Slashdot Mirror

Apparently that's horseshit. The publishers make the authors do most of the promotion, price badly, and overcharge. Authors who are doing it themselves have found this all out and many of them won't work with big publishing any more as a result.

Read this blog some -> http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/ Do especially read his much older postings where he was just realizing how full of crap the publishers are and how he has learned to outsource, at HUGE discount, the many functions big publishing charges so much for...

You can also get a laugh from this blog -> http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/

Actually Macmillan gave them a choice - they could continue with their existing deal but would find large swaths of their books no longer available to Amazon. They said as much -> http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/a-message-from-macmillan-ceo-john-sargent/

Their blog is fascinating as it truly shows just how far their head is up their ass IMO.

Amazon ALLOWED?! Wow, way to rewrite history there. Amazon actually went so far as to pull Macmillan books from their store in protest but knuckled under the pressure. Their middle finger at the publishers has been to make sure anyone purchasing from them sees that the price is set by the publisher and NOT by Amazon.

Read this -> http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/a-message-from-macmillan-ceo-john-sargent/

Amazon did NOT go quietly on this and went so far as to pull quite a few books from their digital shelves trying to NOT be forced into this but the leverage the publishers held was simply too great. This lawsuit is what should have happened all over the place right then and there, that it's only happening now years later and in the EU is a shame. Why is it that lately the EU seems to be the only place where common sense appears to be spoken?

Funny you should mention that! Macmillan has pretty much admitted this is the case - read para 4 of this link from their blog -> http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/answers-to-some-questions-from-the-comments/#more-60

Gee, they still have to pay for printing presses and the overhead of having them so we pay more for digital copies.....

Oh but the publishers say that we're getting a bargain with their high prices because it's a huge discount off of new LIST prices. Mind you I've never paid list for a book! These books are also way more portable so of course they are a better value. And you know printing presses cost a ton of money so eBooks have to help support that. No seriously! Go read through the last year's worth of posts on the Macmillen blog http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/ I swear these guys think their customers are stupid...

Bullshit. You can sell ebooks for less than $3 and make a profit. The overhead is WAY lower. Authors are starting to realize this and publish on their own and it scares the crap out of the publishing industry which is so stupid they actually use the cost of PRINTING paper books as an excuse to inflate ebook pricing!

Read this: http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/ completely to see how far up their ass the publishers have placed their heads
and this: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/ to see what smart authors are starting to realize!

When E-books cost MORE than some hardcovers of course they don't sell. Put them back under $9.99 and I'll stop torrenting and begin purchasing again! The publishers are trying to use E-Books to support their print overhead - and have said as much. MacMillan and others are thieves so far as I'm concerned. As soon as they began setting prices vs Amazon the cost of E-books went through the roof. that they try to make them sound like a bargain because they cost less than LIST hardcover even though they cannot be traded, shared, or sold is a sad sham. some authors are starting to go it on their own and skip the publishers altogether - I wish some of the authors *I* like would do that. You know it's sad when a published author makes MORE money going through Amazon direct and selling for a pittance than they do going through a publisher!

Some reading:

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/
http://hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com/
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/01/amazon-macmillan-an-outsiders.html
http://www.teleread.com/drm/macmillan-ceo-tells-his-side-of-amazon-spat/
http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/ Make sure to read ALL of the entries in this one - there are some truly stunning doozies! I wonder what planet this moron comes from?

Just a small nit. If the "they" in your statement is Amazon then you need to revise how you think about this. Amazon is no longer setting the prices for the majority of their ebook sales - the publishers are! That is why 6months ago prices jumped $4 or mroe per book overnight. Here's the latest example of a book that I WAS going to buy for my Kindle and am now going to look for in the used book store if I buy it at all http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fear-Culture-Manipulates-ebook/dp/B001AO0GOK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Note where it says "This price was set by the publisher". That wasn't Amazon's idea. In fact you can thank Apple for setting the precedent in this arena when the iPad was released. Amazon tried to stop this and drop those books from their catalog but all of the publishers banded together on it. MacMillen led the charge -> http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/

Those be the asshole you're looking for not Amazon. I do agree that ads would suck, when I see one I'll get upset about it. Right now I want reasonably priced ebooks back - not ebooks that cost MORE than hardcover!!!

