Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthulhu
The unit cost of an ebook is zero only after a "book" is produced.
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Since nearly all typesetting is done electronically, the book must be in an electronic format already. Therefore the cost of producing the eBook is 3 clicks of the mouse to save it as an open format.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthulhu
There are advertising costs, research costs, editorial costs. Any labour that goes into producing something that comes from a publisher needs to be compensated.
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Since the publisher has done nothing, he should get nothing. So take that cost out. If the author wants to incur those other costs, that's up to the author and comes out of his cut.
The only cost to an eBook is the profit to the author and the pennies it takes to "publish" it electronicly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthulhu
Proofreaders deserve to be paid, whether they are created something read as a .pdf file or as a bundle of dead tress pasted together.
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Cost of doing business. As a consumer this cost does not interest me. That's like GM saying that they are going to add $1000 to the cost of the car to test it for you so it doesn't blow up.
Note that as soon as the eBook is put into a closed format (like PDF), the value of the eBook drops significantly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthulhu
I mostly agree with your assessment of publishers and their attitudes regarding e-books, but you must remember that everybody needs to get paid.
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Publishers bring no value to eBooks. Therefore they should not get any money from eBooks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthulhu
What price should/would you expect if e-books were the only form of books?
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$1 for short stories. $4 for novels.
No more than $1 if the eBook is in a closed format.
If DRM is involved, $0. (Any eBook with DRM on it is a rental, not a purchase. I can rent an eBook from the library for free. Hence the fair market value for an eBook rental is $0.)