Quote:
Originally Posted by rhadin
Before ebooks your choice was hardcover, paperback, or not at all. I didn't hear a scream by anyone for paperbacks and hardcovers to be released simultaneously. It was expected and accepted that the paperback version would come a year later. And this is still the accepted process.
Now, because you want to read an ebook rather than a pbook you demand that they be released simultaneously. What makes for the sudden change? I don't get your intense dislike for publishers. Seems to me that a 3 month delay for a cheaper version is not unreasonable and is better than the 12 month delay that exists for paperbacks and with which you have been content for decades.
Why aren't you demanding that the hardcover, paperback, and ebook versions be released simultaneously? What is so special about ebooks other than you like them?
I'm proposing that ebooks be the paperback substitute and that the delay be reduced. Considering that there are competing interests involved, I think it is a reasonable solution. OTOH, I have no doubt that publishers would be willing to simultaneously release hardcover and ebook versions at the same high price but I don't hear any clamor for that.
At least I offer a proposal that takes into account the varied interests. Where is your suggestion that balances the competing interests?
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The problem with this theory is that it's created for a world that does not exist. As soon as a paper copy is in existence a digital copy is not far behind. It really boils down to a control issue, as in publishers are no longer in control, and they are scared. Publishing houses must either adapt or go away. At the dawn of the 20th century smart carriage manufacturers adapted their business to automobiles, those that didn't went away.
The arrogance of the publishing industry is staggering, here they are offering a product and thinking they can tell us when and where we can buy their product and in what format, especially when you consider that they cannot keep a lid on a digital copy. That didn't work out too well for the music industry did it? Antagonizing your customers is not a business model, just ask the RIAA, I think they would generally agree that this has not played out well for them.