Australian ebooks

[neilmarr]

***It's the same publisher here as in the US***

That does surprise me, MJ. I guess then it's a matter of some stores slapping on georestrictions willy-nilly because they can't be bothered to check out rights on every title (we had a battle on our hands with some on just this issue early on -- Amazon/Kindle actually asked to see copies of our author contracts, but were quick to put things right). Otherwise, the two Publisher entities -- although under the same umbrella -- might operate as separate entities in the US and Australia. Just for your own interest, why not trop the publisher in Oz a line and ask whazzup? Cheers. Neil

[mjmcleod]

It's Simon & Schuster in both countries. Typically in Australia the international publishers operate as subsidiaries with separate rights.

Given that S&S's own site wouldn't sell the book to me -- it let me try, but then failed with an error about credit card country codes -- it seems probable to me that the Australian subsidiary just isn't interested in doing ebooks.

This is based on experience with Australian business in general. Crazily conservative, usually has to be dragged kicking and screaming into whatever the newish thing is, and usually they wait until they're being killed by outside competitors before they even notice there's anything going on. At which point they whine to government looking for protection and only change their ways if that isn't forthcoming. Which it often is...

(Sorry, cynical but trained into it rather than innate.)

[neilmarr]

Your cynicism is quite understandable, MJ.

Funny to think that one of the first ebook publishers in the world (Jacobyte Books of Adelaide) opened in the 90s when the rest of the world was dithering. Not so funny that it met with such wildly enthusiastic apathy Down Under that my own wee house had to take over Jackobyte in 2004 to save its best titles and authors from obscurity. (Jacobyte's excdellent editor-in-chief and owner is still part of our own team.)

The Australian and New Zealand reader, I feel, has been abused by the industry -- with local publishers and retailers carrying equal blame. Some superb writing talent has also withered on the vine (which is why we're so proud to carry as many Australian authors as we do at BeWrite Books).

The 'traditional' industry there appears to be in its death throes. The final nails in the coffin are just being hammered home by the ebook explosion ... and by the promise by the massive Ingram/Lightning Source to open a print and dispatch base in Australia next month.

When their printed-on-demand books hit the local market at reasonable prices and with only local shipping charge, retailers will at last be shown to have been artificially and hugely inflating cover prices for far, far too long. We've always had healthy readership Down Under, but until now, hefty shipping costs from US and UK LS print bases has significantly added to the cost.

Cheers. Neil

PS: If you want to take a look at what's on offer at BB, by the way, MJ, go to the bookstore section of our site (linked below). If you then hit the 'our authors' button up top of the page, you'll be able to spot our Australian authors. If two or three titles catch your eye, just drop me a note of them and your preferred format and I'll be happy to send them along with our compliments. Otherwise just let me know your favoured genres and I'll send you a wee grab bag.

Karma to ya and best wishes. Neil -- ntmarrATbewrite.net (but use the @ sign, of course)

[sabredog]

Pretty much correct Neil. With the almost demise of Borders and A&R there are not many options currently. Dymocks is expensive and specialises in navel gazing when it comes to ebooks.

Borders and A&R's association with Kobo meant access to a goodly number of ebooks and access locally of the Kobo ereader, gave Aussies and Kiwi's a window to ebooks other than Amazon. The wholesale closure of many shops means less hands on access to ereaders as well.

Fremantle Press in Western Australia seem to be getting into ebook sales as well, with the most excellent Hal Spacejock SF series by Simon Haynes being one.

Australians in particular have always paid much more for most items which is why the online shopping experience is so popular and why the retail industry giants are lobbying the government so strongly to protect their cosy little empires.

[elemenoP]

Hey, I just I wanted to pop in and say that Cloudstreet is perhaps my favorite novel ever. I have read it three times! And I've never even been to Australia! (would love to go, someday). Anyway, I'm glad you got it and enjoy.

eP

[jl_carter]

Originally Posted by mjmcleod

(Note: it's the same publisher here as in the US, so really they have no (good) excuse.)

Simon & Schuster publish the print and ebook versions in the US, but it's not on their Australian website so I doubt they have Australian ebook rights.

If Cloudstreet - one of the most popular and critically acclaimed Australian novels - were legally available as an ebook in Australia, it would be on every Australian ebook site.

Penguin is Tim Winton's print Australian publisher - they have just released a new version of Cloudstreet to tie-in with the mini-series screening this month. Why there isn't an Australian ebook is a question for them, not Simon & Schuster.

[CazMar]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Your cynicism is quite understandable, MJ.

......

The 'traditional' industry there appears to be in its death throes. The final nails in the coffin are just being hammered home by the ebook explosion ... and by the promise by the massive Ingram/Lightning Source to open a print and dispatch base in Australia next month.

When their printed-on-demand books hit the local market at reasonable prices and with only local shipping charge, retailers will at last be shown to have been artificially and hugely inflating cover prices for far, far too long. We've always had healthy readership Down Under, but until now, hefty shipping costs from US and UK LS print bases has significantly added to the cost.

