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Originally Posted by Manabi
The killing off of pre-orders may simply be Amazon doesn't know if they'll still have rights then because the contract expires before the book's release date.
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So two days ago, when Amazon was selling pre-orders for the Robert Galbraith book coming on June 19, this contract existed? And two days ago, Hachette abrogated it? If anything like this, the issue will be in the courts, and we will hear of it. In the meanwhile, you are ignoring the most obvious explanation in favor of the most convoluted and unlikely.
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Originally Posted by Manabi
It may be considered "Indie", but Amazon pays larger percentages of e-book sales than the BPHs to authors that go direct.
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You seem to be mistaking the experience of the few who earn out their advances for the majority who do not.
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Originally Posted by Manabi
So I'm not sure you can say definitely that they benefit from sticking with Hachette. It could go either way depending on the author and their situation.
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Agreed.
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Originally Posted by Manabi
I just have history on my side, but what does that count for? Look at the digital music market, people most definitely did hate DRM, and it was hurting the music business far more than it was helping them.
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The majority of listeners want to hear a given song multiple times. The majority of readers want to read a given book once (or less, as some many readers start a book and do not finish). I think this one time consumption norm is the main reason why DRM is more workable for books than music.
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Originally Posted by Manabi
Fines are intended as punishment for not following the rules, not a feature.
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US$0.25 a day, and, in many cities, an exemption for children, is a punishment? Really?
Suddenly stopping you from reading the book, with the only alternative (if no renewal available) being to pay maybe $9.99 to purchase it -- just to read the last chapter or two -- that's much closer to a punishment.
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Originally Posted by Manabi
He'd do the same even if the book didn't have DRM. (And very possibly already has.)
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That was my point.
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Originally Posted by Manabi
But try telling your dad he doesn't own those e-books and that Amazon can (contractually!) take them away from him at any time, even while he's in the middle of reading them, and see what he thinks about THAT.
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Although I'm not a big fan of Amazon, the idea that they are going to take a paid eBook away from my Dad's Kindle while he is reading is approximately as likely as that the credit card bank is going to send a repo man to take back a paper book he is reading.