[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by KevinH

> • Because the cost is not zero. It can cost quite a bit of money
> to convert a book into epub, mobi or other formats.

I simply do not believe this is true if any electronic version of the book exists.

Oh, really? Try converting a Revit document into InDesign. Let me know how that works out for you.

Digital conversions are not magic, especially when dealing with TOC's, footnotes, variable formatting, tables, illustrations, and at least two major -- and very different -- ebook formats (ePub and mobi). Heck, from what I understand, just performing basic edits in ePub can be rather time-consuming.

Originally Posted by KevinH

So then why the need to even worry about geo restrictions at all.

Because companies cannot violate contracts at their convenience, or for the convenience of their international customers.

Also, if you physically drive across a border, issues like sales tax, royalty rates, and abiding to local laws are taken care of. That's not the case if your computer is in Canada and the online bookseller is in the US.

Originally Posted by KevinH

So authors are not required to assign copyright when they get published?

Sort of.

The author completes the book (technically, it is in a "fixed form") and it is automatically copyrighted. The author and his/her agent then negotiates with the publisher; e.g. "we will publish 3 books by you at these royalty rates in the US. When it's hardcover you get 15%, trade paper 10%, mass market paperback 8%."

I don't recall when, but either in the early 80s or 90s the publishers started requesting electronic rights on books. So you have decades of contracts, and millions of books, where the issue of electronic rights is not specifically referenced in the contract. The status of ebooks for those contracts is not yet resolved, and will likely depend on the language in those specific contracts as well as agreements reached between various publishers and the authors.

Some authors also refuse to allow their books to be digitally distributed, notably JK Rowling. It's inconvenient for the ebook owners, but the publisher's hands are tied. And yes, she would definitely protest if they went ahead with an ebook version anyway....

Originally Posted by KevinH

>Also, it really doesn't cost a lot less to
> make a paper edition than an ebook edition -- maybe 15%.
That is bull. Simply look at the fully loaded supply chain costs including the bricks and mortar required (etc etc)

I have. It's not bull. It's economics.

Paper is cheap; inventory and shipping costs are spread out along the supply chain; and the retailer is going to take a cut regardless of whether it's paper or electronic.

Originally Posted by KevinH

Your idea of costing just looks at editing and author fees and tries to keep the exact same paradigm making none of the supply chain related costs variable in any way.

Incorrect.

The costs involved do include author's advances and royalties, editing and proofreading. It also includes taxes, legal fees, marketing, PR, cover art, market research, the retailer's cut and general overhead. Of equal importance for a publisher is covering the costs of books that do not break even -- which is, in fact, the majority of titles.

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but yes, the costs associated with paper just are not that big. Neither are publisher's profit margins; they tend to range from 8-15%. And most authors still won't be willing or able to do all the tasks performed by publishers and retailers, so those roles won't change nearly as much as many people believe. There will be changes in the supply chain, but the real losers will be the middle-man distributors like Ingram, who will basically get knocked out. But that'll be invisible to most consumers anyway.

Originally Posted by KevinH

I do expect them to act intelligently for their shareholders and to listen to their customers, to be forward looking, and understand that a completely new selling paradigm is needed (and will come) and that they need to be at the vanguard and not fight tooth and nail to prevent it from coming.

That's fine, but they can't spend millions of dollars performing conversions overnight. Nor can they trample on international laws and contracts at will, no matter how valid a consumer's desire to buy X can be.

Originally Posted by KevinH

As I said, there is a real opportunity for an international e-book store who understands these things and are willing to make an end-run around the publishers to get things done, directly with the authors if need be.

Retailers also cannot trample on international laws and contracts. Sorry, dude.

Since such actions would be largely illegal (except for new books with a contract that explicitly grants one company world-wide rights), I'm not really sure I'd want to give that type of store my credit card number.