Breaking news!!!!! Sony to sell Epub only

[ahintz]

Originally Posted by ahi

Having to lower expectations considerably after the purchase of a multi-hundred dollar device is a sign of the times... but nothing to celebrate.

- Ahi

Not sure why, but I feel compelled to respond to your posts! I don't believe that using a ebook device requires you to "lower expectations considerably". There are several advantages to ebooks over pbooks, which have been discussed ad nauseam here and elsewhere on the internet! And there are several advantages to pbooks over ebooks, too! What format you choose to purchase and consume your content in, depends on which of those advantages are most important to you. Expecting an ebook to be a perfect facsimile of the pbook seems to me to miss the point entirely. However, there is nothing wrong with expecting high-quality ebooks and I think we should all hold publishers and sellers feet to the fire on that front!

[ahi]

Originally Posted by ahintz

Expecting an ebook to be a perfect facsimile of the pbook seems to me to miss the point entirely.

You seem to confuse "expecting an ebook to be a perfect facsimile of the pbook" with "expecting ebooks to not be lower quality than pbooks in their content and presentation".

Originally Posted by ahintz

However, there is nothing wrong with expecting high-quality ebooks and I think we should all hold publishers and sellers feet to the fire on that front!

Agreed.

- Ahi

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by ahi

You seem to confuse "expecting an ebook to be a perfect facsimile of the pbook" with "expecting ebooks to not be lower quality than pbooks in their content and presentation".
...

So much sense, in so few words....

[Amalthia]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

How different will the ePub books look? I like my books fully justified and I've heard some complaints about the page numbers on ePub.

You have any ebooks over 1000 pages long? If so you'll quickly notice how annoying the page numbers on the margins can get as they ghost over the text in your story and jump all over the place.

Or you can make your margins 20pt to make space for four digits or maybe bigger if you have any ebooks that hit the 5 digit range. Seriously, whowever thought of adding numbers on the side of the ebooks were smoking crack or don't read anything longer than 9 pages.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

Yeah, $5 is my limit on ebooks. Under that, it gets almost to be impulse buy, but over it, you start to think more.

I just took a look at the other books in the atlantis series, that was recently had a free offering, and the publisher wants $25 for the ebooks, the same price as for hardcover. I'm sorry. You at least get something extra for getting hardcover.

I quite agree. I actually forsee the numbers dropping further.

How long were songs 1.99 or 1.59 before finally coming down to .99?

Amazon made it a standard to have books at 9.99, and Sony has followed suit, but I see Sony dropping them even further to grab more sales, in which case Amazon will have to comply.

Hopefully we can get the price of ebooks down to that of mmpbs, at around 4.99 to 5.99 per.

This is my hope.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by krischik

Ohh no - not again. Books are not about product cost. Only about 10% is for paper and ink. Books are about People cost: Author, Editor, Layouter, Graphic Designer (Cover), Marketing, Distribution.

And there is noting to save here - not for new books where all those people above still want there share. I recently found out that even the graphic designer for the cover is paid per unit sold. And there is not one you can cut out entirely - you need them all.

Martin.

In the vast majority of instances, the publisher receives 45% of the list price of the book (from the distributor/wholesaler), and it is out of that money that all other costs are paid:

- royalties
- printing (which are indeed minor)
- promotion
- all the preparatory work that went into it (well... not paid, but recovered)

The huge cuts that various middlemen get make up 55% of the cost of most physical books. eBooks, at their most expensive, should still be less than half the cost of the physical book... with everyone borderline productive (i.e.: not just involved in moving boxes and books around the country) still getting the same cut.

Or am I wrong?

- Ahi

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Amalthia

You have any ebooks over 1000 pages long? If so you'll quickly notice how annoying the page numbers on the margins can get as they ghost over the text in your story and jump all over the place.

Or you can make your margins 20pt to make space for four digits or maybe bigger if you have any ebooks that hit the 5 digit range. Seriously, however thought of adding numbers on the side of the ebooks were smoking crack or don't read anything longer than 9 pages.

Hasn't bothered me much with Don Quixote and that's a lot longer, then again I'm the kind of book reader who dog ears the pages, rests my coffee cup on an open page, breaks the spine and generally reads for the content of the writing rather than how it's laid out (although I do love a good front cover )

[gerraldo]

Originally Posted by John Bailey

Not really. ePub is an open specification. They can't change it and keep calling it ePub. And there is no logical reason to do so.

But haven't they already done this by putting DRM on top?!

