I don't see any ebook options on the Tor/Forge MacMillan website. What's the story? I see that there is a Kindle edition of "The Ghost Brigades", which tells me that the book has been published electronically, but certainly not just to Kindle owners? Last edited by Taylor514ce; 05-18-2008 at 07:31 PM.

05-18-2008, 10:34 PM	#4
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	That publisher isn't even in the list of publishers on FictionWise. A search for "Scalzi, John", only shows the first book, "Old Man's War", which was already given away as a free ebook from TOR. The next in the series, The Ghost Brigades, is available to Kindle owners but not, apparently to anyone else in the ebook universe. The third book is only available, apparently, in hardcover. Last edited by Taylor514ce; 05-19-2008 at 06:38 PM.

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05-18-2008, 10:14 PM	#2
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	Apparently, they do publish ebooks, but only for Amazon/Kindle. This is the kind of thing that drives people to piracy. TOR can make ebooks. They have made ebooks. They have made these books as ebooks. They only provide them, though, to Amazon, who only makes them available to Kindle owners. I want to smash and sue and boycott Tor and email Scalzi.

05-18-2008, 10:26 PM	#3
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	That's not true. You can find Tor books on Fictionwise. Search for a publisher called holtzbrinck. There isn't much, though this could be a result of Fictionwise needing to upgrade their website.

05-18-2008, 10:45 PM	#5
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Yes it is. I'm looking at a list right now. I found it under Advanced Search.

05-18-2008, 11:04 PM	#8
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	On any page of Fictionwise, in the upper left hand corner, there is a search box. Below the box is a link to Advanced Search. You can search by publisher, and one that will work is holtzbrinck. P.S. I just went looking for OMW, and Fictionwise screwed up. They listed it with the wrong publisher.I guess this means who the hell knows what you'll find if you look for it.

05-18-2008, 11:12 PM	#11
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	It's also in Topaz, so it's DRMed up the wazoo. If someone bought you a copy, you couldn't use it.

05-18-2008, 11:23 PM	#13
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Yes, the problem you're having is caused by the crappy software that Fictionwise is using to run the website.

05-19-2008, 09:49 AM	#14
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Do you know what I want from TOR? I want the works of James White as ebooks. He wrote a series of novels and short stories set in a multi species hospital. Most are SF medical mysteries, with solutions dependent on some intricate detail of an alien species' anatomy or psychology. None of his work is available in electronic form. I would gladly pay for a legitimate copy. Unfortunately, TOR doesn't want my money.