Ask a publisher?

[JMikeD]

I followed my own advice several days ago and e-mailed a publisher to ask him to consider publishing in e-book format. Boy, was that a mistake.

What I got back was a vitriolic attack on Amazon, Borders and the like with a statement that this person wished that they would all go belly-up as soon as possible, it would be best for the book world.

While I can appreciate his claim that his books aren't handled by small bookstores because people can get them cheaper from the online stores, I was taken aback by his unleashing all this on me in response to a simple question.

He did bring an interesting point to light, though. In Germany it's illegal to discount books, even by online sales (I researched this after his email). As a consequence, there is a small bookstore on every corner, and a plethora of publishers. Of course, German doesn't appear to be a TV-centered country as the US is. Books are highly regarded as part of their culture there.

Interesting.

[Nate the great]

Can you copy the email here, please? I would love to read it.

[JMikeD]

Here's the text:


"We absolutely refuse to sell our books to Amazon Kindle. This is a proprietary operation and Amazon is but one bookstore and we will never favor one bookstore over another. My fondest dream is for Amazon to belly up and if I could keep them from selling our books I would but unfortunately although we don't sell to them directly, they can pick up our books through a wholesaler but we've even considered dropping the wholesaler to keep Amazon's hands off of our books. The best thing that could happen to the book world would be for Amazon to fail."

He mentioned the German situation in a follow-up message.

[pbennett]

At the least, he should release his books in an open-standard format like ePub so any e-reader could support it. Now, whether Amazon gets around to supporting it for the Kindle, well, that's another story.

[Falbe Publishing]

I can understand a publisher deciding not to offer ebook titles through Amazon and Kindle. A number of reasons could be valid for making that decision, but I am puzzled as to why the publisher would not produce an ebook to sell directly to readers. I've noticed that many publishers large and small have retail ecommerce sites where they sell their print and digital titles. Even a small amount of sales would justify such an operation.

Whoever that publisher was, he or she certainly has a limited business sense. Turning away an interested person willing to spend money is not a model that should be pursued.

[JMikeD]

Not only did he turn me away, he seemed to want to alienate me. I sent him another email telling him I thought his reply was a bit harsh and wasn't inclined to buy anything from him or recommend the books to anyone else and his reply was (in part):

"We're defending the book world. Amazon and Borders and the like are destroying it.But we wouldn't want you recommending us to anyone anyhow."

How's that for public relations?

I would have thought that a reasonable response would have been something along the lines of "We have no plans to offer our books in electronic format, but we appreciate your interest and hope you will look at our offerings anyway."

But that's just me.

[teejer]

I have little or no sympathy for people who feel as this publisher does. While Amazon and the chains have not been great for the independent bookstores and publishers, they have made books far more affordable and *far more accessible* to everyone.

I am personally not a fan of small bookstores. First, I want selection. If I am going to go wander around a bookstore, I want a place to sit and read, a lot of books to choose from, and no one breathing down my neck. Most mom-and-pop booksellers can't give me that. Secondly, I have found many to be elitist. I think of one well-known bookstore in Berkeley (now deceased) who used to triumph the cause of the small bookseller. That same store went to great lengths to keep out anyone who wasn't well dressed or looked strange, and while they had a fairly large childrens' section, went bananas when little hands dared to open books.

I think I will go spend another $100 on Amazon today. Hopefully it will put the knife a little closer to the heart of people like this publisher.

T. J.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by JMikeD

Not only did he turn me away, he seemed to want to alienate me. I sent him another email telling him I thought his reply was a bit harsh and wasn't inclined to buy anything from him or recommend the books to anyone else and his reply was (in part):

"We're defending the book world. Amazon and Borders and the like are destroying it.But we wouldn't want you recommending us to anyone anyhow."

How's that for public relations?

I would have thought that a reasonable response would have been something along the lines of "We have no plans to offer our books in electronic format, but we appreciate your interest and hope you will look at our offerings anyway."

But that's just me.

Holy Cow. I didn't know people like that existed. I would love to know his reasoning. How are they 'defending the book world'? I would laugh, but its so sad.

[xianfox]

It's been my experience that reactions like this publisher's are born almost entirely out of fear. This is most definitely a publisher who hasn't the first clue on how to capitalize on what he fears is a coming wave of ebooks and deep discounts.

I wish him well, but I'm afraid he'll find more and more of his potential market switching sides on him.

If you're unwilling to share the publisher's name with me, I'd at least be curious to know if they serve a particular niche market and what that is.

[Taylor514ce]

On the other hand, I'm very intrigued by his reaction and viewpoint. I went from loving Google at its inception, to viewing them as thugs and thieves, the largest organized attack on intellectual property rights and copyright in history...

So when someone has such a polarized viewpoint, I want to understand the reasons. I might just agree if I were better educated on the issue.

I suspect he fears that Amazon's power will be used (and is being used) to force publishers to only publish what the hoi polloi want to read, meaning good literature will be drowned out. There are also pricing fears, which we already see in Sony vs. Amazon e-book pricing. If Amazon sets the price, then where does that leave other retailers?

[teejer]

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

I suspect he fears that Amazon's power will be used (and is being used) to force publishers to only publish what the hoi polloi want to read, meaning good literature will be drowned out.

Isn't this comment a bit arrogant?? So the great unwashed masses only read crap literature?? We're back to the idea that some elite leader needs to tell us what is good to read. To that I say "bulls&^t".

T. J.

[JMikeD]

Originally Posted by xianfox

If you're unwilling to share the publisher's name with me, I'd at least be curious to know if they serve a particular niche market and what that is.

I don't particularly want to identify them. They do have a good product and serve a valuable niche market. I'll say they are a small publishing house specializing in re-issuing out-of-print mysteries for very reasonable prices. There are literally hundreds of places like that, heh.

I exchanged several emails with them, I wanted to understand their rationale. They were tending to argue from authority (not a good move, I almost always reject such things). I don't think they are afraid of e-books per se, just the chain stores overpowering the little guys, and I have a lot of sympathy for that. There may be some fear of new technology, as well (who remembers slide rules? Or who made them?).

Their claim is that for every 100 books that Amazon sells, they could sell 1,000 through independent sellers, but the indies won't stock his books since Amazon (or Borders, B&N, etc) sells them for less. I can't reject this out of hand. My own experience is that I end up at Amazon (and abebooks.com) because the chain stores don't have the books I want, the nearest indie store for mysteries is 200 miles away and gasoline is $4.00 a gallon.

[desertgrandma]

Taylor 514..............your avatar is making me hungry for candy.........

[Taylor514ce]

Originally Posted by teejer

Isn't this comment a bit arrogant?? So the great unwashed masses only read crap literature?? We're back to the idea that some elite leader needs to tell us what is good to read.

T. J.

Please carefully re-read the "offending" passage, and ask yourself if I'm stating my own position, or speculating on another's. Then feel free to apologize, or not, depending on your own level of arrogance and/or ignorance.

Welcome to MobileRead.

[teejer]

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Please carefully re-read the "offending" passage, and ask yourself if I'm stating my own position, or speculating on another's. Then feel free to apologize, or not, depending on your own level of arrogance and/or ignorance.

Please accept my sincere apologies. In my first reading I took it as your comment. In subsequent reading, I realized it was not your direct comment. This is a real soapbox issue for me, and I very skilfully opened mouth and inserted foot.

Again, my apologies.

T. J.