Quote:
Originally Posted by xwolfi
I hear that a lot from american friends. Voting with our wallet is a concept they are attracted to, but I feel like we're not on an equal footing compared to the heavy marketing and the lack of hope we face from the opponents.
Okay you won't give money or visibility to the book, but publishers have massive advertisements and people are so isolated they don't really feel like their voice could matter. Therefore not buying Dan Brown's book will not really make the market understand it has to adapt, and people will still buy/sell at higher prices simply because they can.
And I'm kinda thinking about these indie authors, but I don't read only for the content but also for the social factor. Speaking about a classic book and discussing the ideas in it with others is a good part of what I like in reading 
But maybe I'm mixing indie and self-published. I just fear that now that we can all publish on the internet, any moron can too and a publisher is like a reassuring light in the night pointing toward the worthy books. Which is obviously not always true and often misleading. |
Voting with your wallet is fine in concept, but even in America does the publisher/retailer care. You need publicity and group effort to get any effect at all.
I vote with my wallet all the time but it is due to thrift, not under the impression that I am making a difference or sadly that I am even morally right. Some poor guy may have to charge higher prices just to keep afloat. And I do buy from my smaller local stores when the price difference is low, but faced with the choice of buying two of a product for 5.97 or buying one of same product for 11.99, I will buy the 2 for $5.97. Just can't justify paying more than four times as much. And this is a common occurrence.
I don't go the Indie route, mainly because I am old and the publishers have always delivered books pretty consistent with my expectations and continue to do so. I am sure many Indie books are as good, but I have been unlucky with the few I have tried. Even the few Indie books that have hit the big time and have gone the traditional publishing route have not been my cup of tea. Not saying they are bad as many books are not my cup of tea
But with publishers I seem to know where I stand. I read probably 60% old tried and true authors, many of whom are dead unfortunately, and about 40% new authors, some of whom it is their first published books. My satisfaction is over 90% I would guess with both categories. Assuming my satisfaction was over 10% with Indie books, which hasn't been the case with even those who got picked up by a publisher, I would have to buy 8+ books to find one I wanted to read. Not my idea of a good time I'm afraid.
For those with worse economic restrictions for ebook buying than Canada and without Canada's excellent ebook libraries, I would recommend voting with your vote. Lobby your politicians through email phone calls and snail mail. While America may have better pricing than some other countries, other countries produce less books and are perhaps more open to reform as they are not actually receiving the same number of tax dollars from the publishers.
Helen