Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
eBooks & pBooks are the same cost up to a point. After all the writing, editing, rewrites, and what not to get the book finished, all the costs are the same. But now we diverge from the costs. The costs to setup the pBook & eBook may be similar. I cannot say. But once the eBook is sorted, there the cost differences become very clear. You don't have the cost to print the eBook, no cost for the materials, no cost for shipping and storage. No cost for remaindered books. No cost for the store the books are sold from. Yes, you have the costs for the computer(s) used at the data center, but that should be less then the cost of the physical store. So really, most of the costs after the book is done don't exist.
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Another factor that reduces the long-term cost of ebooks is that it is minor work to reformat them for future ereaders, especially if the source text is adequately formatted.
To provide an illustration, steps for initial release of a/an:
ebook: writing, editing, formatting, finalizing, electronic storage of final version, electronic release in the appropriate format(s), and final sale.
pbook: writing, editing, formatting, finalizing, electronic storage of final version (hopefully), printing, binding, packaging, shipping, shelf stocking, final sale, and disposal of unsold copies.
Steps for the subsequent release of a/an:
ebook: Retrieval of final version, electronic release in the appropriate format(s), and final sale.
pbook: Retrieval of final version (either in electronic form or by OCR scanning), editing and formatting of the text (if OCR scanned), printing, binding, packaging, shipping, shelf stocking, final sale, and disposal of unsold copies.
The above shows that there are many costs associated with pbooks that don't exist with ebooks. Among them are the need to provide a physical item for each book to the reader.