tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post2972628585556604267..comments2023-11-18T13:07:27.303-08:00Comments on Indie Author: Amazon vs. Apple And The Agency 5: Let's Get The Facts StraightUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-26453918177963929112012-04-27T10:14:27.256-07:002012-04-27T10:14:27.256-07:00Wow! I came over from Joe Konrath's blog to re...Wow! I came over from Joe Konrath's blog to read this article and it's everything I've been saying in my online column. You have a new fan; I am here to stay.JVRChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467257065784931223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-50854502548988030082012-04-22T17:24:51.463-07:002012-04-22T17:24:51.463-07:00Fantastic post. Spot on and well delivered.
B.Fantastic post. Spot on and well delivered.<br /><br />B.B. Justin Shierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15796827252689293261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-44026079202966937452012-04-16T18:50:11.279-07:002012-04-16T18:50:11.279-07:00April, this post was great. As an author who has p...April, this post was great. As an author who has published both fiction and non-fiction under Amazon's Kindle platform, I can tell you that it's a wonderful time to be an author. <br /><br />I collected quite a few rejections from traditional publishers--- and I'm <b>SO</b> glad that I never got picked up by a traditional press. <br /><br />The last fie years have been very good for No Signaturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801989067376078349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-7327888463135092522012-04-16T11:18:37.181-07:002012-04-16T11:18:37.181-07:00April, thanks for the terrific, insightful post!April, thanks for the terrific, insightful post!Barry Eislerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17785333622697500192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-22407806702093065202012-04-16T03:58:45.869-07:002012-04-16T03:58:45.869-07:00"Probably because, as loathe as we are to adm..."Probably because, as loathe as we are to admit it, we need them around to ferret out the junk."<br /><br />Sorry, that's simply not true. Counterexample: the web.<br /><br />No one could deny that the web is full of utter crap -- everything from YouTube comments to (insert rabid partisan site whose political views you find repugnant).<br /><br />Yet somehow I still run across more Tony Hurshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02688150421056906351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-77616314435504875212012-04-14T12:14:50.604-07:002012-04-14T12:14:50.604-07:00Evan,
First I want to second Mari's comments....Evan,<br /><br />First I want to second Mari's comments. Even though I don't agree with some of what you're saying, I'm enjoying the discussion.<br /><br />However, I do have one nit to pick. You said:<br /><br />"Suddenly that reader is going to become a Kindle customer? They're going to have to buy a PC and pay for internet to buy books from Amazon?"<br /><br />BooksAndPalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16119670940383926570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-55368644139243161512012-04-14T12:11:46.126-07:002012-04-14T12:11:46.126-07:00Evan -
"What about the reader who doesn't...Evan -<br />"What about the reader who doesn't own a computer..."<br /><br />People who refuse to adapt to new paradigms get left behind. Period. Anyone who chooses not to use a computer in this day and age is about as backward as someone who willfully refused to use a telephone in the 1960's. <br /><br />And while of course I realize not everyone can yet afford a computer of April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-35664573774630481852012-04-14T11:55:58.450-07:002012-04-14T11:55:58.450-07:00Consider me cruel, but I don't have the slight...Consider me cruel, but I don't have the slightest concern over the demise of bookstores or of publishing in general. Online is changing everything, and some are going to survive, some are going to become buggy whip manufacturers. I haven't entered a bookstore in years -- they're not on my radar, for all of the reasons that have been cited elsewhere and repeatedly. I don't know Mike McGuirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10472168472400686219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-10054056939795323412012-04-14T11:55:12.204-07:002012-04-14T11:55:12.204-07:00I actually do have blog, just click my name link. ...I actually do have blog, just click my name link. I haven't written on it recently, but you can check it out to see where I'm coming from. Just FYI, I'm an agent (I know big surprise, I'm part of the evil empire). I don't have any enmity with Amazon, I love them actually. My client (himself a successful self-publisher) is being published by Amazon Publishing this Summer Evan Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03660776630385686371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-77462938900249797682012-04-13T23:39:39.365-07:002012-04-13T23:39:39.365-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Saulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06065392504248161505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-18803239370531814642012-04-13T23:11:43.259-07:002012-04-13T23:11:43.259-07:00Evan
"The preparation of the text (and market...Evan<br />"The preparation of the text (and marketing/publicity) is the main cost. It's the same base cost for e-books as physical books." <br />- well,unfortunately the publishing industry spent the last at least 30 years blaming recurrent price increases on the costs they now say are irrelevant. Hmm. So... They've lied to us for 30 years, over and over and over... but _now_ Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12315551718688781746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-35002465796640390122012-04-13T21:54:11.626-07:002012-04-13T21:54:11.626-07:00Evan needs his own blog. One wonders why he feels...Evan needs his own blog. One wonders why he feels the need to carry the banner for Traditional Publishing so vehemently, and be so wrong about the business.Indiana Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08662798163927658238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-37037684771992441042012-04-13T19:28:13.394-07:002012-04-13T19:28:13.394-07:00Co-freaking-signed. Needless to say, I agree with...Co-freaking-signed. Needless to say, I agree with virtually with everything you've said, April (and, Evan, I found your debate very worthwhile to read, though I don't agree with you).Mari Stroudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00298990854740807858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-42980173834137842192012-04-13T17:43:47.868-07:002012-04-13T17:43:47.868-07:00Evan-
