Quote:
Originally Posted by kilron
the agency model for e-books is where the industry NEEDS to go. it makes the most sense. amazon's old model was absolutely screwing publishers.
seriously, who care if a book seems too expensive? are they holding a gun to your head, forcing you to buy books that you deem as too expensive? do realize that most of you paid several hundred dollars for a device that allows you to buy and read books.  lets not cut off any ears to spite our faces here...
but the agency model is probably the future of the industry. if we value books and authors, then we should embrace this type of model. if a book is too expensive, guess what's going to happen?? they won't sell, and the publisher will lower the cost! why is that so hard to understand?
if the ebook is the same price as the physical book, personally i'd rather have the ebook, because that's why i bought an ebook reader in the first place... to read books on it!  |
I agree. But publishers like Macmillan give the agency model a bad name. Look at Baen. Look at their prices. Look at how they compensate their authors.
Now look at Macmillan.
Notice a difference? The issue here isn't the agency model. The issue here is Macmillan's abuse of the agency model.
"But authors can just change publishers!" I hear some cry. Well, I've made that argument in the past as well. But many correctly point out that many authors are locked into contracts. Contracts that many of them were apprently so desperate to sign that they jumped at the first one waved under their noses.
Where the industry really needs to go is a reality in which publishers no longer exist. With print-on-demand and ebooks, retailers could hire an editorial staff and deal directly with authors (Amazon already owns a print-on-demand service). The only thing lacking then is publicity, and that's one area where the electronic marketplace still struggles, across all media.
But it will eventually catch up.