Quote:
Originally Posted by starrigger
Another factor is the easy availability of used books online. If someone can buy my new book for regular price or a used copy for $.01 plus shipping, which will they do? Granted, that also helps writers pick up new readers, which is all to the good. Just like free ebooks. But it's helped kill the reprint market for books that have gone o.p.
All of which goes to say that the phrase "earn a living as a writer" is an oxymoron for way too many good writers.
|
This is interesting, as there are obviously a number of factors to consider when eveluating new models that could work. So internet searches make used books a revenue-reducer, by reducing the demand for reprints. I hadn't considered this one, but it sounds plausible.
How could the sales impact of PoD and ebooks be improved? Do well-linked websites with book-oriented search engines such as Amazon make up for the lack of hands-on browsing? This may just be shifting the balance betweeen cover art / shelf space and Web content of the seller. Maybe publishers could somehow help enhance Web content at selling websites by supplying links to search engines and databases. This would then come under the same heading as marketing, cover art, and distribution.
Perhaps large catalogs of available books on demand (ebook or PoD) will also reduce impulse purchases of books that are never actually read. I know I used to go into aocal bookstore with a huge (> 10 aisles) of SF and select books based on author, title, cover, thickness, and a quick flip-through (in that order). I'd buy a number of books that never got read, and early parts of series to be read when the last part came out,as pbooks can also tend to be "volatile" on the shelf and even big bookstores rarely have all parts of a series or trilogy at one time.
Let's suppose there is a new book publishing model where authors (and editors/publishers) get paid by the actual read. A short browse is free, a partial read ("so bad I couldn't finish the book") pays partial, and a full read pays a fixed amount, say $1.00 to the author for a new book and less for an older book. This would solve out-of-print and used-book issues, but might reduce revenues that would have been gotten from purchased but unread books. However it might get some additional revenue from re-reads. If I really like a book, I'll read it at least twice over the course of a few years.