[leebase]

I know -- this remains a hot button topic. I just thought I'd share my own recent decision making.

Tom Clancy released his first book in 10 years in the Jack Ryan series. I paid $14.99 for the ebook from Amazon. I think the hard back was 60 cents more. Didn't matter. I bought the ebook because that's how I like to read books. I paid $14.99 because I wanted to read the latest Clancy RIGHT NOW.

Eric Lustbader has come out with the latest book in the Jason Bourne series, "The Bourne Objection". It's $14.99 in ebook form as well. I paused and considered whether I really wanted to read this book RIGHT NOW. Based on the last book in the series, I decided to wait. For fun, I checked the ebook price of the previous book in the series, and it's still $14.99 even though the paper back is out for 1/3rd less. The book before that in the series is in ebook form for $9.99. I have plenty of other books to read at the moment. Books I've already paid for. I will either check the book out from the library (which will involve waiting) -- or I will buy it in paperback (which will involve waiting) -- or I will buy it when the price comes down (which will involve waiting). Who knows, I may simply forget about wanting to read this book.

Nowhere in my consideration is how much it costs the publishers to make the book. I don't really worry about how much actually goes to the author. I am concerned about DRM, but there's ways to handle that. What matters to me is that I like the author's and their books are a relatively known quantity to me. To buy or not buy the book has everything to do with how much money I have in my pocket at the time, and how much I desire to read a given book, and the attractiveness other options have for my money (be it other books, or tv, movies, games etc.)

I am not boycotting Eric Lustbader or his publisher. I'm merely making a consumer's choice. I want to read his book, but at the current price, I'll use one of the "wait till later" options. No crime has been committed by the publisher or by me. Take away the "ebook" part of the story, and it's the SAME way I've been making my book purchasing decisions my whole life. I have a hunch that the vast majority of the book buying market will behave as I do.

Lee