Paul Cornell blogs about ebooks and piracy - Page 2

silasgreenback · 12-23-2010, 01:27 AM

There were some mentions of formatting. One commenter even goes so far as to say "I can tell you with authority that a LOT of work goes into making an attractively formatted ebook.".

I've seen various formatting complaints about ebooks bought from major publishers and it leaves me confused every time. I'm no veteran, but have tinkered around with Calibre enough to figure out how to have a nicely converted and formatted ebook without even reading anything outside of the program's provided documentation.

I refuse to believe that a major book publisher has to mark up an ebook by very much on the basis of formatting costs alone. Unless I'm missing something completely, it just seems odd that they would hire pros to use a system that's so inefficient that it can't compare to what I can achieve at home.

tompe · 12-23-2010, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

TANSTAAFL or "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
A quintessentially American idea. Ref; Heinlein or Friedman

As calling the English people thieves, my point was more to the idea that
they may have been raised to expect that many of the things they want
and/or need, will be provided to them as an entitlement. At least, more so
than those raised in the culture of the USA.

The funny thing is that it is people from US that at least here in MR that feels most entitled to buy books very cheaply and complains about unfair prices. Europeans seems to accept the prices as reasonable.

And things like health care is not free.

mr ploppy · 12-23-2010, 02:02 PM

We've had music piracy for over 50 years now, I don't see any great reduction in the number of teenagers taking up a guitar and forming new bands.

It always amuses me when I read about all these nasty pirate sites making millions of pounds from free downloads and taking food out of the mouths of creators. If they can make millions from free content why is it beyond the capability of creators to do the same?

jgaiser · 12-23-2010, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Cite?

I'm not Jeremy, but here's an article citing a Norwegian study that says musicians income is up 66% despite decreased album sales. One of the reasons was revenues from concerts increased by an average of 136% between 1999 and 2009.

rogue_librarian · 12-24-2010, 02:52 AM

Unfortunately that's not an option authors have. Would you pay to attend a reading or booksigning by your favorite author?

mr ploppy · 12-24-2010, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Unfortunately that's not an option authors have. Would you pay to attend a reading or booksigning by your favorite author?

They could sell deluxe ltd edition hardbacks to the people who want them.

PressEnter · 12-24-2010, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Unfortunately that's not an option authors have. Would you pay to attend a reading or booksigning by your favorite author?

Actually, quite a few people already do. People pay to attend sf conventions and see and hear their favourite authors speak and get to hang out in the bar with them. Admittedly not everyone goes to cons for that reason, but a lot still do. Then there's the Edinburgh Book Festival (I live in Glasgow) where, yes, people do pay to see and hear their favourite authors.

I'm not by any means advocating this, by the way, as a serious means of authors making money, simply pointing out that there are times and places - mainstream literary festivals and genre cons - when people will in fact reach for their wallets just to hear and see a particular author. Assuming they're already a big name, of course.

dkperez · 12-25-2010, 02:42 PM

I'm certainly not a learned as some of you are about the real costs of the publishing business, but to me the whole process seems counterintuitive...

I remember in the "old" days being told a hardcover was so expensive because of the cost of publishing. That the author only got a few cents because the editing, printing, delivery, advertising, and returns were the "huge costs"....

Now, we have a form of "book" with drastically reduced costs (still have to edit and format, deliver electronically and advertise, but paper? printing? returns?), and now the litany of costs from the publisher changes to say that there's NO reason these ebooks should cost significantly less than hardcovers and far MORE than paperbacks.......

SOMEBODY is lying...

I wasn't around at the beginning of the industrial revolution, but this seems like a bunch of Luddite publishers attempting to prevent time and technology from moving on and forcing them to change a business model that's

I find it ridiculous that I cannot take the item I've purchased and dispose of it AS I CHOOSE. I cannot give it to my sister, cannot sell it at a yard sale, cannot auction it on Ebay, cannot take it to the local Half-Price Books and sell it to them..... Nor can I BUY a different ebook at the Half-Price Book store... SO, I'm forced to pay more for the product than the equivalent paperback would cost, AND I cannot recoup any of my cost at the time I wish to dispose of the item.

I can understand authors wanting a reasonable return on their work, but like many commodity products (think wheat or corn), this seems another case where the middleman is claiming huge costs, charging large amounts for the product, and returning very little to the original producer...

I have absolutely NO sympathy for the publishers and encourage authors to do their own distribution of ebooks whenever possible. Consumers would be able to purchase at prices lower than a paperback, and the authors would get to keep a far higher percentage of the profit.

