Quote:
Originally Posted by bminata
Even in the scenario where some variables stay the same (promotion, proofread, up-front payment, etc) and publishers have to "subsidize less successful authors" and "no book stand on its own" as mentioned here, in e-publishing the cost for production, warehousing, distribution should be much less than in print. There's really no reason for publishers to insist the price for ebooks should be the same with printed books - other than profits.
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I agree, and as an aside, while I am sympathetic to the idea of giving less marketable authors a chance, I am not entirely symptathetic. Agents and publishers take their cut partly to make marketing decisions about what is good and what isn't. Right now, there seems to be a "publish 'em all and let the market sort 'em out". Who cares, if they get paid either way? Maybe they should be more choosy, and take more responsibility for their decisions.
It isn't going to put too much of a crimp on authors - there are many ways to publish your work these days, the problem is getting it read and recognized as good by some arbiter of good taste that can get others to read it. But that is a problem either way.