Could this be Ebooks, 3 Years from now?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

I think it has more to do with the fact that most presented books are older, had been released way before and that since all the reviews were out years ago, they were too lazy or under staffed to properly re-release the works...

Without being specific, the e-book I just purchased, written by an established (though not "top-tier") author, has only been out for about 2 years, and was released in print by Daw. It is filled with numerous errors that can only indicate a bad scan-OCR job and no proofing afterward. It wasn't even consistent in chapter breaks and other formatting. Clearly there is a "Do it, but don't spend any money on it" mindset at work here.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by tompe

I think that is a bad idea. A lot of people do not want to review books but they would be perfectly willing to give a comment about the techical quality of the book. Especially since it is such an annoying thing to have a badly proof read book so they want to tell everybody about it.

Maybe, but when it comes to getting the word out to potential buyers, you're better off having a prominent reviewer comment on the e-book quality as well as the literature. The reason is that when people go to get info about a book, they are not going to read every little comment by every little guy who's touched the e-book. They usually start with notable reviews, do 2 or 3, and make a decision. If those notable reviews (presumably by a reviewer you trust) comment on e-book quality, you are likely to listen, and less likely to keep searching for more comments.

This does pose the risk of being conned by a reviewer that didn't really do his homework, or who someone has "gotten to." Most likely, given the eBabel situation, no reviewer would do it anyway.

Your other alternative is a respected clearing-house where people can specify formats and rate books according to e-book quality. But an independent site covering "all e-books" would be a monster to manage.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Without being specific, the e-book I just purchased, written by an established (though not "top-tier") author, has only been out for about 2 years, and was released in print by Daw. It is filled with numerous errors that can only indicate a bad scan-OCR job and no proofing afterward. It wasn't even consistent in chapter breaks and other formatting. Clearly there is a "Do it, but don't spend any money on it" mindset at work here.

Figures it'd be something put out through Penguin. From what I've seen so far they are the most inconsistent in quality, pricing & what they make available in ebooks.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Without being specific, the e-book I just purchased, written by an established (though not "top-tier") author, has only been out for about 2 years, and was released in print by Daw. It is filled with numerous errors that can only indicate a bad scan-OCR job and no proofing afterward. It wasn't even consistent in chapter breaks and other formatting. Clearly there is a "Do it, but don't spend any money on it" mindset at work here.

I don't want to appear negative but two years is old under the point of view that readers with success are less than a year old. I would even venture that noticeable popularity is just as old as the Kindle's birth; 2 months?

This means that before this, ebooks weren't even on publishing houses' radar screens, so it's probable that the book you talk about has been reworked from paper instead of the original desktop publishing file. Shamefull but probable.

As of now, ebooks, I'm sure, are tangible targets for all major publishing houses, and worthy enough of allowing special treatment to facture and marketing. This quality crisis we are treading through is temporary for newer works and will only affect older works; until they're deemed serious. But still it's a shame they weren't considered so before, for it will be very long before reworks are corrected.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Maybe, but when it comes to getting the word out to potential buyers, you're better off having a prominent reviewer comment on the e-book quality as well as the literature. The reason is that when people go to get info about a book, they are not going to read every little comment by every little guy who's touched the e-book. They usually start with notable reviews, do 2 or 3, and make a decision. If those notable reviews (presumably by a reviewer you trust) comment on e-book quality, you are likely to listen, and less likely to keep searching for more comments.

This does pose the risk of being conned by a reviewer that didn't really do his homework, or who someone has "gotten to." Most likely, given the eBabel situation, no reviewer would do it anyway.

Your other alternative is a respected clearing-house where people can specify formats and rate books according to e-book quality. But an independent site covering "all e-books" would be a monster to manage.

I usually do not read reviews at all but trust word of mouth. And it was a site that collected only the technical information that would work like a clearing house I was thinking about. I seem to remember that that was exactly how the DVD site worked. And I think a wiki of some sort could do the job easily for now.

[astrodad]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

I agree with your proposal but I still fear e-readers are a tiny segment of the market. I ask everyone I run into if they ever heard of e-ink or e-readers and only a few people have a clue what I'm talking about. I'm trying to be an e-reader evangelist because I want further development. The Kindle is not making a dent yet.

The funny thing is they had the Kindle splashed on Amazon's front page for months but even Amazon users go "huh?" when I ask them. E-readers are not yet mainstream American devices. We're just hanging out in a rarified crowd here.

Of the last ten of my visits to Amazon.com, only one came through the home page; the rest came through links from sites. You're right, three years is too short a time, unless someone accelerates that process with a killer reader device, the "ipod" of readers, so to speak. Even kindle owners will agree that the kindle is not the device that will usher in wide-scale use of e-books.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by jplumey

Of the last ten of my visits to Amazon.com, only one came through the home page; the rest came through links from sites. You're right, three years is too short a time, unless someone accelerates that process with a killer reader device, the "ipod" of readers, so to speak. Even kindle owners will agree that the kindle is not the device that will usher in wide-scale use of e-books.

An iPod of readers is highly unlikely, there are to many players involved in the closed loop market so far. Add to that an unsolvable EBabel and we're set to play the waiting game. Some alliances will have to be formed like the Beta/VHS conflict. Who's going to fold and join the other is yet to be clear. Right now, the market seems to be big enough to satisfy all players so far, it can almost be deemed an artisan approach more than a multinational. That can last indefinitely.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

An iPod of readers is highly unlikely, there are to many players involved in the closed loop market so far. Add to that an unsolvable EBabel and we're set to play the waiting game. Some alliances will have to be formed like the Beta/VHS conflict. Who's going to fold and join the other is yet to be clear. Right now, the market seems to be big enough to satisfy all players so far, it can almost be deemed an artisan approach more than a multinational. That can last indefinitely.

One well-designed device... preferably color... and a good multi-format conversion app to ePub... just... might... work!