Letter to McMillan

gshoe · 02-07-2010, 11:09 AM

Hi,

I am new to this forum and a recently new owner of the Nook. I just thought I would share an email I sent to McMillan this morning. It would not be a bad idea for other concerned folks to do the same. Thanks!

Hello,

I wish to express my profound disappointment in your insistence that retailers raise the price on your eBooks. I think your decision is very short sighted and particularly offensive to your end customers. We are not stupid here. We understand that the digital delivery of a book is a fraction of what it costs to print and distribute a traditional book. $9.99 already seems to be a premium for a small file and the intellectual property it contains. This smacks of greed and opportunism. Especially in todays economic climate, it paints your company in a bad light.

I just recently purchased a Nook, and it has greatly enhanced my desire to read. I have purchased 8 books in 3 weeks and have read the majority of them already. This probably totals the number of books that I read in the past year. The ereader experience is different than that of books. Because of the nature of the device, I am more apt to pick it up and take it with me anytime I will have a few minutes of down time. The size, form and function makes reading easier in bed or even at the dinner table. What I am trying to say is that ereader owners will read more. I am sure of it. And, as they get more mainstream, your profits will surely rise.

I understand that companies often live and die by their gross sales dollars. This industry must sacrifice that thinking and look at gross profit dollars and should really push the advantages of ereading.

Please reconsider your strategy. I for one will be avoiding your titles until you see the light.

Best regards,

Greg Shoemaker

LDBoblo · 02-07-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gshoe

Hi,

I am new to this forum and a recently new owner of the Nook. I just thought I would share an email I sent to McMillan this morning. It would not be a bad idea for other concerned folks to do the same. Thanks!

Hello,

I wish to express my profound disappointment in your insistence that retailers raise the price on your eBooks. I think your decision is very short sighted and particularly offensive to your end customers. We are not stupid here. We understand that the digital delivery of a book is a fraction of what it costs to print and distribute a traditional book. $9.99 already seems to be a premium for a small file and the intellectual property it contains. This smacks of greed and opportunism. Especially in todays economic climate, it paints your company in a bad light.

I just recently purchased a Nook, and it has greatly enhanced my desire to read. I have purchased 8 books in 3 weeks and have read the majority of them already. This probably totals the number of books that I read in the past year. The ereader experience is different than that of books. Because of the nature of the device, I am more apt to pick it up and take it with me anytime I will have a few minutes of down time. The size, form and function makes reading easier in bed or even at the dinner table. What I am trying to say is that ereader owners will read more. I am sure of it. And, as they get more mainstream, your profits will surely rise.

I understand that companies often live and die by their gross sales dollars. This industry must sacrifice that thinking and look at gross profit dollars and should really push the advantages of ereading.

Please reconsider your strategy. I for one will be avoiding your titles until you see the light.

Best regards,

Greg Shoemaker

I just finished a letter myself, though not as elegant as yours. If others wish to use mine, or perhaps combine elements of our letters, we can really turn this industry around.

To Whom It May Concern,

Lower the damn price. I'm happy to pay for a decent product, but fifteen bucks for a half-finished, software-crippled webpage copy of a book? I know you know, but I thought I'd just remind you. Thanks for your time.

Most sincerely,
Lost Customer

SCION · 02-07-2010, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

To Whom It May Concern,

Lower the damn price. I'm happy to pay for a decent product, but fifteen bucks for a half-finished, software-crippled webpage copy of a book?

Most sincerely,
Lost Customer

Deneb · 02-07-2010, 12:17 PM

Well, welcome aboard gshoe. Couragous first post if anything.

I'm afraid I'm too cynical, and believe they know that and they're doing everything to prevent it. They don't want us to read ebooks.
A french publisher said publicly the ebook readers were "the king of Morons", and I'm being more polite than he was...

The key phrase being "I for one will be avoiding your titles until you see the light"

kennyc · 02-07-2010, 12:47 PM

Good for you and Welcome!

From PC World:

"Publishers are Shortsighted"

http://www.pcworld.com/article/18876...ice_fight.html

kjk · 02-07-2010, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I just finished a letter myself, though not as elegant as yours. If others wish to use mine, or perhaps combine elements of our letters, we can really turn this industry around.

To Whom It May Concern,

Lower the damn price. I'm happy to pay for a decent product, but fifteen bucks for a half-finished, software-crippled webpage copy of a book? I know you know, but I thought I'd just remind you. Thanks for your time.

Most sincerely,
Lost Customer

Awesome.

HarryT · 02-07-2010, 01:06 PM

Letters will probably have more impact if one takes the trouble to correctly spell the company name. It is "Macmillan", not "McMillan".

m-reader · 02-07-2010, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Letters will probably have more impact if one takes the trouble to correctly spell the company name. It is "Macmillan", not "McMillan".

