Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
If the non-fiction book is properly marked up in for example LaTeX is should be relatively easy to have programs that automatically produce the different versions.
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Well, you are welcome to develop, test, certify and support an application system that does, and provide it for free and support it for free if you'd like.
I'm sure one or two mid-sized publishers would be willing to re-tailor their workflow and input files to meet your systems needs providing the system was robust and suitable for an enterprise solution, and free. Providing conversion of the input files from the original manuscript into your input format doesn't end up equating to twice as much work as they are currently doing.
Still, of course, that just covers some of the fixed costs. The marginal costs including retailer share, encrypting transaction and storage fees, and opportunity costs for the loss of pBook sales still have to be accounted for.
Some people get it, and some people don't. Publishers are not in the business of publishing, they are in the business of making money. In fact, if they are publicly traded, the have a legal responsibility to attempt to make money and maximize profits.
There are more costs associated with producing and selling an eBook than most people realize, plus eBook sales can make up such a small run for a given title that they aren't even profitable at today's prices. As a matter of fact, that's even true of pBooks today. It's the $25 hardcover bestsellers from headline name authors that support publishers taking a chance on the $9.95 new authors' paperbacks.
I understand the desire for cheap eBooks - I've been hooked since the Rocket back in 2000 - but an awful lot of people seem to think the books should be just short of free because they don't understand the costs involved.