Cost of eBooks vs dead-tree books

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Most full time authors are on welfare as people on Zero Hours / Minimum wage make more. Only a small fraction of authors published by big publishers make enough to live on.

Even an author like Piers Anthony had to keep his day job (I think as a teacher) well into his career and long after he had a "household name" in the SF genre. It kind of floored me when I first read that.

Looks like I'm misremembering. Apparently Piers Anthony quit his day job in 1966 and about 10 years later he published his first "big hit," the first Xanth novel, A Spell for Chameleon. Should have fact checked first... I must be confusing him with someone else.

https://www.famousauthors.org/piers-anthony

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HLS

Why do we keep talking about the same topic a 1,000 times lol

Nobody is asking you to read this thread.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

The break out of the pricing of a paper book has been posted here before, only a small percentage of the cost of a paper book is associated with the physical act of printing the book, i.e. paper and ink. Roughly half goes to the retailer, most of the publisher costs are associated with basic business expenses and the cost of actually creating the text (author, editor, artwork, etc...) and making up for other authors not covering the cost of their book. The last is the expense that most people tend to either ignore or discount.

There is the cost of shipping, cost of warehousing, cost of remainders. It all adds up.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Indeed.
The pricing of a paper book or ebook is complicated and many self published authors are too cheap.

Most full time authors are on welfare as people on Zero Hours / Minimum wage make more. Only a small fraction of authors published by big publishers make enough to live on.

Very few artists of any kind make a living. That's just the shape of the world we live in.

I think we can all agree that a writer deserves to be paid for the books he/she sells. But to say the artist deserves to make a living implies a more perfect world than ours.

Barry

[Sirtel]

I don't understand those who seem to think that wanting things to be cheaper is entitlement. People have always wanted things to be cheaper, wages to be bigger, living and working conditions to be better. It's natural. And they should want it. It's the driving force of the civilization. Otherwise it's likely we would be living in a world with a handful of super-rich and billions of dirt-poor, with no middle ground in between.

What's so wrong with wanting things to be more affordable? It's not the same as wanting the makers of those things to not get paid. The wish for cheaper, more affordable goods is one of the factors in keeping the invention going, finding new ways to make things, for lower costs. Does someone miss the times when only the very rich could afford books and other luxury goods? I bet one could hear a lot about the entitlement of the masses then too.

[John F]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

The break out of the pricing of a paper book has been posted here before, only a small percentage of the cost of a paper book is associated with the physical act of printing the book, i.e. paper and ink. Roughly half goes to the retailer, most of the publisher costs are associated with basic business expenses and the cost of actually creating the text (author, editor, artwork, etc...) and making up for other authors not covering the cost of their book. The last is the expense that most people tend to either ignore or discount.

Which is why indie authors can charge so much less?

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by John F

Which is why indie authors can charge so much less?

Yes and No. Indies do get most of the price of their books, however, there are several different price models used by Indies. Those who produce a book or two a year, tend to price very close to the big publisher price point. Those who churn out a book every month or so tend to price at a lower price point, simply because they are more like the pulp writers of old.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Many years ago I bought MMPBs because they were affordable and took up (relatively) little space. But I quickly realized that for me, I was throwing my money away. Too often the spines were damaged after the first read and certainly after the second or third read. Covers tore easily, almost as easily as a dust jacket, and the pages tended to deteriorate rapidly. MMPBs were great for books that I wanted to read and then give away and never see again, but not for books that I might want to reread or have in my library for others to borrow and read or for my children/grandchildren to inherit.

I have hardcovers that I bought in the 70s and 80s that I have read more than once but that still appear to be new. I have hardcovers from the 50s and 60s that show minimal wear. The biggest wear on the older books occurs on the dust jackets, extra care is required to preserve them.

A good example is my set of the Saga of Recluce books by L.E. Modesitt Jr. I have the complete series in hardcover and even the first book (published in 1991) is in near-new condition after having been read by several times by several people.

