Yes, but the topic was textbooks. While no doubt a few profs will self-publish their books, most are going to stick with the publisher's they're familiar with (and getting kickbacks from, in some cases).
Why should straight to e-book eliminate the overhead? The publisher is the one making the texts available on Kindle, and they're not doing it because they want to give up that huge profit margin. We know that the cost of printing and handling isn't the bulk of the price, or any hardcover book would be just as expensive. The only other benefit to the publishers is a reduction in second-hand sales. I'll be very surprised to see Kindle textbooks sell for much less than the hardcopy - and some may even get the bright idea of charging more for the convenience.
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Yes, but the topic was textbooks. While no doubt a few profs will self-publish their books, most are going to stick with the publisher's they're familiar with (and getting kickbacks from, in some cases).
Why should straight to e-book eliminate the overhead? The publisher is the one making the texts available on Kindle, and they're not doing it because they want to give up that huge profit margin. We know that the cost of printing and handling isn't the bulk of the price, or any hardcover book would be just as expensive. The only other benefit to the publishers is a reduction in second-hand sales. I'll be very surprised to see Kindle textbooks sell for much less than the hardcopy - and some may even get the bright idea of charging more for the convenience.