A6 vs Indie

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

My point.

There needs a "humor" tag on this forum.

It's very very rare for me to get a traditional published ebook that doesn't have OCR errors. Partly because I'm buying my backlist to clear out the shelves at home, but if this is the "quality" that A6 puts out, they can keep it.

Proofing is (as you know, of course) expensive. Personally I'd rather have back-catalogue books with a few errors, than not have the books at all. Newly-released Agency books are (in my experience) pretty error-free (although there's always the odd exception, of course).

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Proofing is (as you know, of course) expensive. Personally I'd rather have back-catalogue books with a few errors, than not have the books at all. Newly-released Agency books are (in my experience) pretty error-free (although there's always the odd exception, of course).

Thats why we have good proofing on pirated books, and bad proofing on agency books.
Because it is so expensive.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Proofing is (as you know, of course) expensive. Personally I'd rather have back-catalogue books with a few errors, than not have the books at all. Newly-released Agency books are (in my experience) pretty error-free (although there's always the odd exception, of course).

If the argument is that Indie = Inferior because they don't proof, it should be pointed out that Traditional = Inferior... because they don't proof.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Thats why we have good proofing on pirated books, and bad proofing on agency books.
Because it is so expensive.

Think of all the money you save when you pirate, though!

Wouldn't be ironic if the Official Harry Potter books come with OCR errors? Why, yes, it would.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Thats why we have good proofing on pirated books, and bad proofing on agency books.
Because it is so expensive.

Lets no go overboard.
Are there well proofed pirated books? Yes.
Do they represent the majority? Or are the majority straight OCR'd text with no proofing at at?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Lets no go overboard.
Are there well proofed pirated books? Yes.
Do they represent the majority? Or are the majority straight OCR'd text with no proofing at at?

The majority of pirated books these days are simply DRM-stripped commercial eBooks, so they are as good (or bad) quality-wise as was the original.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

If the argument is that Indie = Inferior because they don't proof, it should be pointed out that Traditional = Inferior... because they don't proof.

Harry said indie books aren't professionally edited. There is a lot more to editing than fixing the odd typo/scan error. Edit /= Proof

Originally Posted by HarryT

Until independent authors start producing books to professional standards, I don't personally see them as a threat to established publishers. A few - a very few - independent authors take the trouble to have their books professionally edited; most do not, and, frankly, their work is not fit for commercial publication.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Synamon

Harry said indie books aren't professionally edited. There is a lot more to editing than fixing the odd typo/scan error. Edit /= Proof

No, there are many types of editing. But there are a good many traditional published books with plot holes you could drop cows through them AND ocr errors. So I shared my opinion.

[caleb72]

I don't draw a distinction between OCR conversion errors and errors due to lack of proof-reading as they are actually the same thing in a publication.

If you publish an ebook from a scan - that is a new publication and it requires proofing, just like an indie's release of an ebook.

[BruceMcF]

Originally Posted by caleb72

If you're in Australia you quite often get books prices $15 and over for Kindle. It's the latest in the "make them pay" antics of publishers such as Hachette

eg...
Omnibus of A Fire upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky costs $32.95 in Australia.
Pre-order of Kim Stanley Robinson's 2312 costs $18.95
... We're starting to see this more and more in Australia which is why faking a US address is a more and more attractive proposition. You get the books they block from Australia and at a better price.

Originally Posted by HarryT

Those appear to be primarily newly-published books, which are only out in hardback. Prices will generally fall drastically when the paperback is released.

Having lived in both the US and Australia, paperback books are also priced massively higher in Australia.

The new editions of A Fire Upon the Deep and a Deepness in the Sky are $8.99 each at the US Agency price, so that is $18 vs $33 in Oz.

Even if "its priced assuming the current exchange rates won't last", the exchange rate can't be all of that, as at US$0.80 the A$ for that US price would still only be A$22.50.

And its an Omnibus, which ought to be cheaper than the two titles bought individually.

Similar story for the Kim Stanley Robinson title: the US pre-order is $13. Even using a notional US$0.80 exchange rate (at the moment the ozzie is above parity), that's only A$16.25, not $19.