Originally Posted by John Bailey

And I agree 100%! Stripping DRM is not an answer, it's an excuse. You either use DRM and accept it's transitory nature, or you avoid it and have ownership of the media you buy. There is no middle ground.

Exactly my POV. I'll never buy DRMed media!

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by ahi

And until eBooks universally become thoroughly proofread, corrected, and typographically as pristine as paper books, treating them as "books" in any price-comparison scenario is generous beyond my willingness to accept.

I don't know what paper books you've been buying, but the ones I've been reading still have plenty of grammatical, spelling or typographical errors.

My main objection to paying "too much" for an eBook is that I can't give it away or sell it when I'm done with it. A paper book can be taken down to my local discount book store and traded in for cash or store credit. My book swapping group is expert at finding the least expensive way to mail books around the world (ever hear of an M-bag?). The eBook is restricted to me or my account with a limited number of devices on which it can be read. Treated like software rather than a *book*, there is no legal way for me to transfer "ownership" to another, short of giving that person my device.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Hasn't bothered me much with Don Quixote and that's a lot longer, then again I'm the kind of book reader who dog ears the pages, rests my coffee cup on an open page, breaks the spine and generally reads for the content of the writing rather than how it's laid out (although I do love a good front cover )

You can smear dog poo-poo on a paper book, and it still won't leave its layout or typographic professionalism any worse than the best reflow eBooks out there.

Admittedly both page smell and page contrast will be worse for the wear.

- Ahi

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by ahi

You can smear dog poo-poo on a paper book, and it still won't leave its layout or typographic professionalism any worse than the best reflow eBooks out there.

Admittedly both page smell and page contrast will be worse for the wear.

- Ahi

What I don't understand in this whole argument is the comparison to the real world and the digital. I don't read newspapers or magazines in print, haven't for a long time, the web versions are suited to a different medium and I wouldn't want them trying to replicate the physical medium. What works in the physical world, especially design wise, cannot be rammed into the digital where 're-flow' and 'fluidity' are the cornerstones of the design ethic. Websites, as with ePub have to degrade and upgrade gracefully. PDF cannot do this, and I don't see a point in the future where this function (the most important for one-file-many-viewers) will be replicated.

[krischik]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

How long were songs 1.99 or 1.59 before finally coming down to .99?

But only the single tune but not the album. Which reminds me: Have you heard of Shortcovers - there it is 99ç - per chapter!

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by krischik

But only the single tune but not the album. Which reminds me: Have you heard of Shortcovers - there it is 99ç - per chapter!

Doomed. Doooooomed

[Amalthia]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Hasn't bothered me much with Don Quixote and that's a lot longer, then again I'm the kind of book reader who dog ears the pages, rests my coffee cup on an open page, breaks the spine and generally reads for the content of the writing rather than how it's laid out (although I do love a good front cover )

I get distracted by inconsistencies in layout as a result page numbers not in the same place on every page bugs the crap out of me. That and the lack of justification. If there was an option to turn off the page numbers I'd be more tempted by epub but there isn't. To me having page numbers ghosting over the text of the story is unprofessional looking and would never pass muster in a published paper novel. I'm not sure why it's considered okay in ebooks though?

Also, I hate losing screen space for page numbers when there is already a bar at the bottom of my PRS-505 to display page numbers and is far more accurate than the numbers on the side margin. I want to know how many screen turns I have left. I think most people reading on their devices are reading fiction not referrence manuals.

Someday it may become more common to read reference ebooks and at that point they should still have the option to turn off the margin page numbers because that would actually help both sets of users without annoying anyone.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by ahi

In the vast majority of instances, the publisher receives 45% of the list price of the book (from the distributor/wholesaler), and it is out of that money that all other costs are paid:

- royalties
- printing (which are indeed minor)
- promotion
- all the preparatory work that went into it (well... not paid, but recovered)

The huge cuts that various middlemen get make up 55% of the cost of most physical books. eBooks, at their most expensive, should still be less than half the cost of the physical book... with everyone borderline productive (i.e.: not just involved in moving boxes and books around the country) still getting the same cut.

Or am I wrong?

- Ahi

Here's the thing though. Sony (and Kindle, and everyone else) has to buy the book from the publisher. In the case of the NYT bestselling hardcover, the publisher charges either $11 or $12 for the ebook to the reseller (I forget which one it is). Amazon (and now presumably Sony) are selling these books at a loss. This is good, because maybe it'll get the publisher to drop prices.

It should be at least a somewhat big deal to you, since this hopefully helps push for lower ebook prices.