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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Sure, and we'll see if anyone tries it.
The ePub format seems to be becoming the standard, though there is still some way to go. ePub is a container, and the container can hold more than just the text of a book.
Consider a premium ePub edition with the book itself, plus a video interview with the author, an audio copy of the book, a portfolio of art inspired by the book... It might need to be issued on a DVD, but it's entirely possible, and I've already seen something like it.
"Director's Cut", anyone?
I'm not sure the mass market is subsidized by the higher priced spread. There are still any number of books that don't get hardcover or trade PB editions. What subsidizes them? MMPB editions need to be profitable in themselves. Not all will be - some books just don't sell very well, and the author soon finds herself without a contract - but books that do sell well enough make money.
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Dennis
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Isn't that the risk a publisher takes when they choose to publish a book? It's kind of the same as producing a movie. Even a movie made by a proven director, actor, screen writer can bomb for any number of reasons. I think the same can be applied to publishing books. A proven author with a strong following could very easily write a book that doesn't appeal and doesn't sell as well as expected. Publishers and editors are supposed to be experienced enough to know what will sell but if they are off the mark, they have to accept the consequences of poor sales. It hardly seems fair to a successful book sales to be expected to support the unsuccessful ones.
As far as HC subsidizing MMPB, I would think the increase in volume sales when the MMPB is distributed would easily over take HC sales. Not to mention that once the MMPB is released, the HC is seriously discounted while the bookstores are able to keep the MMPB at the same release price for however long it exists on the shelf. MMPB are rarely, if ever, discounted. Thinking from a consumer's viewpoint, the whole thing seems completely backward and arcane. Trying to apply the same archaic thinking to the release of something as innovative as ebooks shows me that publishers have no foresight.
By the way, Dennis, I like your idea of a "Director's (or Author's) Cut. Now that's innovation and forward thinking.
