Quote:
Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald
It takes no more effort to format the authors digital file to an e-book format than to a print ready version and the expense of physically printing the book and distributing it is nonexistant with an e-book. Much of the two processes are duplicated. Your argument is pretty much invalid.
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You're right about the amount of effort involved to create an e-book format from the author's digital manuscript being no greater than the amount of effort required to create the print-ready master files.
The problem is that you can't produce a print copy from a digital master any more than you can produce an e-book directly from a print master. No more effort does not mean exactly the same effort.
If you want to argue that e-books should be somewhat cheaper than paper, I won't argue. There are real cost savings in e-books. However, that doesn't mean they should be drastically cheaper. Paper related costs are only $1-2 a book, so expecting e-books of current paperbacks to drop to less than $5 is probably wishful thinking. When it comes to hardcovers, you're dealing with a different pricing model anyway. Part of what you're paying for with a hardcover is getting it six months to a year before the paperback, and with the e-book of a hardcover you're getting that early access so it's going to cost more than a paperback.
It should be less than the hardcover, and the price should drop over time - but it should include something to cover that access.