1. Editors weed out bad titles, correct spelling, etc. so if Amazon wants to replace them, they should to do the same job as editors.
That's why, last time I went to a book store, the horror shelves were full of Twilight clones and 'Steve Jobs, Vampire Hunter', novels. And why everyone I know who read '50 Shades Of Grey' gave up by half-way through. And why multiple editors rejected 'Harry Potter' before one took the clearly absurd step of asking a kid to read it and give their opinion.
Yes. Ideally writers would eliminate publishers and Amazon, and sell direct to their readers. But that's hard to do when most readers want a central location where they can find new books to buy.
The funny part is that the publishers could have created that location with their own online store years ago, but, instead, they let Amazon do it.
It's a shame they don't explicitly tell you which books are DRM-free. I believe any ebook that lists 'simultaneous device usage unlimited' on the Amazon page is DRM-free.
Actually, I should correct that. That was the case until they opened their most recent stores; I believe you do only get 35% royalties in India, and maybe Mexico? But few people sell books there anyway.
Again, it's not 'Amazon DRM'. Amazon don't care whether publishers enable DRM on their ebooks. The publishers enable DRM, then whine that it ties people into Amazon. Well, fscking duh.
So... is it DRM or the Kindle itself that removes the ability to appreciate knowledge or art?
Kindles don't have the new book smell, without which a true appreciation of literary art is impossible. Or the old book smell, where they get damp and mouldy.
You can do that, but as an Amazon top reviewer that often gets solicitations for a review, I find that few self-published authors are doing so. With very little money to invest -- these people are often working-class dreamers -- they often have to spend what little they have on marketing, and there's just nothing left for proofreading and editing (and the result is embarassing). At least a traditional publishing house covers those costs for you.
Publishers have been slashing the amount they spend on editing, to the point where, last time I was in a book store, one of the trade-published books I picked up off the shelf even had typos in the back cover blurb.
Oh, and the publisher doesn't 'cover those costs for you'. They pay for them out of the 75% of the ebook royalties that they pocket before they hand the writer their measly 25%.
Squeezing your suppliers' profit margins is never a good long-term strategy.
Publishers aren't Amazon's suppliers: writers are. Publishers are just middle-men who get in the way.
And, oddly enough, those writers only get about 15% royalties if their ebooks are sold through a Big Five publisher, whereas they get 70% if they sell direct through Amazon.
Maybe you're telling the wrong organization to give everyone a fair share of the profits.
Publishers demanded that Amazon use DRM... and now whine that readers are locked in to Kindle because that DRM prevents them from moving those books to a different ebook reader.
Any publisher who wants to can upload DRM-free ebooks to Amazon.
Bingo. The decline of the game becomes self-reinforcing as the teenage psychos drive away the non-psycho players.
I like the idea of DayZ, but it just sounds like idiot kids intent on screwing up other people's game. I won't be buying it unless they do something about that.
at current production rates, they'll be depleted within 65 years.
So, then, worrying about oil running out today makes about as much sense as worrying in 1900 about how the increasing rate of horse ownership would have entire cities buried under feet of horse crap by the 1960s.
An advance is an advance, and everyone starts out low. In any kind of art/literature related field, we're basically gambling. If you're a new author, we're going to start off with small bets.
And the GP claimed that somehow the author was going to live off that advance while writing their book full time. Which is only likely to happen for established non-fiction writers... certainly not for a new, starving fiction writer.
When a legit publisher advertises, it's to the book trade, the retailers, the distributors. This is something the self-published author cannot do very efficiently.
Yes, exactly. Self-published authors don't care about advertising to 'the book trade, the retailers, the distributors', because they can just upload a file and be on Amazon, B&N and most other distributors and online retailers with print and ebooks within a few days.
Actual advertising to readers will be left to the author, unless they've been picked to be The Next Big Thing. No publisher is going to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars advertising a book to readers if they're only giving the writer a $1,000 advance.
I can only believe that must include a huge amount for the sunk costs - designing the electric car, rather than each electric car being $30k more expensive than the gas equivalent.
Well, duh. Do you really think the cost of the gasoline car doesn't include the cost of designing it?
Yeah, and? If the publisher is upset by high prices, they can cut the price they sell the books to Amazon before. If the book is taking a long time to ship, the customer can go to the local book store.
Oh, you're not going to tell me their local book store doesn't stock these books, are you?
Yeah, and? Why should we believe them, rather than Amazon?
I tend to trust a writer who's losing money becasue of this more than I trust either Amazon or their publisher. Particularly when the publisher apparently refused to give the writer the information they'd need to prove who's delaying the shipments.
Slashdot Mirror
1. Editors weed out bad titles, correct spelling, etc. so if Amazon wants to replace them, they should to do the same job as editors.
That's why, last time I went to a book store, the horror shelves were full of Twilight clones and 'Steve Jobs, Vampire Hunter', novels. And why everyone I know who read '50 Shades Of Grey' gave up by half-way through. And why multiple editors rejected 'Harry Potter' before one took the clearly absurd step of asking a kid to read it and give their opinion.
Protip: There is no good guy here.
Yes. Ideally writers would eliminate publishers and Amazon, and sell direct to their readers. But that's hard to do when most readers want a central location where they can find new books to buy.
The funny part is that the publishers could have created that location with their own online store years ago, but, instead, they let Amazon do it.
