John Grisham speaks out on the future of pbooks and ebooks

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Editors are not meant to be "creative"; they are meant to bring discipline to an unruly manuscript

....and they can be work-for-hire, they don't need to be part of the publisher as is the current model.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Yep, they are looking at it as a zero-sum game and it's not.

I've already bought several books in both ebook and pbook format.

It all just seems so shortsighted of them, you have the scenario you mention and the one where people won't buy paper books anymore that result in more sales if there's an ebook version and you have one scenario where some pbook sales are converted to ebook sales that doesn't lead to a gain in sales, but at the same time it isn't a negative since they will make at least as much profit from the ebook version.

[stustaff]

My current buying process

Walk around bookstore with my iphone and the barcode scanner ready, browse the books and see something i like scan it and move on to next book, maybe 4 or 5 books a time(once every couple of weeks)

Then I go home and TRY to buy the ebooks from various sites. Money for retailer £0 money for publisher,author etc in some cases they get some money but in some cases its not available as an ebook or it has ridiculous price so I look elsewhere.


OR in some fantasy world....
In the bookstore I could walk up to a till with my list and pay even the Paperback equivalent and give them my email address, then walk home and turn on my email to see secure download link with DRM if it HAS to have it. and download books to my reader.

Job done publishing and retail industry saved. oh and if in store they could sell me a drink in a paper cup, a la starbucks whilst I browse then MORE profit for the retailer, and maybe have a display of books that catch my eye so i buy one of those for my wife...

[Crowl]

Presumably the 2nd situation is the one that B&N are trying to have with the difference being that the nook would get the books via wifi while you were in the store.

[Shiren]

I don't understand how can an author think like that. Ebooks are great for authors because they remove the need for a publisher. That means more profit for authors and more authors for us. How many great books never got printed because publishers thought it wouldn't make money?

Before ebooks you needed : an author, an editor, a publisher and bookstores.

Now you just need : an author and an online store.

Let's say the online store takes 30% and sells the book for 12.99. That's $9 directly in the author's pocket. How much can an average author make selling pbooks through a publisher? 15%? Let's be generous and give him 25%. For a $25 hardcover copy, that makes $6.25.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by eGeezer

This wouldn't fly for the same reason the publishing industry fears ebook loaning (even tho nook's lending feature is just a nice sales gimmick at this time).

Since the typical pbook has a limited life but they apparently still mistakenly view second hand book stores as a loss of income, how enthusiastic would they be with a CD that could be copied, or at least passed around, indefinitely?

Just a thought.

there is no reason DRM could not be applied to the eBooks on the CD, although this day and age a CD is the wrong medium. An SD card is a much better choice.

Dale

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Shiren

How many great books never got printed because publishers thought it wouldn't make money?

On the flip side, how much badly-written incoherent narcissistic drivel have you not wasted time on, because a publisher had the sense to recognize "this will never be fit for human eyeballs?"

We still need editors & publishers--we just don't need them quite as much, and don't need much of the current production & distribution chain.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

On the flip side, how much badly-written incoherent narcissistic drivel have you not wasted time on, because a publisher had the sense to recognize "this will never be fit for human eyeballs?"

We still need editors & publishers--we just don't need them quite as much, and don't need much of the current production & distribution chain.

Publishers are also promoters. You can put a book on your own web site for a long time before anyone notices.

Dale

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Shiren

I don't understand how can an author think like that. Ebooks are great for authors because they remove the need for a publisher. That means more profit for authors and more authors for us. How many great books never got printed because publishers thought it wouldn't make money?

Before ebooks you needed : an author, an editor, a publisher and bookstores.

Now you just need : an author and an online store.

Let's say the online store takes 30% and sells the book for 12.99. That's $9 directly in the author's pocket. How much can an average author make selling pbooks through a publisher? 15%? Let's be generous and give him 25%. For a $25 hardcover copy, that makes $6.25.

Yes and no, It takes more than just an author and an online store. It requires someone to format the book appropriately (perhaps the author) and someone the manage the sales(the online store perhaps) but the other big piece that is pretty much required is marketing, sales, (including getting reviews, articles, publicity, setting up author interviews etc. etc.). You've got to get the word out or the sales will be limited.

Oh, yeah and what the elf said about editing.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Yes and no, It takes more than just an author and an online store....

+1

Let's face it, not every author wants to, or can, be their own editor, marketer, proofreader, retailer, designer, photographer, webmaster, promoter, agent lawyer....

Many successful artists need a lot of assistance to get their work off the ground and into our greasy paws.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kennyc

huh? I don't think I believe that. I've downloaded tons of classical mp3's -- same quality you'd get on the CD.

Sorry this is off-topic a bit.

Anyone with an ear can tell that mp3 is not the same as the music on a CD. The MP3 is a second hand copy. The CD is the original. You don't get the same quality of sound from an MP3 file as you do with all the bits in tact.

[CallOfCth'reader]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

there is no reason DRM could not be applied to the eBooks on the CD, although this day and age a CD is the wrong medium. An SD card is a much better choice.

Dale

But more expensive, unless the option is also there to supply your own.

Originally Posted by stustaff

OR in some fantasy world....
In the bookstore I could walk up to a till with my list and pay even the Paperback equivalent and give them my email address, then walk home and turn on my email to see secure download link with DRM if it HAS to have it. and download books to my reader.

If I was buying an ebook from a bricks and morter store, I'd want to walk out with more than a receipt in my hand. If all I'm getting is an emailed link to download the file, I'd rather do the whole process online in the first place (where I can also shop around for price).

[fugazied]

Well it seems like he hasn't wrapped his head around the new book selling models the Internet provides. The bookstore will eventually go the way of the newspaper. The Internet will turn bookstores into niche product specialists, selling ordered print copies of books and instant downloads for ebooks.

He sounds like he is in denial, consumers will demand $9.99 or cheaper ebooks, if a publisher author doesn't provide them, they will move on!

[CallOfCth'reader]

Originally Posted by fugazied

The bookstore will eventually go the way of the newspaper.

I'm not sure what you mean there. What has happened to newspapers?

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Publishers are also promoters. You can put a book on your own web site for a long time before anyone notices.

Sure, but that's a stand-alone function. Promotion dosn't need to be tied together with things like editing.