Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bob Russell
It's interesting all the false signals the e-book industry might be getting that make them think e-books are less popular than they are...
* People buying paper books after getting e-books from "non-commercial" sources
* People buying a paper book to scan it
* People reading a paper book because it's not available in e-book form
* When publishers ask questions when they offer free industry magazine subscriptions, they ask "Do you want this delivered in electronic form instead of paper?" I always say "No" even though I'm the biggest fan of electronic books and magazines. But the particular implmentation and format is unknown and likely to not be useful, so even if they do it right, I don't say I want it.
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I had a somewhat different experience recently. At one time I think Technology Review published their digital version as a .pdf. I tried for quite a while to find format information on their site. No success. So I signed up for their free trial issue with the rest of the subscription to follow and be billed. Either they changed, or my memory was bad, as the format was Zinio - incompatible with the Iliad. When they e-mailed a follow up, I responded that I would be cancelling the subscription, along with the reason.
I hope that makes a bit stronger case for getting the format issue right - knowing opportunities to sell are out there and losing the sale by 'bad' technology decisions.
Let's hope the publishing industry finally 'gets' it. My Fictionwise bookshelf is now up to 4 pages of multiformat books. Getting rid of DRM only opens up my choices - and I'd hazard a guess those on this forum are the volume purchasers that publishers might consider listening to.
[Stepping off the soap box to give someone else a turn]