I would also note something else that hasn't really been touched upon in any depth: future value. First edition hardcovers can be valuable on the resale market years down the road. For example, the Magic of Recluse, which is the first book in the "Saga" series, in "like new" condition can sell for more than $100 on the used book market largely because it is no longer available. In contrast, I can buy the MMPB edition new for $10 because it is still in print, which means that it has no resale value to speak of. Of course, ebooks have little to no resale value because they are always available.

As others have indicated, whether the ebook, the trade paperback, the MMPB, or the hardcover is the preferred format is wholly up to the reader. It depends on what the reader wants from a book. For me, if I just wanted to read a book and then "toss" it, an ebook would be ideal, but I have other wishes which make the hardcover my preference.

When I was reading paper books, MMPB was always my preferred format because it fit in my purse, and was easier to hold. I don't care about how a book looks, or smells, or fits in my book case...I just care about how easy it is to read. That's why I have switched to almost entirely ebooks.

I do still have more paper books than most people I know, but they are mostly for an emergency...like an EOTWAWKI* emergency. Even then, I will read my ebooks as long as I am able. If we ever do get to the point of no electricity for months (or years*) on end, and no way to get gas for the generator, then I will still have my paper books to read.

Shari

*End Of The World As We Know It

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I don't understand those who seem to think that wanting things to be cheaper is entitlement. People have always wanted things to be cheaper, wages to be bigger, living and working conditions to be better. It's natural. And they should want it. It's the driving force of the civilization. Otherwise it's likely we would be living in a world with a handful of super-rich and billions of dirt-poor, with no middle ground in between.

What's so wrong with wanting things to be more affordable? It's not the same as wanting the makers of those things to not get paid. The wish for cheaper, more affordable goods is one of the factors in keeping the invention going, finding new ways to make things, for lower costs. Does someone miss the times when only the very rich could afford books and other luxury goods? I bet one could hear a lot about the entitlement of the masses then too.

Absolutely spot on.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by shalym

If we ever do get to the point of no electricity for months (or years*) on end, and no way to get gas for the generator, then I will still have my paper books to read.

If you have the time and inclination for leisure reading in those circumstances, consider my hat pre-emptively doffed!

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I don't understand those who seem to think that wanting things to be cheaper is entitlement. People have always wanted things to be cheaper, wages to be bigger, living and working conditions to be better. It's natural. And they should want it. It's the driving force of the civilization. Otherwise it's likely we would be living in a world with a handful of super-rich and billions of dirt-poor, with no middle ground in between.

What's so wrong with wanting things to be more affordable? It's not the same as wanting the makers of those things to not get paid. The wish for cheaper, more affordable goods is one of the factors in keeping the invention going, finding new ways to make things, for lower costs. Does someone miss the times when only the very rich could afford books and other luxury goods? I bet one could hear a lot about the entitlement of the masses then too.

Very good post, this. I now feel both sides of the debate have validity.

[DiapDealer]

There's a world of difference between "wanting things to be more affordable" and "ebooks should always be cheaper than paper ones".

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

There's a world of difference between "wanting things to be more affordable" and "ebooks should always be cheaper than paper ones".

If the publishers are going to price eBooks similar to the pBook, then they should allow the stores to put eBooks on sale like they can with pBooks. I feel that not allowing eBooks to be on sale is unfair.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If the publishers are going to price eBooks similar to the pBook, then they should allow the stores to put eBooks on sale like they can with pBooks. I feel that not allowing eBooks to be on sale is unfair.

Then don’t buy them. If/when I think a business is behaving badly, I withhold my purchases unless it’s a necessity. If sufficient people alter their buying habits, things will change. And in the meantime, there are still lots of books sold by non-Five publishers that are discounted.

[pdurrant]

Once big advantage to ebook pricing is that they go on sale from £1 or less. One never sees paper books at that price nowadays.