JacketFlap connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher in the children's / young adult book industry. Members include published authors and illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, publishers and fans. Join now (it's free).
Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.
Blog Posts by Tag
In the past 7 days
Blog Posts by Date
Click days in this calendar to see posts by day or month
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: electronic books, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 26 - 50 of 51
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: electronic books in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
STATUS: Not sure what is up with Mondays but they seem to be getting away from me lately.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? CAPE CANAVERAL by Conor Oberst
Most authors, at this point in time, are not interested in walking away from a publishing contract over electronic book rights. The numbers are growing certainly (as we can see that statement to statement) but the numbers, in general, are still very small in comparison to traditional print sales.
Now there are certainly some exceptions. I’m very interested in seeing how it unfolds for author JA Konrath who has long blogged about making a living from electronic book sales and has decided, for his most recent novel, to go with Amazon Encorefor the print with the release from Kindle coming earlier. (By the way, Mr. Konrath is embarking on this journey with his agent.)
From what I can tell from my own negotiations as well as from convos with other agents, Publishers are currently holding very firm on 25% of net receipts for the royalty structure. If they are doing an agency commission model (i.e. Apple) they are either not changing their definition of net amounts received in their contracts or they are sticking to the definition that it will be based on monies actually received by the publisher—translation: royalty of 25% of net to author calculated after 30% commission paid to third party (such as Apple). In other words, author is receiving 25% of 70% (not 100%). Reference my earlier blog entry on this topic to get up to speed.
So, if the author does not want to walk away from the offer over ebook royalty (and right now I’d have to say that’s most authors), what does an agent do?
We find another way to protect the author. One method is to include language in the publishing contract that dictates that if industry standard changes in regards to electronic book royalty rates, then the rate can be amended or renegotiated in the future to adhere to new industry standard.
Feel free to add that tidbit to your contracts file.
20 Comments on eBook Royalty: Another Way To Protect, last added: 5/21/2010
I appreciate how well you do at making everything clear and concise. Legalese can get so confusing to me that I really like reading this in plain language that I can understand. The more knowledge we have as authors, the better prepared we are to embark on the publication journey.
Gotta keep chipping away at that granite. eRoyalties are a really big deal to me, not because what they mean now, but what they're going to mean five years from now. I only hope that I'm in such a dominant negotiating position that my threat to walk away from a deal over eroyalties would have a genuine impact on the final agreement.
As it is, I would take a lower advance for better eroyalties if that established a baseline royalty rate for future publications. I consider it a solid investment in my future.
Thanks for explaining the agency model. I finally understand it. Are the publishers going to be reworking their numbers every time a new technology comes out?
I am so glad someone out there is blogging about this. I'd be really nervous if I didn't SEE agents discussing this topic out in the open. It's bloggers like you that help dispel the myth that you have to get published before you can begin to learn the secrets of the ancient society of the publishing world. :D
Thanks for the informative post, Kristin. You always give us something new to chew on.
Anonymous said, on 5/19/2010 9:34:00 AM
Maybe this has been covered before, but I missed it. Do the electronic royalty payments count against the advance or are they independent of it?
Dave K
Anonymous said, on 5/19/2010 9:42:00 AM
The absolute thievery that is the royalty structure for e-books makes me very hesitant about even trying to get published in the traditional manner.
As a poster mentioned above, it is not 2010 that worries me. It is 2020 or pick-a-date-down-the-road.
If I am fortunate enough to get published and do well, I am certainly going to regret agreeing to the 25% or 70% model if 80% of my sales are e-sales. So the publisher saves the cost of returns, printing, warehousing and transportation and I get 25% of 70%??
Boy, this really makes me want to make sure I get a tough, smart, agent. Thinking of that little side gate to add when the publishers won't budge? Golden. I had been wondering if just such a thing could be done.
In the next blog I read another *agent* quotes Kristin as an authority on how the film industry defines ebook rights. If that's not an endorsement of what a leader she is in the field, I don't know what is.
STATUS: So excited! Leaving the office before 6! However, I’m just going to take Chutney for a walk and then continue working tonight as I need to read client material.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? POCKET FULLOF SUNSHINE by Natasha Bedingfield
Today I was reviewing a royalty statement from a book that had been recently released. In other words, this was the first statement for the title that we had seen.
In looking at the statement, I noticed that there wasn’t a single electronic book sold in the six-month accounting period this statement encompassed.
Red flag! And you don’t even have to be a rocket scientist (or a literary agent for that matter!) to be able to look at the statement and realize that if an electronic book is available but sales are not showing on the statement, something has gone awry.
Now in this instant, the problem was easily solved. The book released right at the end of the six-month accounting period (so in late December) and the ebook didn’t release until 2 weeks later (in January) so there was no way for ebooks to show on this statement. Problem solved.
However, I bring this up because I’ve seen this issue on other statements and the above situation was not the issue.
The issue ended up being this: the ebook ISBN was not tied to the print title of the book and thus the publishing house royalty system was recording ebook sales with that ISBN but it wasn’t linked to anything. There was no way for the computer to know what author to attach it to.
The only way the problem was solved was by me ringing up the editor to get the ISBNs for the ebooks and then ringing up the royalty department to say, look, there’s an issue here. You need to tie these ISBNs to the statement for these titles. Then have the publishing house regenerate the royalty statements.
So even though you trust your agent, it’s still good idea to read your royalty statements and see if they make sense. Lots of royalty statements can come in certain months (like April/October) and heck, everyone is human and something could be accidentally overlooked. Be your own best advocate.
11 Comments on Ebook Royalty Glitch, last added: 5/14/2010
Wow, thanks for sharing. It's scary to think about what happens to all that money if no one ever connects the dots... good thing you know about all of this, though!
The challenge is the dual-nature of product families. They're an obvious means of tracking workload/workflow and are used for that purpose, not just tracking various platforms used to distribute a book.
In the past, product families generally kept to themselves. Book people worked on books. Media people worked on media and never would the two cross. Now it's become a Venn diagram and we have to cope with seeing irrelevant (to us) records in our product families. Why are all these dead tree things clogging up my orderly 1s and 0s books?
So what happened? We changed the product families! Get those dead trees out of there. They're confusing the computers, they're confusing the workers. Keep to your side of the pool! (How many analogies can I mix in here?) Of course, this completely defeated the purpose of having a product family and we grudgingly accepted this new change in thinking.
Still, this is a new process for the industry and we make mistakes. ...often.
Some of the ebook distributors are slow about reporting numbers and paying royalties. Several of my publishers have complained about Fictionwise, and it's only gotten worse since B&N bought them out.
STATUS: Been reviewing a film contract which pretty much makes me cross-eyed by the end of the work day.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? OVER THE RAINBOW/WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Before you head off to post a free novel on your website, you might want to spend some time learning about the pros and cons of doing so.
In my opinion, yesterday’s post is probably most useful for writers looking to break in. If you are already traditionally published and have a publisher, this could be of value but you need a clear plan and the blessing of your publisher.
There are some contractual things you need to keep in mind before you post stuff for free or embrace Creative Commons or pursue other online experiments. Since the beginning of the year, author Cory Doctorow has been chronicling his experiences with free electronic books in Publishers Weekly.
If you haven’t had a chance to read his monthly columns, I think they are definitely worth a read. Here is a linkto get you started. There’s no need for me to repeat what Cory says in his articles and so much more eloquently.
One of the things I want to highlight is that Cory is embarking on this documented journey with the full knowledge and support of his publisher Tor/Forge. As a published author, you have terms in your traditional publishing contracts that you must abide by. Posting things for free could get you in trouble. For example, a non-compete clause. Depending on how that’s worded and what the parameters are in your contract, uploading free material could be deemed a competing work with what your publisher is currently publishing for you. Or it might not.
My suggestion? Be sure to have full communication with your agent and your editor about your desire to explore these kinds of avenues. My guess is the publishers are keen to see what authors can do with creative endeavors but would be less enthusiastic if kept out of the loop.
I keep hearing stories (but have ever seen concrete proof) of authors giving away a freebie and still boosting their sales. I guess it could work for a newbie, but I'd be reluctant to try this, for many reasons, not the least of which is that it seems it may devalue the work. A chapter or two might be worth putting out there gratis, but I doubt I'd go beyond that. For now...
Funny you mention Doctorow! I'd never heard of him before today, but that's the third time in 24 hours I've seen his name come up in relation to his distribution methods. The other blogs were politics related (rather than literary). Seems he's become the poster child of non-software Creative Commons/GPL use.
I understand if you are a published author with an agent that you would want to avoid posting your work for free on your website, but what about for unpublished authors?
But why would you post the entire novel online for free? Don't you want people to buy it? Wouldn't it be better to post related short stories and such online and save the novel for print? Just wondering.
I get nervous when I see what some authors/writers are doing online, and I'm not even the one doing it! I don't do ANYTHING without running it past my agent.
Guide to Literary Agents did a post on this yesterday. Both of you bring out good points. I've posted a few chapters here and there on my blog. I've enjoyed the critiquing I've gotten from my readers. But your posts yesterday and today, along with GLA's makes me have second thoughts about posting more than a snippet of my wips. Thanks, Kristin.
I might change my opinion in the future, but for now I wouldn't offer anything for free...
But your advice is sound and I thank you for it.
Joe Andrews said, on 4/27/2010 4:54:00 PM
Why are writers so willing to devalue their work to zero? It seems an uninspired way to get noticed when a huge number of effective marketing texts exist that could help a writer gain exposure. Have we gotten so lazy that we're willing to stoop to starving for fame instead of doing our homework and building something creative enough others want to purchase it?
One thing to keep in mind is that Cory Doctorow has a large and diverse following that is composed of very active (and activist) loyalists all around the globe. Even if you've never heard of the man, that article gives you at least a hint of the breadth of his personal influence. The success of an endeavor like this by a man who is a hero of the Internet isn't necessarily indicative of how it'd be for your average author.
He's also subcontracting many pieces of the pie to experts. The fact that he gets this work for free by highly qualified people is extremely relevant. The average author won't have the kind of support network Doctorow has available to him.
All in all, these articles are an interesting look at what a DIY might look like, but to me it's analogous to Bill Gates deciding he'd like to independently publish a piece of software or Garth Brooks putting out an album via his own label. Doctorow may not be a rockstar, but in this kind of endeavor he might as well be.
Jill, Janis Ian (yes, the Janis Ian) wrote an article in 2002 about her experience with offering free music having an impact on sales. She also names others (including fantasy author Mercedes Lackey) who have had similar results. It's a small sample set, but the results are interesting.