Cheers. Neil

Neil - I will definitely be checking your site and keeping Ingram-Lightning Source on my radar.
I really can't figure out why Australian business is so slack when it comes to any new technology when Australians are so tech-savvy. But it was something I noticed in my years of working - I would have to bully management people into using computers, email, paperless processing. I would go into clients' businesses and see things that would make most IT people weep - no proper backups, people being told to process orders with paper copies AND on the computer system because "the boss can't read the computer reports" (!!!!), no web sites (well, I don't use the internet so why would my customers?). And they wonder why the world passes them by and why their staff disappear into better jobs?

[mjmcleod]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Pretty much correct Neil. With the almost demise of Borders and A&R there are not many options currently. Dymocks is expensive and specialises in navel gazing when it comes to ebooks.

The REDgroup collapse doesn't seem to be having much effect on the Borders ebook stuff, but their range was never particularly good compared to Amazon.

Was never really all that impressed with Kobo. I bought their ereader a while back -- it was fairly cheap, and I was curious -- but when it came time to buy something for my mother I went with the Sony gear. She loves that, but I can't help but think that if her first exposure to ebooks was with the Kobo machine she'd have given up.

[neilmarr]

Can't understand why Kobo -- with money, huge potential and a recent and quite massive staff recruitment drive -- still has such bad customer 'service'. Also we're in the midst of a row with them because they have slapped DRM on all our titles when we expressly told them not to.

If anyone buys a BeWrite Books ebook from a third-party retailer who's slapped on in-store DRM in this way, see the DRM-free guarantee at the foot of the front page of our bookstorestore section on site. We'll immediately replace the title you bought with a DRM-free version in the same format at no cost. No fuss and no questions asked. But if you would like to give us the heads up on the errant store, we'd appreciate it.

DRM and bad customer 'service' at some retail outlets are stifling this exciting new wave in publishing. I hate to say so, but among the big boys, only Amazon/Kindle seems to be in the business of keeping the customer satisfied when it comes to help.

Bestests. Neil

PS, MJ: Someone put us onto an Oz-based ebook store recently that was carrying our entire catalogue. When we checked it out, the ridiculous high prices there appalled us. Our Australian rep is dealing with it and we'll bring in legal help if necessary, so I'll ask her to remind me of the site so that I can do some naming and shaming here. N

[mjmcleod]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

PS, MJ: Someone put us onto an Oz-based ebook store recently that was carrying our entire catalogue. When we checked it out, the ridiculous high prices there appalled us. Our Australian rep is dealing with it and we'll bring in legal help if necessary, so I'll ask her to remind me of the site so that I can do some naming and shaming here. N

Yeah, this is pretty much standard in Australia for everything, even if there isn't a "good" excuse like shipping costs. Our big retailers were recently demanding that the tax and import rules on online purchases be changed because they can't (or maybe won't?) compete without charging a huge markup.

It was a real pity when the US ebook stores started enforcing geographic restrictions!

[amward]

Hmmm. Just checked out the prices on ebooks at Fremantle press, they are on the high side. I'm not going to pay $24.95 for an ebook, not even $17.00 or thereabouts. Obviously I didn't check the price of everything but I would have to be desperate to pay that much. I get the feeling that just as we here in Oz are charged enormous prices for a pbook, they think they can do the same with ebooks.

[sabredog]

Neil

This is quite a common occurrence. It is still far cheaper to buy ebooks from overseas outlets.

[AlexBell]

When David Hicks' book Guantanamo, My Journey came out Random House charged over $50 for the dead tree version, and the same for the ebook version. I was able to get the dead tree version from Coles for $23, but Coles doesn't sell ebooks.

Regards, Alex

[sabredog]

That is how the agency 6 conduct business. Flog the ebook at the same price as the hardcover or paperback.

They truly have no idea or simply do not care a jot.

[neilmarr]

You'd think with the brick-and-mortar book trade collapsing all around them, the Big Six would see the writing on the wall. But I guess it's tough to see anything with your head buried in the sand.

The future of also treebooks is online retail, and if you overlook the current publisher-generated sales figures (which take into account b&m sales, but not the fact that half the treebooks they claim as 'sales' to b&m are actually returned unsold within three months for a full refund), you see a whole new landscape. Heck, it's almost a year since Amazon -- the biggest book seller in history -- reported ebooks outselling hardback and paperback combined -- even of huge blockbuster new titles from brand-name authors.

Cheers. Neil

PS, MJ: Did you get your BB books through OK? Hope you enjoy my wee selection. N

And just to be fair: if anyone else in this thread's having trouble getting ebooks in Australia -- particularly books by Australian authors -- just take a look through the selection at the bookstore section of the BeWrite Books site (link below). Let me know of a couple that catch your eye and your preferred digital format and I'll be happy to send them as email attachments with our compliments. This applies also to anyone else in this, thread, regardless of location, over the next week or so who might want a couple of BB titles by authors of any nationality. ntmarrATbewrite.net (but use the @ sign)