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Originally Posted by dsvick
If the prices are falling and the royalties to the authors are increasing then the profits for the publisher must be falling. If that is the case then what is being lost - editing? marketing?
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Wasted overhead for returns and printing-delivery-storage costs. Inventory tracking. "Shrinkage"/theft costs. Damaged goods costs.
A lot of people aren't buying the notion that "print costs only cover about 15-20% of the book's cover price"--or if they do accept that, they assume those costs are related to trade or mmpb cover prices, not hardcover.
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Also, if royalties are rising but prices are falling I have to wonder if that will really mean anything for the author in the long run. After all a 10% royalty on a $20 book is the same as a 25% on an $8 book - granted they may sell more books at $8.
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Authors who come into mainstream publishing from successful indie/self-publish routes are going to demand to know why publishers want more than 50% of the list price of the book. (Or rather, why they should sign a contract to that extent. Why publishers *want* that much money is obvious.) 10% of a $20 book is $2--so's 50% of a $4 book. The author is going to want to know why the publisher thinks they won't sell five times as many $4 books.
Publishers are going to have to get over the idea that "higher price = more valuable product," because a lot of readers aren't accepting that anymore.