All my poetry is published online under various Creative Commons licences - but then it's poetry, which has no market.
Did you know that poetry books sold in the UK are considered to be successful if they sell more than 500 copies? (source: Chris Hamilton-Emery, Salt Publishing).
Novels are a different game. Free samples and chapters are one thing, but I'm not ready to give an entire novel away for free (except to close friends, and my Mother, of course).
An interesting Dilemma! If you have written a second book in a series and tried the query process without success, is giving the first one away a viable means to a published second book and money? What if as a new writer you are working on a new story and use the same logic? Perhaps Sara or Kristin would like to comment about a Query that lists (1000 downloads of first book on web site)! Would that matter to them if it wasn’t published?
I'm a published author, and I don't think I'd put up an entire novel for free -- but on my website, I do put up a couple of full text short stories (the rights reverted to me and the anthology editor said sure, it was fine with him). And I put up about the first 50 pages of each of my novels. I figure that's enough for a reader to decide whether she likes the book enough to buy it or get it from the library. I figure if they don't like the first 50 pages, they won't like the next 350 pages any better!
From many of my successful friends' experiences, I've learned that a free novel is only useful if it is the first of an established series. That's why so many publishers offer the first book free to get the reader hooked.
Some authors also offer prequel short stories about their series hero or major characters.
A free poorly written book is no bargain for you or the reader. If anything, it would drive readers away.
And beware much of Doctorow's advice on ebooks, etc. Many of his rants involve a deliberate misunderstanding of what copyright is and isn't.
For example, he says that "used" ebooks can be resold, and copyright law specifically states that the "First Sale Doctrine" doesn't apply to ebooks.
So we see that two writers of about the same age who publish in the same genre (though in different subgenres) for the same publisher at the same time can have radically different experiences re: free downloads.
Cory Doctorow seems to argue that his experience will be the usual one. But maybe Jo Walton's experience is the usual one?
What’s playing on the iPod right now? STAY UP LATE by Talking Heads
From a lot of my posts lately, I imagine that you think all my recent conversations with contract directors at the big houses have been contentious.
In reality, that hasn’t been so. I have to say, that I personally like all the contracts directors at the major houses. They are under the gun and yet they’ve handled differences of opinions with good temper, grace, and with reason—even if I don’t agree with their stance.
In fact, one of the contract directors from a big six house even made me spit coffee and sputter with laughter in our last conversation.
When I mentioned that I didn’t agree with the 25% of net publishers were currently sticking with and that I was not inclined to accept the same percentage if we were to negotiate an expanded or enhanced electronic book, the director, totally deadpanned, quipped in return that I must obviously share his opinion that the split percentage to the author should be lower for an enhanced ebook as they are more expensive to produce.
I was so surprised that I just burst out laughing as did my contracts manager. You gotta respect a contracts director with a sense of humor. Grin.
That's hilarious. I also love that as an adult I find the nerdiest stuff funny. I made a joke about encryption to a computer programmer the other day. And then I shook my head.
You really do need a sense of humor to make it through the day. There are too many crinkly eyebrows in every day dealings. Hooray for a good sense of humor. I love hearing that. There's hope.
I guess someone has to type all of those 1's and 0's. I'm afraid you may get more of the same from other publishers. Just try not to spit coffee on them. ;-)
But pound for pound, an ebook is more expensive to produce! Let's assume a $30 hardback that weighs half a pound costs $5 to produce. That makes it $10/lb. Now let's be generous and say a $15 ebook that weighs nothing (because bits are weightless) costs a penny to produce. (And don't your publishers wish they could pull that off?) That still makes it infinite dollars per pound.
Love it! This also highlights the importance of having an agent who has such positive working relationships with others in the business - even when they disagree.
STATUS: Just a twinge of a cough remains. Kristin—9 flu—1
What’s playing on the iPod right now? HOME by Daughtry
Rumor has it that several of the big 6 publishers are coming out with new boilerplate contracts in the next couple of weeks. I know for sure that Hachette is working on a new one as is HarperCollins.
With these new “boilerplates,” I already know there is going to be a significant difference in opinion about what a Publisher thinks is a boilerplate item and what an Agent will consider as a boilerplate item versus a right that needs to be negotiated up front.
I have a feeling (call it intuition—snort) that the definition of what constitutes an “enhanced ebook” or a “multimedia product” (that’s a new catch phrase I’ve been hearing as of late) will be at the center of these new boilerplate contract debates between publishers and agents.
I, myself, have yet to see a new “boilerplate” contract but am waiting with bated breath… Oh being an agent is just daily fun.
Just thought you'd be interested to know that open-publisher Lulu.com has taken a huge leap towards creating the world's largest book store today by adding traditionally published books to their library. You can see the announcement from CEO Bob Young here: http://lulublog.com/2010/04/12/message-from-bob/
Huh, "multimedia product" could mean anything from a brochure with illustrations to a video card to an iPad. Googling that phrase gives you a vast array of random stuff. Very tricksy.
I'm glad I am a humble engineer who doesn't have to deal with this business trickery. I have no patience for such shenanigans.
Why a writer needs an agent. The terminology has become like reading a lawyer's document -- unintelligible except to the insider, and probably not then
By incorporating phrasing like "Multimedia Product" into the boilerplate, is this implying that such terms are non-negotiable for the publisher? In other words, they are just expecting authors to sign away all rights to any existing or forthcoming format, and unwilling authors just have to walk on the deal?
Is there anything about multimedia product clauses that limits transfer of medium (say, turning the book into a flash animation/game, just for sake of outlandish argument)? With language that broad, what even constitutes a transfer of medium beyond the scope of the contract?
Hi Kristin. I'm curious what royalty % publishers will pay authors. Considering that you can self publish an ebook and get up to 70%. J Konrath has lots to say about ebooks on his blog. I still see the benefits in having an agent, and I see how hard you all work, but newbie authors can make good money controlling their ebook rights.
If we put aside the quality of some self published books and concentrate on revenue, I think more writers will go down this path. Konrath has made me think about the traditional path of agent and publisher. Low priced good quality ebooks at 70% royalty. Makes me think.
Do you have an opinion you can share about this. What do you think is a fair royalty % for ebooks if the publisher has the rights.
I'm very interested to see how "multi media product" is defined. I have this company in my head called "Multi Story." The image is a multi-storied building. The first floor is the traditional book. The second floor includes the book plus an interview with the author (formatted for e-readers). The stories keep going until you reach the top floor--- will that be a movie, or a Wii game based on the book? I would love to see books presented with so many different options to experience them. I would also love to tap into my husband's database of investors and start such a company. Maybe some of your romance writers could give me tips on seduction... :-)
One of the downsides of being a non-New York agent is you can't arrange a meeting and pass your flu bug on to the publisher's staff. (Grin)
It's easy for me to say it because I'm not the one doing the work, but you and the other agents who debate with publishers over these boilerplate changes are going to help define 21st century publishing. So do good work, and, you know, no pressure.
Thanks for letting us know. It's worked out well for authors to hold on to some electronic rights, especially in the short fiction markets. But as the industry changes, it will be harder for authors to interpret what these rights are, and even worse if the industry as a whole doesn't know.
Different definitions for those things?? Ya'll in the publishing industry must still be behind the times in ho you can make your content work for you... when I started as a tech writer in 1998 the move was just happening in manuals to move to PDFs rather than printed materials, and we've been dealing with it since. It's not a lot of effort to take one source and plug it into multiple formats to generate two totally different end products... you can take something authored in Word, plug it into two different InDesign templates and hit the generate button... two different outputs (note: I live in a world where Adobe Acrobat is king). Seriously... there are a lot of out of work technical writers who could generate different formats in their sleep (or at least on a Monday morning before the coffee kicks in). Look outside the box!
STATUS: Two contracts to wrap up and 270 emails to go in the inbox. Feeling significantly better after a lot of rest this weekend. Kristin--7 Flu--3
What’s playing on the iPod right now? NEED YOU TONIGHT by INXS
As you folks know, I’ve been on planes quite a bit in the past month. And here is how I know that the tipping point is potentially here (or near) where eBooks are concerned.
On one leg of my trip, I sat next to a 60+ grandmother (by her own admission) who saw me reading on my Kindle.
Grandmother: “That’s a new eReader, isn’t it? Where did you get that?”
Me: “This particularly eReader is called a Kindle and I bought it through Amazon but Sony and BN and a couple of other companies sell eReaders as well. You can buy them online at Amazon or go into Best Buy etc.” [For the record, I do try and promote equal opportunity purchases for electronic readers! I even mentioned the iPad.]
Her: “I read at least 3 novels a week! I’d love not to have to carry all these books around. I’m going on a cruise this week. [Leaning over to look at the text on my Kindle] Looks like you can up the font on that.” I gotta get me one of those.”
Me: “Yes, you can change the font size.”
Her: “That does it. I’m asking for it for my birthday and Mother’s day combined. If my children can buy a $200 game program for my grandkids, they can buy me one of those.”
In chatting with her a bit more, this grandmother was from Pueblo, Colorado—a smaller but good-sized town in South Colorado. Probably not too far off the core of “middle America.”
When I’ve got an older grandmother expressing unabashed enthusiasm in owning an eReader, I can’t help but think the tipping point is near—even if current electronic sales only equal about 2% of the market right now (statistic via a recent PW article).
I think a lot of us assumed the older generation would be the luddites where this new technology is concerned but through my anecdotal experiences, I’m not finding that to be true…
I think the words 'font size' is what sells ereaders to older generations. My grandmother bought a Kindle last fall because she has so much trouble reading the small prints in books. She HAD to purchase oversized text books. Not only were those books difficult to find, but I'm pretty sure they're always published in hardback, so they cost so much more than the $7.99 pbks most people can buy.
My grandmother has read more books in the last six months than she has in the last ten years, all because of her ereader.
I totally agree Kristin, and thanks for posting this.
I do have to add one thing though: I love books. Real books, there is something about the feel of the pages between my fingers, the binding ... maybe I'm just old fashioned seeing the world through my rose tinted glasses, heck I do own about 2500 vinyl records.
That being said I look forward to owning an e-reader someday soon. In my perfect world I could buy a hardcover copy of a book and get an electronic copy bundled in for a reasonable price. Apparently that may start to happen.
That's pretty much the conversation I had with my mom (in her 60s) about e-readers. Her gut reactions was, "I love real books. Why would I want THAT?" But then I pointed out that she could take dozens of books with her on airplanes and in her purse, and with her next breath it was, "I need one of those."
No, you're right. It's not true. I'm barely post-Luddite and a grandmother - and the only things that hold me back at the moment is the price and the fear my tech ignorance would screw the machine.
