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I think you guys just hit it on the head bigtime right there by mentioning DRM. I'm a proponent of open formats (I'm a huge FOSS zealot), so all I will ever support is epub and pdf, and both will be offered WITHOUT DRM for as long as I absolutely can. The only way I'd lock down an ebook under DRM would be if I was not allowed to sell my books unless they had DRM, and even then I'd probably pitch a bloody fit until they dropped the requirement. Same goes for proprietary formats, such as Kindle.
The only place I know of right now that it's either go proprietary or deny your book to a customer base in the hundreds of millions is on Amazon. And despite being forced to go with the Kindle format on Amazon, it will be offered 100% without DRM. I will not support a technology that is inherently anti-consumer, as that's an insult to all my readers. And I'm hoping that very soon the couple of lawsuits working their way through the courts will force Amazon to also offer their books in epub and pdf formats as well. Because, if they do, I will be all over it and will drop my offering of the kindle format like a hot potato.
So with that said, if a book normally retailed for $16 in paperback, if it were offered in an open format such as epub or pdf, would it still be worth $9.99 as an ebook? Or are you guys dead set on only ever paying $5 a copy for an ebook? As I've said before, I'm digging for input all over the place in order to finally decide my pricing strategy for my books when I finally release them in ebook format.
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