Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
But obviously, "acquire every possible customer" is not high on her priority list, or she'd be selling through Amazon and B&N.
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The way she is going about it is more about "acquire every last penny".
Actually, I rather like how she is going about it, and I see no hint of the "greed" some are griping about elsewhere. In reading the reports, several things stand out:
- A book published in 1997 (contracted in 95-96?) has a contract with no mention of digital rights and, apparently, neither do any of the sequels.
- There has been no hint of conflict between Ms Rowling and her publishers over those rights, unlike the very public and judicial battles instigated by other publishers. Whatever negotiations took place were kept quiet and instead of an open bidding war, she chose to work with her publishers. In hindsight, it may very well be that the lack of ebook editions was due more to the need to discretely settle the issue of digital rights than anything else; it is only recently that ebooks became enough of a business to be worth the effort to settle the
- A lot of venues are presenting Pottermore as if it were a self-published effort, neglecting the involvement of and cross-promotion with her publishers and the big-time hired guns involved in the project. To me, Pottermore is closer to Microsoft's HALO WAYPOINT or the Universal theme park, than your typical author web site, and not just in size or polish. What's been described is more of an entertainment site that sells books on the side than any kind of competitor for Apple, Amazon, or B&N.
A worthy endeavor for Potter fans but hardly much of a lifeline to change Sony's position in the ebook business.