Anonymous said, on 4/12/2010 7:49:00 AM
The first person I knew with an e-book reader was a writer and avid reader in her 80s who liked not having to lug a hug bag of books around on her travels...come to that, she still the only person I know who actually owns an e-reader!
I can see where that'd come in handy...I really enjoying having all my ebooks in one place, but have noticed lately that my eyes get tired of looking at the screen. Both my lappy and iPhone have those super shiny screens so I'm thinking that might have something to do with the eye fatigue. DH and I are going to have to take a serious look at the ereaders this year. I'm running out of shelf space and I hate the thought of my books living in the attic.
I bought my mother (82!) a Kindle for Christmas after she expressed interest in a reader. I showed her the books I have on my iPhone and she felt that was pretty readable. She has arthritis and has trouble holding thick books and hardbacks. She enjoys her Kindle and is reading quite a bit on it.
I was at the Associatiation of Writers & Writing Programs conference in Denver this week, and I had my Sony reader with me. i received more than a few comments along the lines of "...but I love REAL books...". So do I. I responded to all that the reader is just another tool in my life. I prefer live concerts at Red Rocks, but that doesn't stop me from using my iPod. Like most of you, I have a pile of books to read at all times, and currently 4 of those are hard-copy and 2 of those are electronic. But when I'm carrying my briefcase, the e-books are definitely better for the back.
An anthropology graduate once taught me one of the most valuable things I know: There are always more differences within groups than between groups. Thank you for calling attention to one of these differences. My idea of a perfect day is twenty four hours when I am not dumped into any age group.
I was at Best Buy this weekend, playing with the iPad. Its books feature was pretty cool.
But me, I'm not quite 40 and I can't imagine a life without real books. There's something about the feel of a book in my hand that can't be replaced by an oversized iPod or mini computer.
That being said, if I had fewer books in my house, there'd be a heck of a lot less clutter!
I think e-readers can tap into the older market by highlighting the advantages for them. I can think of two off the top of my head. The increasing the font thing, like you mentioned, and just not having to hold a book open. Lots of older people with arthritic hands/fingers, would probably appreciate that.
While not elderly, I read about 3-4 books a week. That, added to the time I spend staring at my computer, has led to the strain of my middle-aged eyes. I got an ebook this past Christmas, and with larger fonts, I am able to read for longer periods of time with fewer problems. I'm also enjoying instant delivery of books, and the frequent shaving of a buck or two off the price. And while I always did enjoy the look and feel of real books, I do appreciate not having to find a place to shoe-horn yet another book shelf.
Here's a question I've been wondering since these have started to catch on. What about those of us who use the library extensively? I think the option to "borrow" or "rent" books needs to be there, before I consider it.
I just had a conversation with my art director this morning about buying his 86-year-old mother an iPad - she wants to do email and read books, and maybe one or two other things. Her laptop just bewilders her. The iPad is so user-friendly and clear for those things that it's a foregone conclusion...she's getting one for Mother's Day now.
It's all about user-friendliness and interface. Make something so simple that a 3-year-old and an 86-year-old can both understand it intuitively, and you're on to something. And if you can make it like the "normal" reading experience (page-flipping and notes in the margins) but better (enlarging text), you'll win hearts and minds to e-books.
Marie Lu said, on 4/12/2010 10:02:00 AM
That just makes me grin--it's enlightening (and kind of adorable) to see the older generation enthusiastic about eBooks!
To add another anecdote, my new stepdad is a physics professor in his 70s (very sweet man) but is getting an eReader this year as well. I think he already has an iPhone. He loves the new tech coming out for books and echoes the convenience factor.
(And fwiw, I've been using my iPhone+Kindle app as an eReader for the past several months and it works surprisingly well. I would've thought the screen would be too small but it's actually pretty convenient. I've read SO many more books b/c of this!)
You're absolutely right. Anyone who travels will find the eReaders useful, whether they're young or old. The older people will want them for convenience, while the younger people will want them for convenience and the toy factor.
Paige said, on 4/12/2010 10:31:00 AM
I work in a library, and what I find interesting about the whole ebook thing is that it's not the young people who are the early adopters of the technology, it's the over-40 crowd. The teenagers get perk up when they find out we have free downloadable audiobooks for their iPods, but they couldn't care less about the ebooks. The only ones who show any interest in our ebook service are much older.
A year ago I spent an hour showing an 89-year-old lady how to use her new Kindle 2. She's 90 now and still reading books on it.
I have a Kindle 2; my husband has my old Kindle 1. At work I know about 12 people with Kindle 2s. Plus I know a couple folks who read on their iPhones, although not extensively. Interestingly, the one person I know with an iPad doesn't plan to use it for books but rather newspapers and magazines.
Most people who insist they could not possibly give up "real" books have never tried reading an e-ink screen. But it's ok, because no one is going to make them use one.
My wife an I are about to embark on a 10-day beach vacation. We do this once a year and we each take 4-5 books we intend to read on the trip. Even then, we sometimes finish them before we intended. I tend to read mostly hardcovers, so my choices for what to take with often depends on length. The shorter the book, the better it fits into my suitcase. Point Omega and The Big Short are going with me, and Drood is staying home.
Now if I had a Kindle . . .
Can you take a kindle to the beach? Any problems with sand?
The thing with the Kindle is that I'd only want it while I'm traveling. While reading at home, the book is fine wherever I decide to read.
One of the drawbacks to the Kindle or any e-reader is that I would just be leasing the book. I can't resell it. I can't give it to one of my daughters to read. I can't donate it to the local library.
I bought my mom a Kindle for christmas because she can't hold books open anymore due to artritis. She said that was the best present in the world. For her to be able to read a book again. (She once owned a book store).
And now she can read my first book coming out next month on her kindle. How cool is that?
Kim said... What about those of us who use the library extensively? I think the option to "borrow" or "rent" books needs to be there...
The option is there, Kim! Libraries are starting to get into ebooks. There's one service called Overdrive... once you're signed up through your library, you can download books directly from home. They become unreadable after the loan period expires.
The age part doesn't surprise me. I taught adult ed. computer science during my first career, and we had a lot of recently-retired seniors. It was usually a case of, "Now that I'm retired I finally have time to learn about these things!" Before that, they weren't so much Luddite as run off their feet from the working world. I've seen an awful lot of people with grey hair jump from "newbie" to "techie" in an astonishingly short amount of time.
I really believe it's not an age thing, but an opportunity thing. Something for marketers to think about.
I've got mixed feelings on ebooks. On one hand, I intend to travel a lot. Assuming I get one used and cheaper, it'd be pretty convenient.
On the same hand, if I'm on an ereader, it's easier to knit, eat, etc. while reading.
On the other hand, I love books. Not just the stories; I like the thickness of them, and the feel of flipping the pages and the satisfaction of coming home with so many library books I can barely carry them.
And when you've got ebooks, you can't loan them or give them away. One of the best things about books is seeing other people enjoy them.
Add to that: I can leave a book in a tent during a rainstorm. It may get bloated, but it'll still be decently readable. Multi-hundred-dollar equipment? Not so sure.
I've got a sneaking suspicion I'll get one someday, probably used. But I doubt I'll ever be weaned off real books.
I wonder if we could make a comparison between the shift from "real" books to e-books and the multiple shifts in format the music industry has made over the years. What was the tipping point for the changes from records to 8-tracks, to cassettes, to CDs, to MP3? I got a Kindle last year. Not only is it a lifesaver for traveling, it has been extremely beneficial for homeschooling my teens. When there's a classic they need to read that I don't have in my library, I just load it on my Kindle. Almost always for free. Just one more use for an E-reader!
Anonymous said, on 4/12/2010 5:02:00 PM
Oh, no! You'll have to pry my hard covers and paperbacks out of my cold dead hands!!
Jen said, on 4/12/2010 5:02:00 PM
I suspect a direct correlation between your airline travel and current cold/flu.
You know, I haven't even thought of that benefit -- no need to search for large print books, because you can adjust the text size yourself. And someone else mentioned that it was an easier option for people with arthritis. The ebook advertisers should really think about targeting older people, too. That's fantastic.
I e-read on my iPod, and I love it. Since I live in Korea, it's a real lifesaver in a city with no good bookstores. Only stupid Barnes & Noble won't let me buy from here, but at least there's still Amazon.
Ugh, sorry to comment twice in a row, but Mr. Greer, if you put your e-reader in a Ziplock bag, it's even safer than taking a book. You could swim with it! And the touch screen still works through the thin plastic of the bag. (This also works well for reading in the bath.)
Anonymous said, on 4/12/2010 7:12:00 PM
My mom is also a 60-year-old grandmother who LOVES her Kindle. My dad was listening to my cousins and me talking about them at a family gathering and started asking questions. On top of adjustable font size, it didn't take him long to realize that there would be fewer books that she'd already read and wouldn't be reading again lying around the house and fewer dollars spent on new releases (her biggest vice). Finding out the price had been cut in nearly half sealed the deal and after a little time spent checking it out on Amazon he bought her one for her birthday.
There's another aspect to the older generation - I believe they read more than those of us who are younger. As a busy mom, I only got back into reading when my kids hit high school. My parents and my husband's parents are all avid readers and have been for a long time. Being able to have so many books available at their fingertips is the real draw.
There is a tech-saavy-ness that does have to be overcome, but my MIL already has a kindle (in her 60's). I expect her husband to follow suit soon (his birthday IS coming up).
My parents, however, will probably never get an ereader, more because of the price than anything else. They buy very few books, getting almost all their reading material from the library.
So, even in this little microcosm there's differences - none of which has to do with the stereotypical 'grandma doesn't do technology.'
I hate to admit it, but both my mother and mother-in-law, both 63, have the Kindle, while I still lug my beloved paperbacks around. I may have just entered the twilight zone...
I bought my dad a kindle for christmas because he's been not admitting that he needs larger print to read for a while now. With the kindle he can increase the font size and maintain denial.
For me, though? I'm 24, have perfect eyesight, and carry a purse big enough to hold four or five paperbacks, several snacks, and a veritable pharmacy. No need for me to drop $300 on a kindle I'll just need to replace in 4 years.
I had a very similar experience at the gym the other day...I now take my Sony Reader and read while I'm on the elliptical, treadmill or crossramp/stepper thingy. An older gentleman stepped onto the machine nest to min...looked to be at least 60..maybe a bit older. Started asking em about it. Being a soon to be epublishd author, I had to show him some of what it could do and I felt very cool! :) He seemed impressed, especially with how easy it is to read and the option of increasing the text size.