I think they'll get the point Harry, spelling notwithstanding.

HarryT · 02-07-2010, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m-reader

I think they'll get the point Harry, spelling notwithstanding.

Sure, but I just think it detracts from the impact of the letter to get such a basic thing wrong. It's always a good idea to do a little bit of research before writing to a company, if you want to maximize the impact of what you're saying. Eg, find out the name of the CEO of the company and address the letter to him or her personally rather than send it to "the company" where, for all you know, it's being opened by someone in the mail-room. Macmillan's CEO is called "John Sargent".

kennyc · 02-07-2010, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sure, but I just think it detracts from the impact of the letter to get such a basic thing wrong. It's always a good idea to do a little bit of research before writing to a company, if you want to maximize the impact of what you're saying. Eg, find out the name of the CEO of the company and address the letter to him or her personally rather than send it to "the company" where, for all you know, it's being opened by someone in the mail-room. Macmillan's CEO is called "John Sargent".

I'm pretty sure someone else opens and screens his mail for him in any case.

HarryT · 02-07-2010, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

I'm pretty sure someone else opens and screens his mail for him in any case.

Absolutely, but addressing a letter to Mr. Sargent in person gives it a lot better chance of coming to his attention than one that isn't.

fugazied · 02-07-2010, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

To Whom It May Concern,

Lower the damn price. I'm happy to pay for a decent product, but fifteen bucks for a half-finished, software-crippled webpage copy of a book? I know you know, but I thought I'd just remind you. Thanks for your time.

Most sincerely,
Lost Customer

Can you please change that to a petition so we can all sign it

It is a sad state of affairs when e-book consumers not only put up with poor quality conversions and ridiculous DRM but they want us to pau $15 for the privilege.

delphidb96 · 02-07-2010, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Letters will probably have more impact if one takes the trouble to correctly spell the company name. It is "Macmillan", not "McMillan".

No it's not! It's McSh*t! And any of it's employees that fully support this policy are McSh*t-eaters!

Derek

kennyc · 02-07-2010, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delphidb96

No it's not! It's McSh*t! And any of it's employees that fully support this policy are McSh*t-eaters!

Derek

So what about the authors or organizations (like SFWA) that support it?

delphidb96 · 02-07-2010, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

So what about the authors or organizations (like SFWA) that support it?

You can fool some of the peepul some of the time... It's too early to tell if RWA, SFWA and the like fall into the 'all of the time' category.

Derek

02-07-2010, 11:09 AM	#1
gshoe Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 256 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Nook	Letter to McMillan Hi, I am new to this forum and a recently new owner of the Nook. I just thought I would share an email I sent to McMillan this morning. It would not be a bad idea for other concerned folks to do the same. Thanks! Hello, I wish to express my profound disappointment in your insistence that retailers raise the price on your eBooks. I think your decision is very short sighted and particularly offensive to your end customers. We are not stupid here. We understand that the digital delivery of a book is a fraction of what it costs to print and distribute a traditional book. $9.99 already seems to be a premium for a small file and the intellectual property it contains. This smacks of greed and opportunism. Especially in todays economic climate, it paints your company in a bad light. I just recently purchased a Nook, and it has greatly enhanced my desire to read. I have purchased 8 books in 3 weeks and have read the majority of them already. This probably totals the number of books that I read in the past year. The ereader experience is different than that of books. Because of the nature of the device, I am more apt to pick it up and take it with me anytime I will have a few minutes of down time. The size, form and function makes reading easier in bed or even at the dinner table. What I am trying to say is that ereader owners will read more. I am sure of it. And, as they get more mainstream, your profits will surely rise. I understand that companies often live and die by their gross sales dollars. This industry must sacrifice that thinking and look at gross profit dollars and should really push the advantages of ereading. Please reconsider your strategy. I for one will be avoiding your titles until you see the light. Best regards, Greg Shoemaker

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02-07-2010, 12:17 PM	#4
Deneb Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 2460 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Cybook	Well, welcome aboard gshoe. Couragous first post if anything. I'm afraid I'm too cynical, and believe they know that and they're doing everything to prevent it. They don't want us to read ebooks. A french publisher said publicly the ebook readers were "the king of Morons", and I'm being more polite than he was... The key phrase being "I for one will be avoiding your titles until you see the light"

02-07-2010, 12:47 PM	#5
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Good for you and Welcome! From PC World: "Publishers are Shortsighted" http://www.pcworld.com/article/18876...ice_fight.html

02-07-2010, 01:06 PM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Letters will probably have more impact if one takes the trouble to correctly spell the company name. It is "Macmillan", not "McMillan".