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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
The Agency Model folks actually cut off sales of ebooks for a bit, and Amazon had to capitulate. They were in a position where they could do that for at least some period. But they would hardly want to do without Amazon permanently. It was ultimately a negotiating ploy.
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But Amazon must have known it was just a strategy. It makes no sense to capitulate. If a buyer looks for a book and doesn't find it in ebook form, he is left with 4 options: buy another ebook, wait for the ebook, buy the pbook or look for the ebook at a different store. If it gets out that the reason that the book wasn't there is because the publishers want to increase the prices, Amazon still wins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Did you miss the bit about not paying an advance? Royalties are only due on books sold. The advance is the largest variable in the costs of producing a book, and the amount of the advance will be predicated on the publisher's best guess at the sales potential of the book.
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No, I didn't miss it, but the advance is on the royalties. At the end of the day, in the case of pbooks, the author has an advance *or* royalties (depending on what is higher, and from what I understand, for most authors it is the advance that is higher). And as you said, the publisher estimates how many books will be sold, and gives the advance accordingly. This means that usually the advance will be in the range of the royalties, unless the book becomes a bestseller.
But the fact remains that with these ebooks the royalties are higher, and therefore the costs are higher.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
And as for "how many housewives have ereaders now and know about Carina Press?" First, don't assume the market is all housewives. Second, don't assume the market is non-technical. Many Harlequin readers will have ebook viewing devices (which don't have to be dedicated readers with eInk screens), and there are an assortment of ebook publishers specifically targeting the romance market.
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It's a numbers game, and "many" are not "most". It would go like this: from the total number of romance market, you take the percentage of those with ereaders (and I didn't say eInk) and multiply by the percentage of those who know about Carina Press and you wouldn't get a very big number. Considering the fact that many that hear about this will also hear that the quality isn't very good, or maybe even buy a book that isn't very good, and the number becomes smaller.
And the system that I was suggesting was for all the books to get the same treatment. Actually only the first chapter, so the author wouldn't gave to work on the whole book before he finds out if it is worth it or not. It would clear out the problem of market research and marketing, and maybe even the medium. If all the people who want the book prefer paper we get a pbook, if they prefer digital, we get an ebook.
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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
No, people don't buy it just because they see it on the shelves. It has to be on the shelves to be bought at all, but the mere fact that it's there won't magically entice someone not into vampire fiction to buy it.
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If I walk in a bookstore and all I see are vampire books and other books that I already bought, then I'll probably walk out with a vampire book. Sure I could boycott the system, but it would hurt me more than it hurts them, plus this will be over eventually, and then we will get an overdose of the new whatever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
I would.
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Read that post again. By the dictionary definition, you can't say that Amazon was extorting the publishers because Amazon is the one giving money to the publishers.
BTW, I don't buy anything from Amazon, because I just don't like their website, but I disagree with the publishers increasing prices because they have a pissing match with Amazon.