I agree with Sandy that "font size" will be the selling point with a lot of seniors.
My grandmother is terrified of computers, but if she knew she could read all the books she wanted to in the font size she desired on a gadget that wouldn't "steal my identity," she'd be all over it.
Bill, I have a Cybook, not a Kindle, but I take it everywhere. To the beach, out in the garden, walking through light showers (not heavy rain). Never had a problem, and it's several years old now (I've read 1800-2000 books on it).
If you're really worried about moisture, (for example you're in a bath, with wet hands) put it in a clear ziploc bag. It's better than a paper book that way, as you can easily push the button to turn the page on a reader while it's in a bag, not so with a paper book. I've only done this a few times though, mostly I don't bother.
Our library runs a Homebound program, and we think it won't be too long before e-Readers will be the way to go for Homebound users. It would mean the ability to download the books they want, when they want them, and e-Readers will be way easier on arthritic hands than some of the gigantic and heavy large-print books.
This rings true for me. I find it interesting that much of this generation- those of us growing up completely immersed in technology like this- are often the ones pulling away, rather than embracing it. Right now there's a huge trend in my age group (for the record, I am eighteen) toward 'outdated' tech... vinyl records over mp3s, film cameras over digital. A surprising number of people I know have lately begun using typewriters. Perhaps it's simply the fact that things like ereaders aren't much of a novelty for us, or maybe we're truly starting to reject the amount of technology being thrust upon us. I currently use a computer for almost everything- I'm not ready to give up my books to that, too. If I started using an ereader, I'd be spending virtually all my time staring at a screen.
I stayed the winter in an RV resort with retired snowbirds in Arizona. Three bought Kindles, and at least four already had them. Several more are planning on buying one.
Both of my parents are in their 70's and they love technology as much as I do. They're both on Twitter and Facebook and will call me up when they see a cool gadget on the market.
I think where they get left behind is the way gadgets are marketed, not in their interest in technology.
What was once techy is becoming mainstream, and 15-24 year-old men no longer deserve 100% of the gadget marketing dollars being thrown at them, if ever they did.
I'm only 28 and find it incredibily difficult to imagine reducing my library to one device. I'm taking baby steps with my new iPhone and reading my first ebook there. I like it; I do. But I just love holding the real thing too. Not sure I can ever fully make the transition... so age apparently has very little to do with it!
I think caffeine is right--at least for some young people. My sons (college age and a bit older) aren't interested in getting ereaders. I'm hoping this generation will open bookstores and will embrace printed books. Maybe they are sick of all the i-gadgetry they've grown up with.
I like my Sony pocket ereader, but I love bringing home a shiny new book from the library or bookstore. Downloading a file onto an ereader isn't the same.
[i] "…f you're really worried about moisture, (for example you're in a bath, with wet hands) put it in a clear ziploc bag…"[/i] I saw an ad (I think it was in WIRED magazine) for a waterproof kindle cover. Doesn't seem worth the expense over a ziploc bag, but the fact that someone makes one has me thinking "mainstream".
[i"This rings true for me. I find it interesting that much of this generation- those of us growing up completely immersed in technology like this- are often the ones pulling away, rather than embracing it…."[/i] I am a baby-boomer (late - 1961) but went into I.T. straight out of the army when I was 25 years old. So I have been immersed more than my "peers". I have an ebook and Mac, but I also use fountain pens and drive a 1968 Plymouth, so I guess I'm one of those pulling away, at least a bit.
[i]"…I don't miss anything about a paper book, at all…"[/i] Although I still read plenty of hardcopy, I agree with you. The STORY is the thing, not the format, IMO.
[i]"…hope I can get published before this becomes a thing of the past. Call me sentimental…"[/i] BUT I feel the same way - so I''m slightly torn.
[i]"…I can't decide between the iPad, Kindle, or Nook…"[/i] This is a good place to research with information from real readers: http://www.mobileread.com
What’s playing on the iPod right now? BEEN CAUGHT STEALING by Jane’s Addiction
As you can imagine, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with various Contract Directors at all the major publishing houses as of late as we navigate contract negotiation.
I was in discussion with one person from a Big 6 house and we got to talking about returns with electronic books. Were they going to be allowed on the agency commission model that publishers have with entities like Apple?
According to this contracts person, the answer was yes.
So I asked what I thought was a rather pertinent question. I said, “if Apple allows returns and they’ve already deducted the 30% agency commission from the sale, how will the publisher know that the commission should have been refunded to them for the returned-sale of that title?”
This may be a naive question, but how are returns on electronic copies handled? With physical copies, I get it. What doesn't sell gets sent back to the publisher. (Or with paperbacks, just the cover while the rest gets trashed.)
But there isn't any issue with stock room space in electronic copies.
Any idea how sellers are determining how to stock the electronic copies in order to have a stock that would need to be returned if it doesn't sell? Because, really, you just take the file off your server if it's electronic. There aren't multiple copies that the distributor is holding.
I don't know how this specifically works with books, but I know with Apps sales on the iPhone, even though the developer only gets 70% of the price, they pay 100% of the return.
Techcrunch ran the story in March of last year. http://techcrunch.com/2009/03/25/apples-iphone-app-refund-policies-could-bankrupt-developers/
Allowing returns on electronic copies makes no sense to me at all. Wouldn't the e-book format allow for a 'just in time' model that would remove the need for returns? Thank you for thinking about things way down the track ahead of us, Kristin.
STATUS: Springtime in the Rockies! It was 65 degrees and sunny today and I must admit, I left the office at 2:30 in order to take Chutney out for a run and enjoy the day. In exchange, I’m working all evening.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? TOMORROW PEOPLE by Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers
Last week, I pretty much spent every entry talking about contracts but today’s discussion tops the cake.
Just recently, a publisher made an offer for the next books from one of my clients. Excellent. But this publisher is also one of the big 6 that have announced that they are moving to the agency commission model for the sale of electronic books.
As ya’ll know based on my math lectureabout net receipts last week, there are some key questions that really need to be answered about electronic books and exactly what 25% of net is going to mean.
So my contracts manager and I insisted on talking to contracts director before closing the deal.
The publisher’s response (and this is a paraphrase): they have no idea what the definition of net receipts will be and feel uncomfortable accepting the language we have put forth. Their suggestion? If the author would like to put the contract on hold until the company makes a corporate decision on this, then the author is free to do so. However, the publisher has no timeline for when this will be resolved.
Snort. That’s the solution?
Publishers. The world is changing. Quit dithering. We agents have to negotiate contracts now so maybe get on this. Telling us we can just put it on hold until you get your act together isn’t an alternative.
How about telling them "if you can't define your contract language properly, you can't have any e-book rights at all" !
::Rolls eyes:: Why in the world would they think anyone will sign their contracts when they haven't decided how the author payments will be calculated?
I miss springtime in Colorado. I grew up in Pueblo and I now live in Ohio. Ohio is green and beautiful once spring gets sprung, but it doesn't get actually nice until about May. :(
I read a great, totally unbiased article about the pros, cons, and potential impact of the Google Books Settlement yesterday and it made me wonder what the compensation model they're using is like compared to what Apple is offering. Considering that the publishers have utterly abdicated their responsibility for where the future of their industry is going, it's no wonder they're dithering - they have to wait for Apple and Google to set their digital book business model for them. Any decisions they make now are irrelevant in the face of what those two technology titans decide in the coming months.
Speaking of Google Books, how does that work, contractually? I know authors can opt in or opt out, but how are you advising newbies to handle it? Do the publishers weigh in at all in that decision? I can imagine some might prohibit it and some might encourage it.
Google Books Article: http://www.callawyer.com/story.cfm?eid=908042&evid=1
I suppose I understand where they're coming from, though I don't find it acceptable. Not at all. The publishers probably don't want to accept your language because it will set a precedent, and they don't want to get left behind when/if the other big houses settle on better terms. This is an incredibly bad/sad/maddening position (essentially a take it or leave it till sometime later -- if ever) for you and your client. I'll be interested to hear how this works out.
Kristin, I just love how you can put the most important contract information in understandable terms for those of us that are contract language challenged. Thank you so much for taking such good care of your clients! You rock!
Having spent most of my professional life working on commission I have to say: Uh-uh. No. No way. 25% of undefined/undisclosed is not cool.
Give 'em hell.
Anonymous said, on 3/4/2010 9:00:00 PM
I don't deal with editorial agenda as much in my new position as I did in my old position. In my old position, I was on the front line of the company e-evolution strategy, and I can say without hesitation that the company was unprepared. Not just technologically but mentally. It was new, it was different, and it scared the hell out of them. The best way I could describe their mindset was, "I don't understand this. I'm scared of this. Please tell me what I'm supposed to think so I can continue with my job without actually learning anything about this new paradigm in my profession."
The only publishers that scare me more than the ones that have no e-strategy are the ones that saw this and have prepared accordingly. Many of the positions they have maneuvered to have not been author friendly.
Dither, wait, don't decide, sit on the fence...? I cannot think of any other industry that would be a slow moving to adapt to change as publishing seems to be.
Bright side: perhaps this is a blessing... still free to shop around since nothing has been signed yet.
Is it just me, or are the major publishers (with a move to royalties off net) trying to shift to a payment structure that more closely resembles POD publishers?
I think it's discouraging and telling to learn that they are adopting a model that they haven't even thought through yet, but there is another choice besides capitulating or punting.
You can include a clause in the contract that states that if they provide any other author with a more favorable compensation formula regarding the agency model within a certain time frame, that formula must be retroactively applied to the author's contract. There are all sorts of other clauses and contingencies that can be incorporated into the language that will allow the author to go forward, but not give up a more favorable formula that the publisher may apply in the future.
Your posts are always so informative, thanks so much. I've been absorbing a lot of your posts about contracts. I've been offered a book contract by a small, niche publisher for a short holiday book. I don't have an agent and sort of think that it'd be hard to get one just for this small holiday book, so I'm extremely grateful for the wealth of information on your blog about these things.
I just want to say thank you for working so hard for your clients--and then sharing with the rest of the world what might be a potential issue for us if we're not represented by you...you do us all a great service. THANK YOU.
Publishers. The world is changing. Quit dithering. We agents have to negotiate contracts now so maybe get on this. Telling us we can just put it on hold until you get your act together isn’t an alternative.
Here here! Thing is, there is little incentive for Big McBox publisher to change because 'he who has the most money writes the rules.' They know you'll wait.
I will now go celebrate my smallness with a margarita.
