Quote:
Originally Posted by Daithi
PROFIT!!!!
. . .
I have to believe the margin on ebooks is huge.
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The fallacy of the list is that it assumes that each of these points constitute the bulk of the cost. More importantly, it assumes that no pbook version is created. And, even more importantly, it assumes that ebook sales do not cannibalize pbook sales.
It does a publisher no good if they print 10,000 hardcover copies of a book for sale at $24.95 and simultaneously release an ebook version at $9.99 if they do not recover the costs of printing the hardcover version through sale of the pbook. There is a symbiotic relationship between ebooks and pbooks that has to be maintained for the publishing industry to survive.
Whether the industry should survive or whether it should survive in its present form is a different question. However, authors and consumers would both be adversely impacted, in my opinion, if the industry does not survive. Publishers
do bring a lot of benefits to books -- including to both authors and readers -- benefits that will not be adequately replaced by direct publishing by authors.