Quote:
Originally Posted by Richwood
I am an antique who remembers when a paperback novel was typically priced in the 35 to 50 cents range. Extra thick ones cost 95 cents. I still have a few in my library. To me a ebook novel priced at $9.95 is ridiculous considering that the publishing cost of an ebook is minimal and there is no need for the publisher to worry about returns for credit from stores as there is for printed books and magazines sold by retailers. I agree that authors should be supported but I wonder what percentage of the retail ebook price actually reaches the author from a major name publisher.
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I discussed this with an small editor during a convention.
He explained that this idea of the "cost of an ebook" is almost nothing is misleading.
Copying a file doesn't cost much indeed, but to be fair the actual price of producing a paperback is quite low, too.
The price of a physical book is mostly to pay the author, the proofreader, the guy how created the text layout, the rent of the physical store, etc...
And while some of thoses expense don't exist for ebooks, others do : the price of developping (or buying) a website, the price of servers and maintenance, etc...