And publishers wonder why they can't get a grip on falling sales and lost profits? This particular situation must be so frustrating because it puts you and your author in a bad place: either accept bad terms on e-books or wait for an indefinite period of time (which may be never) for them to make up their mind, at which point neither one of you has seen any income from said book. Ridiculous. It will be nice when the day comes that the people who hold the power are not the slowest to act.
So what they are saying is sign a contract even though there's no way to really understand the terms, or we won't publish you?
I have no law background, but it does seem possible that putting ambiguous terms in the contract purposefully, might invalidate that contract, or perhaps the eBook rights portion of it?
Either way, it certainly stinks!
Anonymous said, on 3/5/2010 8:47:00 AM
(Picking this up late from PL... )
Most days lately, I get this awful feeling that the definition of net receipts is going to fall victim to the same expenses creep as net film receipts. And that makes me want to reach for the bourbon, and it's not even noon.
Just.... wow. I wonder if the other houses are saying something similar to agents, or if they're scrambling for a solution? Hmmmm...
Anonymous said, on 3/5/2010 9:24:00 AM
Why is the assumption that publishers are trying to pull a fast one on authors and agents? The people forcing change and demanding terms are the e-book retailers. Just as agents are protecting their authors by putting up stop signs and saying we need to figure this out, publishers are putting up stop signs to the e-book vendors to protect both the publishers and the authors. That's why it's taking some time to figure this out.
Anonymous said, on 3/5/2010 10:44:00 AM
Anonymous 1 to Anonymous 2:
"Why is the assumption that publishers are trying to pull a fast one on authors and agents?"
For those not in publishing, moves by houses to claim licenses to ebooks from existing contracts that wouldn't properly compensate authors make a lasting impression.
For those in publishing, I can assure you we were discussing revised strategy to accommodate the growing ebook market long before there was a kindle or an ipad.
Goal 1: Create a mode that prevents resale and eliminate the used book.
Goal 2: Encourage the belief that the ebook is a supplement to the printed text. Authors should think of them as "extras" or "throw aways" for a niche market. Secure long-term rights for low royalties.
Publishers don't want to totally screw authors. Without authors, there are no publishers. But there has been a growing sense of publishing royalties as secondary income among the editorial teams I've worked with. The author is assumed to have a full time job that pays the bills and writing royalties is bonus/fun money. Thus reducing their royalties is okay because you're not jeopardizing anyone's livelihood. Those authors that are large enough sellers to make a living off their publications are also important enough to make greater demands, and thus are an exception to said mindset. As an exception, it creates two identifiable groups: Money Makers and Everyone Else. If Everyone Else wants to get paid better, they should sell more.
Certainly this paints the publisher as villain with a mustache to be twirled and that might be an unfair description of many houses out there that act more ethically than others. But in the end, it's all business and houses can only do two things to generate money, sell and cut costs. It's much easier to cut costs by reducing author royalties than it is to renegotiate with sellers.
Anonymous said, on 3/5/2010 12:35:00 PM
This does not surprise me at all! I love the publishing business, but it isn't known for quick innovation/change. I've been on the other side of the deal negotiating contracts as an editor, and there are times when you have to wait for higher ups to make the big decisions, not that that is an excuse - just the way it works.
Love your perspective Kristen! Keep up the great work.
Eesh! That's tough. On one hand, you want to sell the book for your client, on the other hand, you want to get them what is fair. Vague usually never works to the contract signer's advantage. How will you handle this?
Anonymous said, on 3/5/2010 2:11:00 PM
I still think that somehow the e-book vendors are avoiding examination here. But they're the ones demanding that a $26 hardcover book be priced at half that amount. So then do the math using the current (non-agency) royalty model: on a $13 e-book the e-bookseller gets half, leaving $6.50 for publisher/author. On the print book at 15%, the author got almost $4. So take away $4 from $6.50 and the publisher is left with $2.50 a book. You can't sustain a business on that. It won't be long before there are no publishers left to pay advances if we use that model. I'm not disputing that some people will use this moment as an opportunity to squeeze other players in this business, but we have to remember who the prime mover in this most recent episode is.
mkcbunny said, on 3/5/2010 4:02:00 PM
I get that it may take time to sort out the e-rights issue, but how it sounds like the author is supposed to sign a contract with undefined terms for payment? What is the point of having a contract clause at all if it's that wiggly?
Anonymous said, on 3/5/2010 5:28:00 PM
This is one of those examples that makes me want to self-publish. Yeah, I know that it's a nasty word, but from everything I have been reading, the big publishers are acting the music business did 10 years ago: clueless. Time to just setup up my own publishing company, outsource my editing, and publish directly to the Kindle and Nook. Just tell me when these big companies get a clue, so I can do the whole query thingy.
STATUS: Lots to tackle today so getting the blog entry out early.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? THE BLACKEST LILY by Corinne Bailey Rae
And the fun of how electronic books are changing the publishing contract continues. Today, boys and girls, we are going to talk about net receipts in Ms. Kristin’s neighborhood.
In light of this new agency commission model where Amazon and Apple will no longer carry the product per se but have an agreement to sell titles via their site in exchange for a 30% commission on the sale (see earlier post to get up to speed), suddenly agents need to re-examine the whole definition of net receipts in publishing contracts.
The definition of net receipts (or amount received) for an electronic book is not the same as the definition of amount received for a physical book.
With the agency commission model, the biggest question is this. Will publishers deduct the 30% commission paid or will they absorb it when calculating net receipts and determining what is the total used to pay authors their 25% of net receipts? One major publisher has stated that their current thinking is that the royalty would be calculated BEFORE deducting commission. In current negotiations for contracts in play, I’m not seeing publishers as excited about redefining net receipts this way.
So what does redefining net receipts mean to the author? Let’s do a little math!
Let’s say a title will sell on Amazon or Apple’s iPad for $10.00 (might as well make it easy math). Now let’s look at the different between net receipts if the publisher absorbs the cost of the agency commission versus if they don’t in defining and calculating net receipts.
If Publisher absorbs commission: eBook price: $10.00 25% of net royalty (all the rage with publishers as of late) Royalty to author: $2.50 per title sold
If Publisher does not: eBook price: $10.00 $7.00 received by publisher (after 30% sales commission to retailer) 25% of net royalty Royalty to author: $1.75 per title sold
Yep, definitely worth the time to find out exactly how this term is going to be defined in the contract when it comes to electronic books.
Strange that the agency model will work for the Amazon and Apple stores, but a similar model can't work for authors. I don't see why it can't be one pie, regardless of price, and divided by percentages accordingly.
You don't redefine a pie every time someone takes a slice. And the publishers are still getting the lion's share. If they only want to offer 17.5% not 25%, then say so. Don't hide it in the numbers.
Anonymous said, on 2/25/2010 11:06:00 AM
It's also worth noting that while publishers and authors were queuing up to condemn Amazon and laud Apple ... Apple snuck in a clause saying they could charge whatever they liked for ebooks.
Amazon's deal: we'll pay publishers a set amount per book and set the price - we might sell some ebooks as loss leaders, but publishers won't have to bear the costs of that.
Apple's deal: you'll get a set percentage of what we sell a book for. Isn't it terrible that Amazon will be selling your books so cheaply? Oh, by the way, we reserve the right to charge what we want.
Seriously? People fell for that? Here's a clue: if Amazon are selling ebooks for $9.99 at a loss, and Apple can sell ebooks for a profit for $9.99, Apple are not going to be selling ebooks for $14.99.
Or, if you want another clue, ask the record companies if they like the iTunes deal.
The race for book publishers to take the novel, one of the cheapest entertainment products out there and the hardest to pirate, and to make them cheaper *and* easy to pirate is farcical. That they are willing to also hand over all their auditing powers to the people selling their product turns that into tragedy.
Please, please could all publishers and agents just take a reality check. Think of the ebook as a new format. Call it the padback. Imagine it as a physical book, don't get dazzled by the technology or think Apple or Amazon are doing you a favor or widening your reader base. They're selling books, your books, and they'll make money by paying publishers as little as they can.
Lots of interesting and important information about contracts! I try to mash it all into my head, but it's not quite sticking. I hope that I will find an agent that is as knowledgable about all this as you are. I got a rejection from Nelson the other week, or I would say I hoped to get you as an agent. :)
At least one day, I might be able to look at a contract and think "there was something smart said about ebooks and royalties and such in a blog I read, I should ask about that".
Like all other commentators, I want to thank you for taking the time to spread the word! So - thanks!
@anonymous first poster guy: Thanks for that article! I hadn't seen that one. And please note my complete lack of surprise. Jobs didn't strong-arm the music business into the future by playing to the RIAA's tune. If anyone expected him to be any less savvy on the ebook issue, I have a bridge I'd like to sell them.
I think Macmillan had the reality check you suggested and tried to back Amazon into a corner on the ebook prices so they could have bargaining power with Jobs when this issue came to a head. But by then, the battle was already over. Apple will dominate the market, set the price range to what Amazon has set as 'expected' (i.e. 9.99 - 12.99), and the publishers will just have to live with it. This, unfortunately, means the authors end up living with it, too.
If I were an author or an agent, I'd be pissed that the publishing houses declined to control this situation. By allowing Amazon to set consumer expectations of ebook prices so low, they did themselves a grave disservice. I can only think it stemmed from a relatively low original demand and no one in the publishing industry having the foresight to realize that this medium would be picked up by Apple and made into an integral part of one of their flagship devices - the tablet that's been rumored to be in development for at least the last 3 years.
This is what happens when you run along behind technology, hoping it won't catch you up. Someone else sets the industry standard for you and you're stuck with it. It ain't pretty.
This is usually the kind of stuff that makes my eyes glaze over and sends me packing off to the hills to write poetry about unicorns and rainbows... But you break it down nicely (thanks for using the number 10). And thanks for keeping everyone abreast. Very cool and helpful.
'This is what happens when you run along behind technology, hoping it won't catch you up.'
Yes. Publishers want to expand their reader base, and some dopey authors have fallen for the 'give it away for free, more people will buy the expensive one' line.
More people may read the book. But if the author and his publisher don't get any money, his *second* book ain't going to get written.
"Eridani said... "By allowing Amazon to set consumer expectations of ebook prices so low, they did themselves a grave disservice."
Personally it is not Amazon setting the consumer expectations low. It's consumers itself. More people will buy an ebook at $9, as compared to say $16 or $25. Even more will buy when it is less than $9. Of course, it all changes when the ebook is the only format, then if there is enough need, people will buy it at any price.
My point is, I as an inspiring writer, feel $9 is too high for *fiction* when I can get the paperback cheaper. And I've been looking around writing forums and mailing lists and quite a few others share the same opinion.