I listened to the Malcom Gladwell speech. I...Evan-<br /><br />I listened to the Malcom Gladwell speech. I think I came away from it with a different impression than you did. <br /><br />I'd summarize it as having three main parts. <br /><br />1) Given the situation, I might not be able to tell you what I really think, because my message has to be positive for the audience and not upset certain powerful people. Is he joking, or only BooksAndPalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16119670940383926570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-53971149839466186172012-04-13T17:16:07.568-07:002012-04-13T17:16:07.568-07:00Evan -
"If you really want to lower e-book pr...Evan -<br />"If you really want to lower e-book prices, the best thing to do as a consumer is buy more e-books. The market will take care of the rest."<br /><br />That's a completely fallacious argument. If consumers accept an inflated price for a product and buy the product in quantity anyway, what motivation does the manufacturer have to EVER lower the price? It's like you'April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-15923889188868354952012-04-13T17:05:35.202-07:002012-04-13T17:05:35.202-07:00Evan,
"That's the problem. If Amazon can ...Evan,<br />"That's the problem. If Amazon can offer books for the wholesale price or cheaper, then no other bookstore can hope to compete with them. That's where the monopoly comes in."<br /><br />"The problem is not that Amazon is a better competitor(though they are a good competitor), it's that they are making a conscious decision to sell books at a loss in order to Lucas Wimanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13001386543414706674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-27281382479075273532012-04-13T16:48:56.100-07:002012-04-13T16:48:56.100-07:00I think the transition from all print to all digit...I think the transition from all print to all digital will be slower than you think. It certainly can't be sped up through Amazon's pricing schemes. If you really want to lower e-book prices, the best thing to do as a consumer is buy more e-books. The market will take care of the rest.Evan Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03660776630385686371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-49582177783566915342012-04-13T16:46:32.855-07:002012-04-13T16:46:32.855-07:00What's been killing publishers has been killin...What's been killing publishers has been killing them for centuries, arguably. Yet they're still not dead. I suspect they will live through the digital revolution as well. Probably because, as loathe as we are to admit it, we need them around to ferret out the junk, and improve on the good stuff. Malcolm Gladwell more or less agrees with that notion (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/Evan Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03660776630385686371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-46290560979310674092012-04-13T16:34:16.332-07:002012-04-13T16:34:16.332-07:00Evan -
What's killing publishers and HAS been ...Evan -<br />What's killing publishers and HAS been killing them for decades is returns. There's no other industry in which retailers can routinely buy products at wholesale prices, then return them to the manufacturer when they don't sell.<br /><br />The more typical scenario is that once the retailer has bought the goods, it's up to the retailer to unload them, at whatever price April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-25417272351067249102012-04-13T16:25:23.563-07:002012-04-13T16:25:23.563-07:00Dave,
As far as overhead is concerned, contracts ...Dave,<br /><br />As far as overhead is concerned, contracts departments don't really cost so much. They're not all copyright attorneys getting paid through the nose, most of them are kids fresh out of college with an English degree who are just pushing papers and coordinating efforts with the acquisitions team comprised of sales, editorial and marketing. Contracts are relatively small Evan Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03660776630385686371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-82541566847920966782012-04-13T15:11:31.992-07:002012-04-13T15:11:31.992-07:00Oops. Too late to ignore that last bit. :)Oops. Too late to ignore that last bit. :)BooksAndPalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16119670940383926570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-40908879494091465102012-04-13T15:09:40.193-07:002012-04-13T15:09:40.193-07:00Evan,
Most of what I would respond to has already ...Evan,<br />Most of what I would respond to has already been done better by April (in the post above) and Dave below, however I do have a response to this ...<br /><br />"If you want to buy a book as soon as it is released you should be prepared to pay a premium for early adoption"<br /><br />There is nothing that says this has to be, but I understand the reason it is. Over the years BooksAndPalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16119670940383926570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-56358962930469764662012-04-13T15:02:16.351-07:002012-04-13T15:02:16.351-07:00Disregard those last few lines, I was doing some e...Disregard those last few lines, I was doing some editing on the fly. : )Evan Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03660776630385686371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-20801830153602660802012-04-13T14:56:08.949-07:002012-04-13T14:56:08.949-07:00SO not true!! An ebook edition of a novel or other...<i>SO not true!! An ebook edition of a novel or other primarily text-based book costs a few hundred dollars to create, tops. TOPS. And that's for getting a professional ebook conversion service to do it.</i><br /><br />The cost of manufacturing a book, and the cost of shipping it, is actually not that much, and those costs are deducted when it comes to e-book pricing. Read that Cnet article Evan Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03660776630385686371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-37205072821278108232012-04-13T14:48:31.726-07:002012-04-13T14:48:31.726-07:00This is probably the best article I've seen on...This is probably the best article I've seen on the subject. Your reply to Evan was even more masterful. <br /><br />One point I'd like to add to 'that's what books cost'- this is, I'm sorry, drivel. 'That's what books cost, doing the accounting the way we now do, spending money the way we choose to' is accurate, and effectively summarizes the problem. The only Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12315551718688781746noreply@blogger.com