Quote:
Originally Posted by Phebe
But because the book is so large that it's unwieldy and hard to print and bind legibly, it's a valuable property for Amazon's Kindle --- and the ARI. It's a case of it being substantially MORE valuable in eBook form than paperback, so ARI is probably trying to price it high. Just my guess.
|
Hmm. Interesting thought. One of my sons brought the comic "Bone" to my attention a while back. It's a series of (entertaining and well drawn) comic books which have been gathered into a single Volume of Biblical Proportions, hereinafter "VBP." The VBP sells for around 40 bucks, discounted anywhere from 20 to 40 percent, Amazon to Borders coupons.
But recently, it has appeared in a series (12 so far) of iphone apps, at 99 cents each. I figure that there are 55, plus or minus, potential apps, so the gross from these sales could approach 50 bucks for the same material in the VBP.
Now let me tell you that Bone translates beautifully to the iPhone, and is much more accessible in that format than in print. So I think the extra cost is supported - and it is also made more palatable by being dribbled out across many small purchases. So serialization, in this case, adds value, and reduction to electronic format also adds value.
Phebe, I think you've identified something here that is worthy of bearing your moniker: The "Phebook Factor," which comes into play when an ebook is more valuable than the pbook, for reasons having to do with greater ease of use or accessibility in electronic form.