Quote:
Originally Posted by guguy
I wonder about something : can an author who is already published (pbooks)
sell ebooks directly via a website ?
|
It depends entirely on whether they own the electronic publishing rights to their own work, which would have been part of the original contract. Electronic rights (and other rights) can also revert to the author over time. If a publisher still holds the electronic rights, the author is not entitled to directly sell ebooks-- they have presumably been paid for those rights.
Regarding the cost of publishing, while I wish authors could get a larger slice of the pie, I think there really are a lot of costs we're not taking into account. Right at the top is the retail markup, typically at 40%. In a bricks-and-mortar shop, that markup goes to pay staff, rent, lights, insurance, etc. In an ebook shop, some staff, rent, and lights are still necessary, though not as much as in a pbook shop, probably, but there are server costs. It's less expensive to handle digital goods, but still not free. Try telling Amazon (or Mobipocket) they aren't entitled to a 40% markup, though.
Then there's the distributor. Retail stores usually don't buy directly from the publisher. They buy from a distributor, which is also getting a markup. On physical goods, the distributors I sell my card game to get a
60% discount off the final retail price. This seems to me to be the most likely place to cut costs (besides shipping), because it involves physical inventories and the printing of catalogs.
Then there's the work the publisher does. You can't just write off the effort of editing, proofing, typesetting, marketing (to the extent the publisher actually does any) etc. and say that those costs are associated with p-books. If ebooks are going to drive p-books out of business, those costs will need to be picked up regardless of format.
Really, the only surplus I'm seeing is physical printing, distribution (maybe) and shipping/returns. I'm guessing that's good for at most 20%, even if the printing savings don't get eaten up by DRM.
To cross-check this estimate, take a look at Baen pricing. Mass-market paperbacks in the US are generally US$7.99 these days. Baen is charging about US$5, and can leave out the distributor markup (and maybe part of the retail markup) since as the publisher they're selling direct to consumers. I don't think there's a lot of fat in the Baen model, and they don't have DRM costs, so I'm skeptical that we'll ever see commercially edited/published ebooks at much more of a discount than Baen is able to offer.