NY Times: A New World: Scheduling E-Books

[Kris777]

Interesting article in NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/bo...ooks.html?_r=1


Many publishers did not want to talk publicly about internal discussions concerning whether to delay the release of e-books specifically on releases by best-selling authors who typically sell hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of copies in hardcover.

At least one publisher has made a decision to withhold an e-book edition of a forthcoming book to preserve demand for a hardcover edition. Sourcebooks, an independent publisher, is releasing “Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse,” a novel aimed at children, in September in hardcover. It will hold back the e-book until six months later.

...

Ms. Raccah said that because retailers like Amazon have set the standard consumer price for e-books, the publisher could only control when a book would be released in other formats. Delaying the release of an e-book, she said, was like publishing a cheaper paperback edition months after a hardcover edition.
...
Mike Shatzkin, founder and chief executive of the Idea Logical Company, a consultant to publishers on digital issues, said he did not believe e-book buyers cannibalize hardcover sales. “People who read e-books don’t buy physical books, and people who buy physical books don’t buy e-books,” he said. E-books still represent only 1 percent to 2 percent of book sales.
...

[rixte]

I think that's the same article linked here: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50986

[jimbob101]

Originally Posted by Kris777

Interesting article in NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/bo...ooks.html?_r=1

“People who read e-books don’t buy physical books, and people who buy physical books don’t buy e-books,” he said. E-books still represent only 1 percent to 2 percent of book sales.[/B]
...

Don't know about anyone else here but i've bought and read pbooks since i got my 505. and i have 3 of Stephen Baxters new books (All hardback) on pre-order with Amazon UK.

I think that many ereaders still buy pbooks as well.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by jimbob101

Don't know about anyone else here but i've bought and read pbooks since i got my 505. and i have 3 of Stephen Baxters new books (All hardback) on pre-order with Amazon UK.

I think that many ereaders still buy pbooks as well.

Quite. Not as many as I used to, perhaps, but I certainly still buy pbooks.

[Kris777]

I stopped buying paper books about a year ago since I purchased jetBook.

[alecE]

I've stopped buying pbooks for pleasurable reading completely since getting my reader. However, nothing quite does the job for a technical/reference item like a pbook.

Whilst I can understand the economics of delaying paperback and ebook release until after the hardback, I still gnash my teeth over it. I wonder what may happen when (if?) enough esales occur to make the hardback sales an unprofitable niche?

[TallMomof2]

For fiction if I can't read it on my Kindle, I won't read it. For non-fiction I make some exceptions for needlecraft books but once color eInk or its equivalent is available it'll be 100% digital for me.