The unit profit to the publisher and author for a hardback are higher than for a paperback. So it's not unreasonable for the eBook version to have a higher cost while only the hardback is available. Once a paperback edition comes out, the eBook price should also drop.
Baen doesn't do things this way - the eBook is the same price whether the paper book is hardback or paperback. What they do have is 'eARCs' - early release (before final copy editing) electronic versions that come out a few months before the hardback at a higher price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adriatikfan
And ... I can understand why a newly released book with a hardcover costs more than a book with a soft cover (production costs etc.,) But ... why does the ebook version of a hardback have to cost as much? The preparation of the text, the hosting costs on a server, the bandwidth to download are all the same, aren't they? So ... does this mean that the profit margin for the ebook version of a hardback is greater? These are genuine questions - I hope they're not stupid ones and that I'm not missing something blindingly obvious.
Best Wishes
David
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