It's a shame they don't explicitly tell you which books are DRM-free. I believe any ebook that lists 'simultaneous device usage unlimited' on the Amazon page is DRM-free.
Actually, I should correct that. That was the case until they opened their most recent stores; I believe you do only get 35% royalties in India, and maybe Mexico? But few people sell books there anyway.
It's 70% only if Amazon has exclusive rights
No, it's not.
Anyone selling ebooks for between $2.99 and $9.99 in a country where Amazon has an online store gets 70% royalties.
Again, it's not 'Amazon DRM'. Amazon don't care whether publishers enable DRM on their ebooks. The publishers enable DRM, then whine that it ties people into Amazon. Well, fscking duh.
So... is it DRM or the Kindle itself that removes the ability to appreciate knowledge or art?
Kindles don't have the new book smell, without which a true appreciation of literary art is impossible. Or the old book smell, where they get damp and mouldy.
You can do that, but as an Amazon top reviewer that often gets solicitations for a review, I find that few self-published authors are doing so. With very little money to invest -- these people are often working-class dreamers -- they often have to spend what little they have on marketing, and there's just nothing left for proofreading and editing (and the result is embarassing). At least a traditional publishing house covers those costs for you.
Publishers have been slashing the amount they spend on editing, to the point where, last time I was in a book store, one of the trade-published books I picked up off the shelf even had typos in the back cover blurb.
Oh, and the publisher doesn't 'cover those costs for you'. They pay for them out of the 75% of the ebook royalties that they pocket before they hand the writer their measly 25%.
Squeezing your suppliers' profit margins is never a good long-term strategy.
Publishers aren't Amazon's suppliers: writers are. Publishers are just middle-men who get in the way.
And, oddly enough, those writers only get about 15% royalties if their ebooks are sold through a Big Five publisher, whereas they get 70% if they sell direct through Amazon.
Maybe you're telling the wrong organization to give everyone a fair share of the profits.
Publishers demanded that Amazon use DRM... and now whine that readers are locked in to Kindle because that DRM prevents them from moving those books to a different ebook reader.
Any publisher who wants to can upload DRM-free ebooks to Amazon.
Games That Make Players Act Like Psychopaths ... Oh, you mean politics.
No. Most politicians go into politics because they're psychopaths, and it allows them to rob and kill people without any recourse.
Bingo. The decline of the game becomes self-reinforcing as the teenage psychos drive away the non-psycho players.
I like the idea of DayZ, but it just sounds like idiot kids intent on screwing up other people's game. I won't be buying it unless they do something about that.
at current production rates, they'll be depleted within 65 years.
So, then, worrying about oil running out today makes about as much sense as worrying in 1900 about how the increasing rate of horse ownership would have entire cities buried under feet of horse crap by the 1960s.
So a netbook with a touchscreen?
At five times the price.
So you're saying that book stores shouldn't be allowed to decide what books they sell?
I guess the local book store better build a big warehouse so they can store all those new books they're going to be forced to stock.
An advance is an advance, and everyone starts out low. In any kind of art/literature related field, we're basically gambling. If you're a new author, we're going to start off with small bets.
And the GP claimed that somehow the author was going to live off that advance while writing their book full time. Which is only likely to happen for established non-fiction writers... certainly not for a new, starving fiction writer.
When a legit publisher advertises, it's to the book trade, the retailers, the distributors. This is something the self-published author cannot do very efficiently.
Yes, exactly. Self-published authors don't care about advertising to 'the book trade, the retailers, the distributors', because they can just upload a file and be on Amazon, B&N and most other distributors and online retailers with print and ebooks within a few days.
Actual advertising to readers will be left to the author, unless they've been picked to be The Next Big Thing. No publisher is going to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars advertising a book to readers if they're only giving the writer a $1,000 advance.
Hint: in 2 years I have yet to see Linux "in the wild" nor has ANYONE asked about Linux.
I can see about eight Linux machines from my sofa at home, and most of them aren't PCs of any kind.
Also, why is there no lower-cost upgrade path for Windows XP users? "Got a Windows XP license? Here's Windows 8.1 for 50% off" or something.
Many Windows XP users are still using it because the alternative is Window 8.
They should have demanded that 10% of cars sold are flying invisible unicorns, because it was just as likely to be successful.
They're how CA is "taxing" the car manufacturers for the emissions their vehicles cause, while simultaneously reducing those emissions.
Reducing emissions making them build cars no-one wants?
I can only believe that must include a huge amount for the sunk costs - designing the electric car, rather than each electric car being $30k more expensive than the gas equivalent.
Well, duh. Do you really think the cost of the gasoline car doesn't include the cost of designing it?
Yeah, and?
Am I in a dominant market position in unicorn sales?
Yeah, and? If the publisher is upset by high prices, they can cut the price they sell the books to Amazon before. If the book is taking a long time to ship, the customer can go to the local book store.
Oh, you're not going to tell me their local book store doesn't stock these books, are you?
Yeah, and? Why should we believe them, rather than Amazon?
I tend to trust a writer who's losing money becasue of this more than I trust either Amazon or their publisher. Particularly when the publisher apparently refused to give the writer the information they'd need to prove who's delaying the shipments.
I don't see the harm, what does the middle-man do anyway?
$1,000 Manhattan lunches?