It's not happening because big publishing, like big music, owns most of the authors. This is changing but not fast enough and the publishers are GREEDY. A good resource to read http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/ There's a good author blog out there too that I don't have handy that talks about how self publishing through Amazon is making the author some really good cash as opposed to using the typical NYC publishers. For now though we must live with most prices being set by the publishers - this price increase has completely halted my buying of ebooks. Actually it's halted my buying of books in general much liek the music industry halted my CD buying. If history holds I'll be back to buying books in another 3-4 years.

Nah, they admit it's because they also need to support their print industry http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/answers-to-some-questions-from-the-comments/#more-60

http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/ There's your culprit NOT Amazon! Looks closely at this Kindle book http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fear-Culture-Manipulates-ebook/dp/B001AO0GOK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Note that it says "This price was set by the publisher". MacMillen led the charge for control of ebook pricing on all platforms. Apple was the first to sign the deal allowing this in their attempt to try and break into this industry. Supposedly the industry, the publishers, get LESS money on each sale than they did before. Rocket scientists aren't they?

Don't be pissed off at Amazon about the prices. Amazon actually has a program that allows authors to self publish with them and the authors that do make MORE money than they do via traditional publishing. A couple of them have blogs documenting this but I don't have the link handy. I think ads are a mistake, I'll believe Amazon is this stupid when I see more than a patent app and actually see such an ad in a book. Assuming of course that prices ever come down enough for me to be willing to buy another ebook. I stopped 6months ago when this crap began. Prices on Kindle books jumped as much as $4 overnight when this hit and they have yet to come down. That book I linked is just the latest one I wanted and didn't buy because of it. I could easily find ten more just like it if I tried... Oh do note how long ago that book was published. So much for publishers claims that they would drop prices over time - I guess Penguin didn't sign up for that deal.

People who buy Kindles read more, I know I sure do - or did. Then the publishers got greedy, took over the pricing, and now ebooks cost as much or more than paper books if they are produced by a major publisher. Here's the latest book I WAS interested in http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fear-Culture-Manipulates-ebook/dp/B001AO0GOK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2 It was first published TWO YEARS ago. The ebook costs more than the hardcover and I cannot lend, share, nor sell it when done.

Thank these asshats -> http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/

Blame MacMillan, they are the ones who led the industry to shooting itself in the foot http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/

This is bullshit! Gee, are sales down? Maybe it's because you now charge more for an ebook than the paper version can be gotten for and everyone is simply pirating the content instead? Stupid asshat publishers have screwed their industry and are whining as Amazon eats their lunch as a publisher. Gee, where have I seen that before?! These guys should pay attention to what has occurred with the music industry.

The day ebooks rose above the $9 I had been paying for them (for well over a year!) is the day I ceased buying. That these morons cannot make a PROFIT or rather enough profit on "books" that now have no printing overhead is a complete joke and so far as I'm concerned they can go under. MacMillan http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/ led this charge to set their own prices over Amazon - overnight prices rose as much as $6 per book. The claim that their profits are being squeezed is pure crap. The idea, from one fo the linked articles, that these new prices is somehow a panacea for Amazon is also a joke since everyone I know who owns one is pissed off about the price increases and are buying far fewer books - just like me. That includes fewer paper books too now that I prefer them electronically. The most amusing statement from these bozos was MacMillan actually stating that paper book costs are expensive to support as part of their reasoning for high ebook prices. WTF?! http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/answers-to-some-questions-from-the-comments/#more-60 Their claim that ebooks provide special benefits over paper, are still discounted off of hardcover list (such a bargain), and are a good value even when costing more than paper books further shows how out of touch these idiots are. Wake me when I can sell them, trade them, or share them. These guys make the music industry look like geniuses!

Amazon - putting ads in ebooks is a bad idea. They will get yanked just like commercials do in TV show torrents and yeah for some reason book torrents are on the rise. I wonder why? What a complete mess....

At least authors are beginning to get a clue and self publish. Those that have been sharing numbers via blogs are making a good bit more going on their own via Amazon etc. at low prices vs using established publishers. Some of them are actually making a living getting more money from Amazon than their publishers selling their rejected books! Frankly it's a shame that it's taking the authors so long to do this - current book prices are too high and adding in ads won't make anyone happy. I'll believe Amazon is this stupid when I see one in an ebook - if I ever find one cheap enough that I will buy. I was buying several books a month at $9.99 or less, it's been at least 6months since I last bought a book and yes there have been at least 10 that I wanted. Some of them were priced as high as $15 for the ebook and were published over 5 years ago! This wasn't the case before the publishers got greedy and began setting prices themselves....