STATUS: Remember when I said we were reading a lot? Yeah, that was before the Olympics began. Bad Kristin but I can’t tear myself away from the TV in the evenings!
What’s playing on the iPod right now? HOLDING BACK THE YEARS by Simply Red
As you know from a previous post, I’m not all that enthusiastic about this move by Publishers to switch an eBook royalty rate based on retail price to a royalty percentage based on net amount received.
As I ranted about this topic previously, my issue is the lack of transparency on the statement. It’s impossible to track actual amount received by the publisher unless you can get more detailed accounting info
So what have we been doing? Asking Publishers to included language in the agreement that contractually obligates them to provide more accounting information upon request. The only way to verify the accuracy of the Publisher’s stated amount received is to get info such as a list of customers purchasing and disseminating the electronic product, the business model used (wholesale or agency commission or maybe something not even invented yet), the actual retail price, the discount, any deductions made to establish the Amount Received figure from which the royalty calculation will be based.
And I could go on.
Notice that yet again, the onus is on the author/agent to go out of their way to request this information. It won’t necessarily or automatically be stated on the statement.
If we are having such a revolution in publishing over the electronic book, is it too much to ask that publishers have a revolution regarding the info provided on a statement? You got to change the system anyway to account for these new royalty structures. Why not make the whole reporting process more transparent. Heck, why can’t all this info be readily available online and the author can access it at anytime.
Re: your status: Ha! That's a relief to read, actually. I was a little worried that my query had gotten swallowed by cyberspace or something. But I've ignored my fair share of work to watch figure skating, so I salute you, madam.
Thank you for these posts by the way, seriously. I was totally ignorant of all these little contractual things, and now I have a better idea of what I'm (hopefully) getting into.
Knowledge regarding complex issues such as this (at least I think they're complex!) is yet another reason why agents are a necessity for an author.
Also, I'm right there with you on the Olympics thing. I rarely watch television, but it's been on every night for the last week -- and the figure skating isn't even over yet. :)
There are so many changes in the publishing industry right now- I'm glad you're doing these posts to keep us writers in the loop.
On an unrelated note, I just started Hester by Paula Reed. I'll admit that The Scarlet Letter wasn't my favorite read in high school (maybe I should pick it up again), but I'm loving Reed's book! I hope it's as good as Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet!
Man, this makes me cringe! Thanks for putting this out there and letting the world know your grief. As a writer, it really feels good to learn all this stuff up front--before you even have an agent--so you know what kind of world you're walking into.
It has been my experience that royalty statement have been complicated almost as a standard in the business. So are contracts. It would be wonderful if both were simplified and made more accessible to authors and agents.
Holy Crow. First off, good tunes as nearly always. Secondly, this is fascinating info. The only problem with more transparency is that the companies will just have to be even sneakier!
I think with transparency becoming more popular in big business, my health insurance company included, wouldn't this be important for publishers? Or do they not see the need since the author/agent is still dependent on them for distribution of books?
Jimmy Ng
Anonymous said, on 2/26/2010 5:03:00 PM
If it's too hard for the publishing house to stuff your manuscript into a SASE and drop it in their outgoing mail basket, do you really think they're going to go through all the trouble of putting accounting info on line?
Yes, it would be beneficial to writers and agents, but when have publishers ever considered the needs of writers over their own needs?
STATUS: I had a To Do list a mile long but I buckled down and just concentrated on it. The fact that I only got 70 emails rather than my usual 120+ today made a big difference in accomplishing what I did.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? HEY, SOUL SISTER by Train
It’s been awhile since we’ve talked about contracts. I know. Your favorite thing but to be honest, contract language is ALL I’ve been thinking about for the last 3 weeks since Apple made their big iPad announcement, Amazon pulled the links for Macmillan titles to flex some muscle, and publishers such as Macmillan and Hachette moved solely to an agency commission model for the sale of eBooks. (See sidebar tags for “publishing contracts” and “electronic books” to get up to speed on these past events.)
The hardest part about being an agent right now is figuring out what dang language to put in the contract when terms are changing, literally, every week.
But today’s topic is a no brainer when it comes to contract terms that need to be revisited in light of the ever-changing eBook landscape.
Publishers, in the old school world of actually selling physical copies of the book, like to hold a reserve for returns on any given title. This reserve is usually specified on the royalty statement (although some publishers do not include that info and then we as the agency have to specifically request it). Because publishers sell books to booksellers who can then later return them for full credit or refund, they have to hold a certain percentage in reserves to account for the possibility of all these returns. Publishers like to hold reserves on each specific edition of the title.
Got that?
But here’s the interesting thing. Some publishers are holding a reserve on the eBook edition.
Right. Explain to me how somebody would return an electronic book. They can’t. eBooks are non-returnable so why would a publisher be holding a reserve for returns on an electronic edition?
What a good question. They shouldn’t be. So now we’ve implemented policy here at the agency to make sure that no reserves are being held for eBooks on any past contract where that was not specified (which means we are having to ask when each roy. statement arrives and make sure reserves are not held). Oh what fun!
And on future contracts, we are including specific language that no reserves will be held on the electronic edition. And yes, if you don’t specifically raise a ruckus about this, some publishers are holding a reserve on the eBook (not all, mind you, but some are).
Oh, I’m going to be ranting about this kind of stuff all week so stay tuned. Those of you who are agented authors, aren’t you glad somebody is worrying about this stuff on your behalf?
STATUS: A bit frustrated with all this Amazon stuff.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? NEVER THERE by Cake
Which is to say the latest is not much. The links are still not on. February 16 is fast approaching for my author Paula Reed and the debut of HESTER.
As authors, if you are impacted, I think it’s important to have your voice heard on the Amazon Kindle forum where there is a lot of chatter going on. The average everyday customer really doesn’t know much about the ins and outs of publishing and what the hoopla is about.
This in from John Sargent earlier today….
To: Macmillan Authors and Illustrators cc: Literary Agents From: John Sargent
I am sorry I have been silent since Saturday. We have been in constant discussions with Amazon since then. Things have moved far enough that hopefully this is the last time I will be writing to you on this subject.
Over the last few years we have been deeply concerned about the pricing of electronic books. That pricing, combined with the traditional business model we were using, was creating a market that we believe was fundamentally unbalanced. In the last three weeks, from a standing start we have moved to a new business model. We will make less money on the sale of e books, but we will have a stable and rational market. To repeat myself from last Sunday's letter, we will now have a business model that will ensure our intellectual property will be available digitally through many channels, at a price that is both fair to the consumer and that allows those who create and publish it to be fairly compensated.
We have also started discussions with all our other partners in the digital book world. While there is still lots of work to be done, they have all agreed to move to the agency model.
And now on to royalties. Three or four weeks ago, we began discussions with the Author's Guild on their concerns about our new royalty terms. We indicated then that we would be flexible and that we were prepared to move to a higher rate for digital books. In ongoing discussions with our major agents at the beginning of this week, we began informing them of our new terms. The change to an agency model will bring about yet another round of discussion on royalties, and we look forward to solving this next step in the puzzle with you.
A word about Amazon. This has been a very difficult time. Many of you are wondering what has taken so long for Amazon and Macmillan to reach a conclusion. I want to assure you that Amazon has been working very, very hard and always in good faith to find a way forward with us. Though we do not always agree, I remain full of admiration and respect for them. Both of us look forward to being back in business as usual.
And a salute to the bricks and mortar retailers who sell your books in their stores and on their related websites. Their support for you, and us, has been remarkable over the last week. From large chains to small independents, they committed to working harder than ever to help your books find your readers.
Lastly, my deepest thanks to you, our authors and illustrators. Macmillan and Amazon as corporations had our differences that needed to be resolved. You are the ones whose books lost their buy buttons. And yet you have continued to be terrifically supportive of us and of what we are trying to accomplish. It is a great joy to be your publisher.
I cannot tell you when we will resume business as usual with Amazon, and needless to say I can promise nothing on the buy buttons. You can tell by the tone of this letter though that I feel the time is getting near to hand.
9 Comments on The Latest On Macmillan-Amazon, last added: 2/5/2010
Got my author letter from my editor just before it posted on PM. I was glad to finally hear something. I've been telling everyone who will listen what the deal is, but it's a tough sell for Kindle users who spent $$$$$ for a reader with the understanding that books would be ten bucks. They don't get that they should blame Amazon (not Macmillan) for setting an unsustainable price point for e-books that they would inevitably raise when they put everyone else out of business.
But I can't help hoping that the Kindle "Macmillan boycott" blows over before my book comes out in Sept.
I just moseyed to the Kindle forums and yikes! 17 bucks for an e-book? It's not one I'm interested in, but for someone who's used to paying between $6 and $12 per Kindle book, $17 is out of the realms of the reasonable. Current Kindle customers are going to be experiencing some serious sticker shock. I'm wondering what impact this price hike will have upon Macmillan's Kindle sales.
Anonymous said, on 2/4/2010 4:43:00 PM
It still seems an awful lot like Amazon is playing "God".
Is it just me, or was it not entirely infantile to react by removing the "buy" buttons in the first place? Reminds me of a child's reaction. And they still haven't replaced them. ????!!!
I think their misplaced fit at least merits an apology to those authors whose sales continue to suffer.
I can honestly see valid points on both sides, but they could have settled it without inflicting all this collateral damage on authors.
It might not make a big difference, but I'm purchasing one Macmillan imprint book every day and featuring new Macmillan imprint releases on my blog as long as the buy-button bash-down lasts. Please have Paula flip me an email. I'd be happy to feature HESTER on Feb 16 if the pi$$ing contest is still at an impasse.
This seems . . . crazy, like shooting yourself in the foot. In these hard economic times shouldn't bookmakers and booksellers be advocates for one another?
Once Amazon gets the books back up, I might start using the mp3 store again, but I'm going other places for books. I'm mad at Amazon and I'm taking it out on the local indie bookstore tomorrow--in a good way. (After all this hubbub, I feel like a big splurge on books at a place where I can see who benefits. Plus, I hear they have cats in the store.)
And I have indeed let Amazon know. For those who want to have their say, here's the Amazon forum: http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum/?cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx2MEGQWTNGIMHV
Whether I'm buying Amazon or not, here's to hoping the books are up soon!
Current ebooks are DRM'd files on proprietary hardware. You can't lend them, you can't back them up, you can't read them on any other product. And Amazon can recall them any time for any reason - they refund your money but you still lose the content. When I buy a Kindle book, it's with the knowledge that I'm not getting a 'real' book, and that I'll end up buying this book again in 2-3 years due to format/hardware issues.
