[sanders]

Okay, one more post and then I'll stop - otherwise I'll never finish my book :-)

Originally Posted by deviant

I claim that because I have yet to see proof that that percentage is warranted. Sure, you can say that publishers and intermediaries add value - I just don't see how that value can equal as much as 92% when the author's work is what really sells the book.

But where on earth did you get that value of 92% from?

Originally Posted by deviant

I doubt a whole lot of people would appreciate a book from a world class editor, master typographer and Ph. D. proofreader sold in a bookstore of marble and gold if the author's work was on the level of Elementary School.

Do you think publishers simply take any "elementary school level" manuscript, throw a couple thousand bucks at it to remove the worst grammatical mistakes and add a glossy cover, and put it on the shelves?

Originally Posted by deviant

I understand that the publishers have expenses, including distribution. What I don't understand is why are they still in the equation and why books are still sold in bookstores when so much more efficient ways of distribution are available?

Becuase these much more efficient ways of distribution don't work for everyone. You can take Amazon as an example, which sells books for a significant discount off the cover price (because the book store margin is so high) and has them delivered to your door. But Amazon still doesn't account for the majority of book sales. It certainly is a business model which seems to work, though.

Originally Posted by deviant

As far as I'm concerned, they might as well be left out. And after that, I'd be more than willing to pay the author the $0.5 he receives with each purchased copy. Am I crazy?

Not really. If the author's work is a cake and everything else is the icing - then please, no icing!

There needs to be so much more in place before we get to this level. Making a payment of $0.5 probably costs more than $0.5 in the current payment systems. Until we have proper micropayments, this is not feasible.

Let me say this again. If I tell someone that I bought a DVD of a movie for my kids, which are less than $10 bucks (so I'm not even talking about "expensive", $25 blockbusters), they look at me like I'm insane. Why don't I simply download a torrent and burn it myself? In fact, they usually offer to do this for me. When I politely decline, they think I'm a weirdo.

Once ebook readers are really common, the same will happen with books. This, understandably, worries publishers (and authors too, probably).

You can argue that movies are still made, so apparently things aren't so bad. I personally dislike the idea that the book industry will become a "begging" industry, more or less. If I had the feeling that people thought "Of course I'd pay a few bucks for a book I downloaded - that's only fair", I'd feel better about this. But the gist seems to be "I have no moral obligation to pay for anything, whatsoever". This makes me uneasy.