This is bullshit! Gee, are sales down? Maybe it's because you now charge more for an ebook than the paper version can be gotten for and everyone is simply pirating the content instead? Stupid asshat publishers have screwed their industry and are whining as Amazon eats their lunch as a publisher. Gee, where have I seen that before?! These guys should pay attention to what has occurred with the music industry.

The day ebooks rose above the $9 I had been paying for them (for well over a year!) is the day I ceased buying. That these morons cannot make a PROFIT or rather enough profit on "books" that now have no printing overhead is a complete joke and so far as I'm concerned they can go under. MacMillan http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/ led this charge to set their own prices over Amazon - overnight prices rose as much as $6 per book. The claim that their profits are being squeezed is pure crap. The idea, from one fo the linked articles, that these new prices is somehow a panacea for Amazon is also a joke since everyone I know who owns one is pissed off about the price increases and are buying far fewer books - just like me. That includes fewer paper books too now that I prefer them electronically. The most amusing statement from these bozos was MacMillan actually stating that paper book costs are expensive to support as part of their reasoning for high ebook prices. WTF?! http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/answers-to-some-questions-from-the-comments/#more-60 Their claim that ebooks provide special benefits over paper, are still discounted off of hardcover list (such a bargain), and are a good value even when costing more than paper books further shows how out of touch these idiots are. Wake me when I can sell them, trade them, or share them. These guys make the music industry look like geniuses!

Amazon - putting ads in ebooks is a bad idea. They will get yanked just like commercials do in TV show torrents and yeah for some reason book torrents are on the rise. I wonder why? What a complete mess....

At least authors are beginning to get a clue and self publish. Those that have been sharing numbers via blogs are making a good bit more going on their own via Amazon etc. at low prices vs using established publishers. Some of them are actually making a living getting more money from Amazon than their publishers selling their rejected books! Frankly it's a shame that it's taking the authors so long to do this - current book prices are too high and adding in ads won't make anyone happy. I'll believe Amazon is this stupid when I see one in an ebook - if I ever find one cheap enough that I will buy. I was buying several books a month at $9.99 or less, it's been at least 6months since I last bought a book and yes there have been at least 10 that I wanted. Some of them were priced as high as $15 for the ebook and were published over 5 years ago! This wasn't the case before the publishers got greedy and began setting prices themselves....

Similar price to a paperback? Not since Macmillan got them to follow their lead. Try similar price to a HARDBACK. And they say that knocking a percentage off the hardback LIST price is a DEAL. No seriously. Why? Well because printing books is expensive you see. Never mind that there's no printing involved with an ebook, that part of their industry must be supported by all. Seriously, check it out -> http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/

I cannot believe they are so worried about format as their big mistake. They have already made the mistake and that was equating ebooks to hardcover books in order to justify jacking prices to the Moon. Publishers think that since the ebook costs less than a hardcover that it's a deal - sorry it's not. I cannot trade, share, sell, or easily annotate an ebook. Likewise expecting ebook sales to support pulp sales is a huge mistake and they are making that too - they said as much by justifying high prices by talking about how much it costs to PRINT books.

Folks, a single ebook is about 500K to download. If you do not price that thing appropriately it's going to get pirated to hell and back. At the prices Amazon WAS charging I was buying more books than I had in years and loving life. Now books are being held back and prices are near double for many books. People don't upload just one book they upload entire author catalogs and it takes minutes to download a life's work.

After all that the industry is worried about FORMAT being a big issue? Holy shit! What a bunch of clueless fucks. They are doomed to repeat EXACTLY what the music industry has suffered if not worse. http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/ Read that blog, what a pile of self serving steaming manure. Macmillan lead the charge for higher prices, they can now reap what they have sown as folks find alternative means with little trouble.

There's one bright spot. Authors are waking up to the fact that they can sell on their own. they can sell to Amazon, they can sell to Apple, and they can make MORE money and sell for LESS. Anything $1.99 to $9.99 and the author gets 70% - that's huge. Books rejected by NYC big publishing are finding a welcome home on these services. The ebook market is a mess and the fact that the big publishing houses think they have much pull is a joke. This is getting sorted out without them, they can whine and cry all they want but they are farting in the wind. Get the price issues solved and give more to the author or get run over... http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/ Read the author blogs like that one, especially read the comments from other author's. They see the light, big publishing has their heads up their asses.

My hat's off to Calibre for making format the least of my issues to worry about....