I was perusing Facebook the other day and one of my fave authors was pimping an author friend of hers. She had a blurb about the author's upcoming book and instructions to pre-order the Kindle version for . . . $9.99.
WTF??
Almost ten bucks for a DOWNLOADED BOOK?? Are the NY publishers effin' crazy?? Talk about greedy pusses. *shakes head* I still can't get over that.
I'll pay $7.99 for a paperback that I can hold in my hand and eventually donate it to the local women's shelter, but what can you do with a downloaded book?
--reread it, but that's only if it's a keeper and would be good as a reread. And I rarely reread any books.
--I can't donate it.
IMO: downloadable books should be cheaper than regular books--by a LOT. True, it will still need editing, cover art, and to be formated properly.
But there's no monies out of pocket for ink, paper (and various printing costs), distribution (warehouse space,trucks, gas, etc), and I think many writers are getting screwed.
1) An author's royalty on each book sold is far lower than it should be. Publishers are taking a bigger chunk for less out of pocket expense.
2) Technically, these books never, ever 'go out of print'. Which means the rights will never revert back to the author.
If you don't believe me, read JAKonrath's amusing take on the topic.
Still Editing FAERIE. I managed 50 pages this week, and I did something I didn't think I could--
I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE STORY ALL OVER AGAIN. And I know why I love writing Middle Grade.
Write on!
I agree with you about $10 for an e-book! Totally ridiculous! everything you say is true.
ReplyDeleteCrazy, huh? I'm only guessing that the book is coming out in hardcover, but that doesn't make that blown-up price right!
ReplyDeleteI agree. I said something about the high cost of ebooks that come from NY pubs on Kris Nelson's blog, and another commenter replied that it cost just as much to make an ebook as a print book. I thought of making another comment telling her that it wasn't true, but decided not to bother arguing with her about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you've fallen in love with your book again. That is fabulous. You go!
On my FB link a writer friend suggested $4.99 as a reasonable price for an e-book. I thought she was right on the money with it.
ReplyDeleteIMO E-books should be slightly higher than half of the print price.
I'm really enjoying reading it, Edie. I thought it was a 'crap' book. But letting it sit for 5 months helped. I can see the overwriting for what it is and CHOP, CHOP, CHOP.
I have a plan for the rest of the year: finish draft #2 next week, then speed write DEMON before edit #3 on FAERIE (then a few betas will get it--prepare yourself, E!)
Of course, everything is subject to change and mood. :-)
Well, a move costs ten bucks, too, and that's just WRONG. I personally think a fabulous read is worth ten dollars - BUT only if I can get my money back if the book sucks.:)
ReplyDeleteHow about this for an idea? You get the first few chapters for free. If you like the story, you can pay your ten bucks and get the rest. If not, it didn't cost you a thing to find out you didn't like it.
Hmm. Perhaps we should market this idea?
correction to first line of previous post: "move" should be MOVIE.
ReplyDeleteActually the smart people who e-publish do this. Edie did. One chapter would be enough for a potential buyer to decide. Because I know I'll flip open a book and look at the writing to see if the writer's style meshes with my tastes.
ReplyDeleteI NEVER buy hardback books (unless research books, or the HP books sold at SAM's Club--they were less than a paperback!), rarely buy trade sized because of the expense, so would still hesitate to fork over $10.
I also wait to see most movies until they hit the dollar movies or HBO, though I have been known to go to the early show to save some $$.
I completely agree! I would be fine paying $9.99 if the authors were getting a bigger share of the royalties (I'm all for supporting the artists), but knowing that most e-book royalties are even lower than print, and yet paperbacks are priced lower than some e-books.... WTF?
ReplyDeleteIf the publishers are going to play that way, there's no way I'll pay $9.99. Reasonable is nothing more than $5.99.
Seriously, there is NO WAY an e-book costs more to make and distribute than a printed book.
And Jody: that is a brilliant idea!! I would definitely pay more for a book if I got to preview it first-- just like I can go into a book store, sit in the aisle and read some pages before I buy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Anna!
ReplyDeleteKnowledge is power and I think writers need to be smarter than ever when dealing with publishers--those sneaky-sneaks will put in a slight phrase change that could cost the author $$$$ down the road. And excellent agent would be worth the 15%, but if you don't have an agent at least be smart enough to pay for a literary lawyer to go over the contract.
Don't let them fool you--everything is negotiable.
I'll tell you what, I've learned more from you and Karin (both of her) and Edie than I could have ever researched on my own. Thanks for all the insights and discussions!
ReplyDelete:-) Thanks, J!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I tried this last night -- wrote a long comment, but the Internet demons whisked it away and I was too tired to try again.
ReplyDeleteAmazon does have free sample downloads from all the Kindle books I've looked at. I've done it on a number of new-to-me authors or authors I was disappointed in previously. You get a nice bit to read, and when you get to the end, there's a "buy" button. Handy. If you buy it, you have it in a minute or so; if you don't like it, you delete it and you're done.
As far as the costs of publishing e-books . . . NY publishers unfortunately do have most of the same costs for an e-book as for a print book: salaries, insurance, rent/mortgage, utilities, author advances. About the only cost savings they see are the actual printing costs. You want decent cover art, you want a professional edit job, you want a professional layout, you gotta pay. And I've got to say, one thing that keeps me away from a lot of e-publisher titles is the lack of the above. Too many horrible covers, too many mistakes and plot holes and inconsistencies, and a layout that looks like my pupper did it with one paw tied behind his back . . . Not worth a dime to me.
(Disclaimer: I know some e-publishers do great work; these are books I've been assigned to read in contests from the many e-publishers out there who don't.)
A lot of readers want to look at the e-books as gravy: the publisher is publishing the print version of the book, so they've already done the edits, the cover art, the blurb, the PR, the marketing. They have to do those things whether they do an e-version of the book or not, so why not give readers a bigger break on the e-version price?
Because e-book reader sales are climbing fast with the new Kindle and the iPad, which means e-book sales are climbing, too. It's not just a happy extra that comes out of the process of publishing the print book; it's on its way to becoming a major part of the market.
As far as for being out of print . . . Typically my reversion of rights clauses have said that I can ask for the rights back X years (usually 3 or 7 with my publishers) after the book is no longer available for purchase. With the growing popularity of e-books, the new deal is to set a minimum in your reversion clause: the book must sell X copies or $$$ in a year or the rights revert.
I'd love to see authors get a higher royalty rate from NY pubs on e-books, but right now IMO it goes back to the overhead. A book can be published strictly electronically without much overhead; as I said above, a print book has a lot of overhead.
With the Kindle, I'm happier reading e-books than paper. I haven't yet had to break the spine of the Kindle to make the pages lie flat; I don't have to dogear it; I don't have to wander from store to store with money in my hands pleading, "I want to buy this book; do you have it???" My Kindle books aren't going to yellow and start to smell in a few years, and they won't have to be dusted.
I don't buy many hardcovers, but I'm willing to pay $10 for a book I want to read now that's only out in hardcover for double that or more. And when you consider that many paperbacks cost $8 and up these days, $10 for an e-version of a hardcover ain't bad.
Now I'm going to copy this before I hit submit just in case . . .
Thanks for commenting TWICE, Marilyn! I found you in the SPAM folder . . . I didn't know my blog HAD a spam folder!
ReplyDeleteYou hit some very pertinent points, I'm just disappointed with NY publishers charging so much, but the author doesn't benefit. Fighting for your e-rights is so important especially with the every changing publishing climate.