Quote:
Originally Posted by Xenophon
I missed filling in the *-d note in the above message. Here it is:
*Some publishers have been smart enough to cut out one or more levels of middlemen in their eBook stores, and have arranged better terms with their retailers. So this picture isn't quite correct for the entire industry, just most of it.
Which brings me to my alternate proposal. Why not use the Web for what it's good for (disintermediation, that is) and wipe out the distributors (mostly) and the retailers (to some degree). The need for those levels of the current system (especially the distributors!) is far smaller than the need for the important part of what the publishers do. Cutting out those levels of the distribution chain would free up somewhere between 50% and 75% of the current price of ebooks. Splitting that money between authors, publishers, and consumers would leave all three parties better off, with no need to involve government or tax $$ at all!
Hint: This approach is already being used very successfully by some of the publishers in the eBook business. It works. They make more money. We spend less. Authors get more. What's not to like? Remind me why we needed to drag government into it?
Xenophon
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I do think this is the future of publishing. Instead of these huge behemoths that got to grow and expand their bloated bureaucracy through their positions as gatekeepers to an expensive and arcane process, publishers will be more of a partner with the author. They will provide services that authors need: editing, formatting, publicity. Houses like Baen's and Tor have proven you can do this with far fewer people and do well while being fair to the customer. You don't need layers upon layers of executives and middle management. These people exist in the current publishing world because it can support them, not because they're necessary for maximizing profit. The fox is guarding the henhouse. The people in charge of making the decision to pare down aren't going to admit they need to cut themselves. However, just because the big publishers are bloated messes doesn't mean all things a publisher can offer are worthless.
Will cheaper ebooks kill the dinosaurs? Probably. Will they kill publishing? I doubt it. I think a good publisher can out-compete the proposed Web 2.0 free-for-all. Books are lengthy affairs. It's not like an article or video you spend a minute with and then reddit or digg. The vast majority of books that did not have the benefit of a critical editorial eye would get downvoted in the space of one page. I doubt many people would endeavor to edit them from the goodness of their hearts. I don't think I'd spend many of my precious hours sifting through the haystack for that one sharp, shiny needle. I already have a job. In this system authors would be turning to editors and publicists to raise their book up anyway. Editing isn't just checking for typos. It's giving the author another perspective on all sorts of aspects of the book from pacing to plot to characters to clarity. These days, even small businesses hire consultants to raise their ratings (and sometimes lower that of competitors) on places like Yelp.com. The idea that we'd escape that with books is a bit overly optimistic IMO.