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To add my two cents, I believe that both William & RLauzon are correct.
The distinction I see is that RLauzon is arguing that the...post production services of a publisher are unnecessary in the e-book world, and so those costs should go away. We close the binderies, lay off or transfer the workers who set type, load paper, and actually *make* the physical book. No big factories creating physical content, less payroll, less overhead.
William Moates is concerned that the...pre-production services of a publisher are not lost. Publishing house gets lots of unsolicited stuff, and I wager that a good number of bidding authors need help to hone their skill, and the rest mostly stink.
An editor, a proofreader, and a fact checker need not, I think, work just for the big scary 800 pound publishing company. They could incorporate as a small consulting group, working free lance for authors. Hire an IT manager, and they can start getting content out.
I think that the latter is a perfectly cromulent business model, and I believe that there is a link of this forum to a situation like that happening. A software company here in Chicago became their own online publisher.
There are any number of professionals who were faced with obsolesence(sp), and had to adapt or more elsewhere. This is a fact of life, especially in business. Unless people acquire new skills or try new methods, they fail.
Getting back to the debate, it seems that every one agrees that e-books are cheaper to produce. If this is the case, it is quite infuriating to be saddled with the cost of another product when I want to buy something, and to receive less of a product or less quality because of the form I want it in.
If I buy a Ferrari, mine should not cost $19,000 more because I want it in white, not red.
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