That said, I'm okay with those things but not for a mere 10%-15% off the price of a paper book. Not when I paid 300 dollars for their stupid reader on top of all that. At this point in the digital book wars, a digital copy doesn't have anywhere near the same value as a paper copy. Trying to make us pay a very similar fee for it is a little ridiculous. Scalzi was 100% right that Amazon dropped the ball.
I'm with Lisa and Eridani here. Frankly, I wish Amazon hadn't caved so quickly to MacMillan. $15 an ebook is positively *outrageous*. No one in their right mind thinks it costs as much to produce a dead tree book as an ebook.
I suspect Amazon's strategy here is to give MacMillan (and by extension, the other publishers) what they want, so that, when e-book sales fall calamitously, they can learn the hard way that readers aren't nearly as stupid as they think.
I also strongly suspect that MacMillan has just hung out a big flashing neon sign that says, "Please pirate our e-books immediately." I'm not defending piracy, just saying, as Lisa points out, people didn't buy a Kindle so they could download e-books for the same price as a dead tree book. It's unfair to the writers but that's what I think will happen (remember the days when CDs were ridiculously high until the US DOJ came down on the record companies for their pricing structure? *That's* why you're no longer paying $17 average for a CD) Frankly, I think $10 was a bit much for an e-book but it's a durned sight better than the extortionate prices MacMillan et al want to charge.
Joe Konrath has had plenty to say on this topic, and has shown with raw data that lower prices drive up sales...the only thing I can figure is that MacMillian hopes that others will follow their footsteps and attempt to kill the rising e-book business by charging such outlandish amounts in comparison to a paper copy.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT by R.E.M
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should have heard the news by now. Apple had released its new tablet PC called the iPad. Think bigger, badder iTouch.
Just in case you just crawled out from under that rock, here’s a link to get you up to speed.
Most folks in the industry see the Apple announcement as a game changer—a company big enough and nimble enough to give Amazon a run for its money in terms of being the dominant player of eBooks.
As agents, the electronic rights playing field is literally shifting daily. (Ah, where did those sleepy days of just doing book deals go?)
One can imagine that The Goog will not be too far behind…
What this all means for the future is not entirely clear and I’m actually not going to speculate in this entry.
What I do want to say is this. This is the first time I’ve had to do a major shift in a negotiation literally mid-stream because of a news announcement.
In short, previously publishers have sold books to an entity like Amazon wholesale. In other words, the entity has bought a certain number of “books” in bulk at X discount. Then an entity like Amazon takes the ebooks and makes them available at a price they deem (which has been $9.99).
Apple’s announcement is changing the way publishers will be doing business moving forward. Instead of buying wholesale, Apple is saying “hey, we’ll simply be a portal for you to sell your books and we are going to ask for a 30% commission for the privilege. You get to keep the other 70% (with the main caveat that the eBook not be priced over $14.99)
I see all of you are starting to do the math in your heads. Why should an author be stuck with a crappy 25% of net amounts received in this kind of deal?
Why do we need one lump catch-all royalty at all?
Some other random thoughts as I contemplate the massive changes publishing is going to undergo in the next five years.
1. eBooks are unreturnable. There would be no need for a publisher to hold a reserve against returns on that format. Language should be inserted in the contract addressing just that.
2. Will advances go the way of the dinosaurs? If so, what will become the main factor for choosing one “publisher” over another?
3. Will publishers finally update the royalty statement accounting periods? If eBook becomes primary format, there is no need to be 6 months behind (so as to account for returns according to publishers) in the generating of statements and the paying of royalties earned. There is no reason not to do this monthly.
And these are just a few things that immediately pop to mind…..
STATUS: It’s obvious that I need to rule the world. I couldn’t BELIEVE that the judges dismissed FACE from the Sing-Off. Are they nuts? Not to disparage the other performers but FACE is doing something different with a cappella. Surely an audience might like to see more of what they can do. Now it’s just the same old same old for the remaining groups with the exception of Nota (who were outstanding). Go and buy FACE's new album Momentum anyway. Take that Sing-off.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? COLORADO CHRISTMAS by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
I’m getting an early start to my blog or I’m just going to get buried. I was very happy to see the Author Guild speak out. In a message to members, they basically rejected RH’s argument that its older contracts that grant rights to publish “in book form” or “in all editions” is a grant of electronic rights.
RH politely disagreed with their stance. Surprise I know. Put on your boxing gloves. Here we go.
But back to Q&A.
Anonymous asked: Ask them - are mid-list authors dead in the water? What do you expect from mid-list to say yes to future projects? I don’t believe that midlist authors are dead in the water but it also depends on where they are in the midlist. There are different levels—the consistently-selling midlister versus the midlister who is now having declining sales for each subsequent project.
If the author is a solid seller, publishers are still buying new projects—however, they may be offering less money than they have in the past or they are sticking with the same terms as previous contract. There’s not a lot of negotiating leverage for the midlist author.
In order to say yes to a future project from a midlist author (looking to change representation), I would have to believe that the new project or proposal is strong enough to bump the sales numbers or will take the author in a new, stronger direction from which the author can build.
Anonymous asked: I was wondering if you have ever fallen in love with a manuscript and then never found a home for it? Sadly yes. It always amazes me when I’m not able to sell a project. There’s obviously something wrong with the editors. Grin.
Rebecca Knight asked: Hmmmm. My question for an editor would have to be what direction they think e-book pricing and the royalty structure is going to go in the next few years. Actually, individual editors have no idea. All changes to eBook pricing and royalty structures are set by corporate policy. In fact, in negotiations, they have to toe the party line.
From my perspective? I think eBook pricing and royalty structure is going to be a huge battle. Publishers are seeing squeezed profit margins and they are clearly on notice about how third parties such as Amazon are controlling the perception of what pricing should be for eBooks (with their $9.99 price point or lower).
On Mike Shatzkin’s blog, he speculated that the publishers' decision to delay the e-book versions of some major upcoming titles isn't "a battle to rescue hardcover books from price perception issues caused by inexpensive ebooks" so much as it is about "wresting control of their ebook destinies back from Amazon." I don’t disagree. His insights are worth reading.
Because of fear, publishers are all jumpin
21 Comments on Authors Guild on RH’s Rights Grab, Q&A continued, last added: 12/17/2009
I thought Face rocked - how many a cappella groups sing Bon Jovi? Nota was definitely the only other group that stood out for me. I don't even watch television but made an exception for my fellow Coloradoans (yes, I think that's a word :)
Thanks for all the ebook info which honestly confuses me and further reinforces my desire to have an agent help me navigate those waters.
I DID buy the CD as a gift for my singing-dentist husband (no, he doesn't sing while he works, but all the way home on his commute.) Too bad about Sing-Off. I think they're amazing and deserved better.
First, a quick note on the midlist question. From a sales perspective, it can be very frustrating to sell an author with declining sales from book to book. My account focused mainly on the first 8 week sales at their store and bookscan, plus bestseller or award info. These were smart business woman who saw no reason to waste shelf space on an author with a declining audience. Something new, they were often willing to give it a shot. I was always pleased when a midlist author with declining sales changed his or her pen name for a fresh start. Some sales reps could mention the change if it helped them and others would present the author as a fresh debut.
I've been following your post on RH's recent announcement and I understand that this is not in the best interest of authors and agents. However, RH (and other publishers) must negotiate terms with the retailers that actually sell the books. While it might seem like agents and authors have very little leverage (apart from auctions), RH might feel they are in a similar position with some of their big name retailers. After all, grocery stores and big box chains don't need to sell books. In fact, they might make more money using the space for diapers or soft drink products.
These "interesting times" present a challenge to everyone involved with the publishing practice. .
I believe it was in one of Richard Curtis' books on publishing that he said royalties have never gone up in publishing.
I remember years ago, authors agreed to a drop in royalties FOR THE SHORT TERM when the price of paper rose drastically, but, of course, royalties never rose after the paper prices dropped considerably.
I hope that e-royalties will rise as digital takes a much greater share of the market, but I really doubt they will.
Thank you for answering my question! :) These really are interesting times, and I feel like the more I know, the better off I'll be. I appreciate all the insight!
I wonder what you would consider a good deal for e-book royalties. It seems to me, that if an e-publisher publishes a book, the author should get 50% of the net profit. In other words: book sells at amazon for 7.99; Amazon gets 65% Publisher gets 35%, author gets 50% of the 35% of cover price. In other words, author gets: $1.40 per book sold. That seems fair to me.
On a new author if the cover price is 3.99, the author would ultimately get $.70 per book sold.
That's not a lot for a new author, but if they sold 5,000 copies, they'd get $3,500.
Really, what else can an author expect?
If they write a hit, and sell 100,000 copies, they'd make 70 grand off the book and probably sell the screenplay rights, translation rights, and if books are still around, the print rights.
What else can they expect? This is the new world. We may just have to own up to the fact that writing doesn't pay any better than any other business venture. For it to pay, you have to be one of the few who really hit. You have to write the better mousetrap (mixed metaphor intended:)
As with any content business facing an unavoidable transition in business models, most publishers are acting defensively. It's understandable. Why not delay e-books and claim it provides an additional marketing opportunity, when even the model of delayed paperbacks doesn't make much sense anymore as hardcover sales continue to decline and there are more original paperbacks. The best bang for the promotional buck is to publish a book in every format at once and let consumers decide how they want to consume it. I know this will hasten the decline of hardcovers, but you can take a slow death or proactively transition your business.
I also think what RH is doing will only make it harder for them to obtain new electronic rights at a time when Amazon, Rosetta, and even agents and publishers can disintermediate them.
I think the best case a print book publisher has for retaining e- rights is that they will publish hard. soft, audio and e- at the same time with an effective marketing blitz.
(Did I say effective marketing blitz by book publishers?)
I totally agree FACE was awesome last night. One of the college groups should have gone home. My husband and I were both scratching our heads at the judge's choices. Bah. At least it was fun to see Sara.
Thanks for answering questions. I've enjoyed these posts.
(Sorry to derail)...FACE was great! I loved that they did Bon Jovi, and I really loved we got to see Sara and her wonderful act! Very cool! They're an extremely talented group of guys, and definitely NOT who I would've chosen to go. (And I have a degree in music/percussion, so take that, judges!) :)
Anonymous said, on 12/15/2009 5:07:00 PM
Kristin,
I read your blog daily and I absolutely love it! It was one of the first things that really helped me get a grasp on the publishing industry!
But I have a question specifically for you if you have time to answer it.
When you receive queries, how do you feel about getting the first three chapters along with it? As far as I can see, your website simply says, 'E-queries only'. But is it permissible to send along the first three chapters with it, or is this something you personally object to?
