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Originally Posted by Sonist
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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
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eBooks drop the print, bind, warehouse, and distribute steps of publication, but those amount to perhaps 20% of the total cost of a book, ...
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I believe it amounts to a bit more than 20%, but fine -- |
It varies by book. I know one editor for a major trade house who claims the costs are
10%. I consider 20% the top end, and suspect 15% is more likely.
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then we all agree that ebooks should be cheaper, at least by 20%.
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We do? Why?
I know why you think they should be 20% cheaper - you're the reader interested in buying the book.
Pretend I'm the publisher issuing the book. I see the chance of selling the ebook at the same price as the paper edition, with the 15%-20% savings of not issuing a print edition flowing to my bottom line. If I believe I
can successfully charge the same price as the paper edition and see comparable sales, tell me why I ought to lower it? (The fact that
you will then buy it will not sway me. You're one reader. I'm concerned with tens or hundreds of thousands of readers.)
You want to get your ebooks cheaper. I want to stay in business. Guess which will trump?
(I have encountered folks who think that being in electronic form
adds value to the book, and will pay
more for an ebook edition than a mass market paperback.)
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Moreover, they should be of comparable quality to the printed editions, and should be as easily transferred to future hardware devices. If not, then ebooks should be still cheaper.
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Easily transferred is a thorny matter. Right now, that means "no DRM", and I'm all in favor of that. But what happens down the road as devices change and ebooks change? What if the format you get becomes obsolete, and a new ebook format becomes dominant? What if your new reader can't read your old format ebooks?
And while I agree in theory on "comparable quality", what exactly does that mean?
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Dennis