Quote:
Originally Posted by jridley
Is this work that does not have to be done for normal print? Is it work that has to be done separately for each ebook format? If so it seems like the solution is to design a better workflow, not do a ton of work. I can't believe that every ebook format is so wildly different from every other one that many hours of work has to be done for every format, given that it's already been done for one format.
Surely proofreading needs to be done for ANY format, including dead trees?
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Yeah, people are mixing together editing costs and distribution costs. The editing will stay relatively the same, regardless of whether it's an eBook or a pBook. Also, most of the work you do for one will carry over to the other. As for the ebook formats being so vastly different that you have to start over again for each one... that's not really true. If you do it right to begin with then it's fairly painless to convert to the different formats. I have no doubt that it's possible for it to be a major effort, but if it is then you're doing it wrong.
Editing is not where the ebook savings comes into play. That stays basically the same. It's the whole distribution/retailer chain where ebooks become much lower cost. Publishers don't get that because they're trying to apply their old model to ebooks. The savings comes from changing the model. If, as the article says, it's just as expensive to run an online service as a physical distribution chain, then the publisher is an idiot.