I started to write this post last week, and I stopped. I stopped because I figured I was overreacting and using my "cheap" button. But, today, again, in an even more obvious example, I've realized that I need to speak up. I'm an avid reader and I'm ANGRY!
I've been reading for 46 years. I've read everything from Homer to Shakespeare to Alcott to one-book authors no one's ever heard of. I read books just for the sheer joy of reading. When we go on vacation, my husband makes sure that I get my bookstore fix before we leave, so that I have at least 6 books to take with me. That's how much I read.
Having said that, I own a Kindle2, which I ADORE. NOTHING is better than my Kindle2. Nothing. I took to reading on the Kindle like a duck takes to swimming in the water. Love it. I've read almost 200 books on my Kindle in fact, including about 35 that I got for free from Amazon. So why am I so angry?
All of a sudden, ebooks are now $12.99. Are you KIDDING me?? I can't touch it or feel it and you want me to pay $12.99 for it?? Take Oprah's Book Club Choice, "Freedom." I wanted to read it. It's $15 for the hard copy and $12.99 for the Kindle version. Um. No. I'm not buying it. In fact, I'm so angry, I'm not reading the book at all. AND. I wrote to Oprah about it. The publishers have gone crazy. I assume that the ebook market is really hot. I assume that they are printing less pages of real hardcopy books, so they've decided to make up the difference and charge more for ebooks. I feel for the authors, because they will lose out. I am not the only person who loves books and won't pay $12.99 for an ebook. I'm out of space to store more books. I read a book once and can't ever read it again because I have a photographic memory and know what happens next. I can see the pages. Therefore, buying a hardcopy book is a waste.
Fast forward to today. On Facebook, someone posts about this book that they loved."The Art of Racing in the Rain". Sounded intriguing, so I went to Amazon, all ready to download it. I was ready to pay $9.99 for it, then realized that it is only $5.97. Wait. What?
Yes, don't get me started again, but needless to say, if the price goes down on the hardcopy, don't assume your readers are stupid and will just blindly pay $9.99 for the Kindle version. If I were stupid, would I have a Kindle in the first place?
Does this seem like brilliant marketing for the Kindle to you?
Yep. I'm pissed and blogging. And I now have a list of TWO books I really want to read but won't until I can find them for a better price. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, publishers!
Well...
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, on the one hand. But unfortunately (and you know this, being in the business you and I are in) you know that most of the costs associated with publishing are NOT in the paper and ink. Not at those volumes, anyway. Sure, if I self-publish a book, a one-off book that no one's ever heard of and few are willing to take a chance on, the per book production costs are high. But if you're printing 10K books, they cost what? Hmm? About $3 for hardcopy? Most of the cost is in the acquisitions, editing, design, layout, artwork, marketing, advertising, promotions, transportation, and legal fees. (And even eBooks have SOME transportation cost - there are the Kindles and Nooks, and there are the servers and storage and IT guys to maintain it all and...)
So yeah, it's a reality. As for the hardcopy being sold for LESS than the eBook? At that point, you know the book sales aren't making up the cost of shelf space; it's time to dump that title and move on to something newer and hotter.
So, have you read MY eBook? It's just $2.99 at Lulu. ;)