And if consumers find ways of reducing their costs for the products in ways the publishers don't like, that's too damned bad. There should be a free market in used ebooks, retailers should be allowed to set their prices and discounts, and spurious efforts to prevent that in the name of preventing "piracy" is guaranteed to cause exactly the activity the publishers are attempting to prevent. The technology is changing, and the buggywhip manufacturers will be gone soon enough.

Penforhire · 12-25-2010, 05:53 PM

While I do not begrudge writers earning a living off their writing, I do not agree that new works would cease if writers were not paid. If you know enough actual authors you know that many are so driven to write they would do so even if they weren't paid. They might not be as prolific or do as much expensive research but they would still write. In a free-distribution environment we would still read them.

MrsJoseph · 12-25-2010, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Unfortunately that's not an option authors have. Would you pay to attend a reading or booksigning by your favorite author?

I would, if my favorite authors offered that access. Also, there are several bookstores in my area that offer conversations and authors for a fee.

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12-23-2010, 01:27 AM	#16
silasgreenback New Leaf Turner Posts: 260 Karma: 1026664 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Hadestown Device: Kobo Glo	There were some mentions of formatting. One commenter even goes so far as to say "I can tell you with authority that a LOT of work goes into making an attractively formatted ebook.". I've seen various formatting complaints about ebooks bought from major publishers and it leaves me confused every time. I'm no veteran, but have tinkered around with Calibre enough to figure out how to have a nicely converted and formatted ebook without even reading anything outside of the program's provided documentation. I refuse to believe that a major book publisher has to mark up an ebook by very much on the basis of formatting costs alone. Unless I'm missing something completely, it just seems odd that they would hire pros to use a system that's so inefficient that it can't compare to what I can achieve at home.

12-23-2010, 02:02 PM	#18
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	We've had music piracy for over 50 years now, I don't see any great reduction in the number of teenagers taking up a guitar and forming new bands. It always amuses me when I read about all these nasty pirate sites making millions of pounds from free downloads and taking food out of the mouths of creators. If they can make millions from free content why is it beyond the capability of creators to do the same?

12-24-2010, 02:52 AM	#20
rogue_librarian Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 4269175 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Europe Device: Pocketbook Basic 613	Unfortunately that's not an option authors have. Would you pay to attend a reading or booksigning by your favorite author?

12-25-2010, 02:42 PM	#23
dkperez Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 1047931 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: nine	I'm certainly not a learned as some of you are about the real costs of the publishing business, but to me the whole process seems counterintuitive... I remember in the "old" days being told a hardcover was so expensive because of the cost of publishing. That the author only got a few cents because the editing, printing, delivery, advertising, and returns were the "huge costs".... Now, we have a form of "book" with drastically reduced costs (still have to edit and format, deliver electronically and advertise, but paper? printing? returns?), and now the litany of costs from the publisher changes to say that there's NO reason these ebooks should cost significantly less than hardcovers and far MORE than paperbacks....... SOMEBODY is lying... I wasn't around at the beginning of the industrial revolution, but this seems like a bunch of Luddite publishers attempting to prevent time and technology from moving on and forcing them to change a business model that's I find it ridiculous that I cannot take the item I've purchased and dispose of it AS I CHOOSE. I cannot give it to my sister, cannot sell it at a yard sale, cannot auction it on Ebay, cannot take it to the local Half-Price Books and sell it to them..... Nor can I BUY a different ebook at the Half-Price Book store... SO, I'm forced to pay more for the product than the equivalent paperback would cost, AND I cannot recoup any of my cost at the time I wish to dispose of the item. I can understand authors wanting a reasonable return on their work, but like many commodity products (think wheat or corn), this seems another case where the middleman is claiming huge costs, charging large amounts for the product, and returning very little to the original producer... I have absolutely NO sympathy for the publishers and encourage authors to do their own distribution of ebooks whenever possible. Consumers would be able to purchase at prices lower than a paperback, and the authors would get to keep a far higher percentage of the profit. And if consumers find ways of reducing their costs for the products in ways the publishers don't like, that's too damned bad. There should be a free market in used ebooks, retailers should be allowed to set their prices and discounts, and spurious efforts to prevent that in the name of preventing "piracy" is guaranteed to cause exactly the activity the publishers are attempting to prevent. The technology is changing, and the buggywhip manufacturers will be gone soon enough.

12-25-2010, 05:53 PM	#24
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	While I do not begrudge writers earning a living off their writing, I do not agree that new works would cease if writers were not paid. If you know enough actual authors you know that many are so driven to write they would do so even if they weren't paid. They might not be as prolific or do as much expensive research but they would still write. In a free-distribution environment we would still read them.