Thanks so much Kristin for all the time and dedication you instill into this blog! You are amazing!
Hi Kristin! I know there's no "ideal" time of the year to send out query letters, but I was wondering about the holiday season. How long should you wait until after the holidays to start querying?
I really appreciate all the "digging into the details" information on your blog.
I have a question of further clarification on e-books if you are still taking questions. I feel like I am missing a really basic point here.
Certainly it makes sense that an ebook version of a book would cost less to produce than a print version of a book, because copying data is cheaper than printing on paper. But, shouldn't it still be be possible for authors *and* publishers to make the same amount per book? (And have the savings in production costs be reflected in the e-book price.)
An addition to my previous comment. Publishers have less invested in an ebook effort-wise (as in there is no design - cover or page, no time spent on securing a printer, etc.). So shouldn't authors in that case make more, as they have a bigger percentage effort invested in an ebook than a paper book?
I think I am seeing more of why this is so complicated...
Anonymous said, on 12/16/2009 1:14:00 PM
"...they basically rejected RH’s argument that its older contracts that grant rights to publish “in book form” or “in all editions” is a grant of electronic rights.
It's happened to me. It's not a good feeling. A smaller press just released all my work in digital format without letting me know. When I contacted the editor, he didn't even know. I had to provide amazon links. I thought I'd signed contracts for print books.
On one level I'm screwed, on another, I signed a non-exclusive and I still own the copyrights. And I'll re-release and take advantage of an opportunity. If traditional print publishers think they are going to muscle in on the pioneers of digital publishing without a fight, they are sadly mistaken.
Joe Konrath revealed info on Kindle sales and what the impact is for lower-vs.-higher priced e-books on his blog, it was very interesting. Take a look athttp://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2009/10/kindle-numbers-traditional-publishing.html (A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, October 13)
I agree with you on FACE. I thought they were rockin' and there were not very many groups that got me going (except Nota). The backstory about Sara was so totally awesome. I thought that was amazing what she did for her friends. Tell her she is an angel. Also love your blog!
STATUS: Heading off for Thanksgiving Break. I won’t be back to blogging until Monday. Seems like bad timing with all that’s going on but don’t worry. We haven’t heard the last of it yet. If I hear any breaking news, I’ll try and update the blog.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? Nothing at the moment.
Today, Thomas Nelson Publishers joins the Harlequin hoopla in a ridiculous blog post. Ashley and Carolyn Grayson posted their response—to which I whole heartedly agree. I find it laughable that Hyatt believes that agents are speaking out against the ripping off of writers via vanity publishing arms because we see “self-publishing” as a threat.
As many commenters have already noted in my blog comments section, vanity publishing and self publishing are not the same. A distinction that Hyatt does not seem to understand. I suppose he also believes that venerated writing organizations such as RWA, MWA, and SFWA, all of which have a long tradition of helping and protecting writers, are similarly trying to keep the status quo by vehemently speaking out against such blatant ripping off of writers.
I also want to make this distinction.
When I spoke to an editorial director from Harlequin last week, the editor mentioned that “several other publishers were doing it.” The only difference was they didn’t announce their vanity publishing arm.
Incredulous, I had asked “like who?”
The editor could not respond with a list of names.
I’m wondering if the editor was erroneously comparing Harlequin Horizons to a legitimate publisher such as Vanguard Press or Harper Studio.
They are not remotely the same.
At Horizons, the writers are forced to pay for their work to be "published." And forced to pay for “marketing” or anything else from a fee-oriented “menu” of choices. The writer foots the entire cost.
At VP and HS, the publishers pay for publication. The authors are not out any money from their pockets. Vanguard and Studio also commit a certain percentage of monies to the marketing/promotion as part of the plan. In lieu of the advance, there is an equal split of royalties between Publisher and Author.
And another key factor, at VP and HS, the books are available for wide distribution via traditional sales outlets just like a traditional publisher.
None of these things are true at Harlequin Horizons (or whatever they are calling it now).
And the most egregious part of Horizons? The fact that Harlequin planned to refer rejected authors to this option as a “viable” alternative.
As RWA, MWA, SFWA have all pointed out. That’s not legitimate publishing, it should not be advertised as so, and it’s just plain wrong.
0 Comments on Horizons Is Not Remotely Like Harper Studio Or Vanguard Press as of 1/1/1900
What’s playing on the iPod right now? LANDSLIDE by Dixie Chicks
Considering all the chatter over the last two days, today has been relatively quiet. SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America) did issue a statement. You can find that here.
Also, the Ashley Grayson agency blogged with their response.
On a wholly different note, I have a Friday funny—sort of. Do you remember my blogging about an Eddie Murphy movie being shot on our street about two summers ago? For two days in a row they had the extras and the movie crew filming. Sara and I remember it vividly as a car alarm kept going off incessantly. With our windows open on a nice summer day, it was all we could hear for two days running.
Can’t imagine why if you don’t remember. That was a year and a half or two years ago. I only remembered a couple of weeks ago when my husband said he caught the film while on an airplane trip.
The movie is called IMAGINE THAT and no, neither Chutney or I are in the film. In fact, I can’t imagine what they were doing on our street for all that time because in the film itself, there is a brief flash of the front façade of our office in the SH Supply Company building in the scene where Eddie Murphy is fumbling in his briefcase for something while driving. About 10 seconds later, the car drives down the alley behind the building.
Exciting stuff I’m telling you. Grin.
There is one big scene where Mr. Murphy dances on a concrete wall and there is a beautiful lit up staircase behind him. This leads to the bridge that goes over the railroad tracks and into lower downtown. Very noticeable by the bridge support which looks like a ship’s mast. (You can actually see that scene in the movie trailer.)
Well, that takes place right in front of the Platte River Park where Chutney and I often go walking on nice days.
Anyway, highly amusing to watch a movie set in Denver and in Lodo where our office is located.
STATUS: Who can get work done when there is so much Harlequin gossip flying around?
What’s playing on the iPod right now? EDGE OF SEVENTEEN by Stevie Nicks
Then today can’t even compare. I think Harlequin has just gotten the smack down.
I have not confirmed this rumor yet, but a fellow agent just emailed me to say that RWA revoked Harlequin’s recognized publisher status. Uh… that means no Harlequin author can enter the RITAs.
Let me tell you, the emails are flying fast and furious among the agents.
And RWA just sent out this announcement:
RWA Alert: RWA Responds to Harlequin Horizons
Dear Members: Romance Writers of America was informed of the new venture between Harlequin Enterprises and ASI Solutions to form Harlequin Horizons, a vanity/subsidy press. Many of you have asked the organization to state its position regarding this new development. As a matter of policy, we do not endorse any publisher’s business model. Our mission is the advancement of the professional interests of career-focused romance writers.
One of your member benefits is the annual National Conference. RWA allocates select conference resources to non-subsidy/non-vanity presses that meet the eligibility requirements to obtain those resources. Eligible publishers are provided free meeting space for book signings, are given the opportunity to hold editor appointments, and are allowed to offer spotlights on their programs.
With the launch of Harlequin Horizons, Harlequin Enterprises no longer meets the requirements to be eligible for RWA-provided conference resources. This does not mean that Harlequin Enterprises cannot attend the conference. Like all non-eligible publishers, they are welcome to attend. However, as a non-eligible publisher, they would fund their own conference fees and they would not be provided with conference resources by RWA to publicize or promote the company or its imprints.
Sometimes the wind of change comes swiftly and unexpectedly, leaving an unsettled feeling. RWA takes its role as advocate for its members seriously. The Board is working diligently to address the impact of recent developments on all of RWA's members.
We invite you to attend the annual conference on July 28 - 31, 2010 in Nashville, TN, as we celebrate 30 years of success with keynote speaker Nora Roberts, special luncheon speaker Jayne Ann Krentz, librarian speaker Sherrilyn Kenyon, and awards ceremony emcee Sabrina Jeffries. Please refer to the RWA Web site for conference registration information in late January 2010.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Gaylord Opryland!
Michelle Monkou RWA President RWA Alert is a publication of Romance Writers of America®,
I have to wonder. Did Harlequin not think there would be a strong response? I'll keep you posted if I hear anything more!
0 Comments on And I Thought The Furor Was Bad Yesterday…. as of 1/1/1900
STATUS: Only 205 emails in the inbox now. I’m making headway!
What’s playing on the iPod right now? MY EVER CHANGING MOODS by Style Council
So Harlequin is causing quite the furor today. Last week they announced a new ePub imprint called Carina to potentially compete with ePublishers like a Samhain or Ellora’s Cave with royalties of 30% of retail price on copies sold (which by the way, should piss off any Harlequin authors who are being traditionally published by that house as their eRoyalties suck).
Then this week, they announced a self-publishing arm called Harlequin Horizons partnering with Author Solutions (not unlike what Thomas Nelson announced about 2 months ago using Author Solutions as well). Now prospective authors can pay to be published by Harlequin and have access to that Harlequin name.
So here’s my question. It’s quite the revenue machine. Is this exploitation of romance authors who have been rejected by Harlequin but now have an opportunity to “publish” and a possible entry into traditional Harlequin publishing via a strong self-pub sales record (according to the Horizons website) or is this simply another option that empowers authors to get their work out there?
As an aside, I can’t help but think that more books published (and in the marketplace) is not what the industry needs. It already can’t support the number of books currently being published in any given year.
0 Comments on Exploitation or Empowerment? as of 1/1/1900
STATUS: TGIF and blogging early as I actually want to leave the office before 7 pm tonight.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY by Led Zeppelin
Then let me throw this idea out there before all of you jump on the 25% of net band wagon so as to be like every other publisher out there offering substandard e-royalties.
Three years ago when I had a hot project (as in I’m getting pre-empts, potentially going to auction, going to have my choice of publishers), if Random House was in the mix, I’d lean their way. Why? Because RH had decent royalties for eBooks (at 25% of retail—which I know doesn’t match ePublishers but for a NYC major, not bad). Obviously other factors were in consideration such as marketing plans, other royalty structures, escalator break points but I think you can see where I’m going here.
This was 3 years ago (maybe even longer) when eBook sales might have added up to 10 copies total in any given 6-month period (SF&F or major authors excluded).
I could see the change a-coming; it was just going to be a matter of time.
So RH, you used to have a strong leg-up—which this year you’ve taken away from yourself. I can’t help but think that’s short-sighted.
You want an edge on the competition? Well then, why are all you publishers racing to do the same short-sighted thing?
Tell you what. Come to me with strong trade paperback royalty escalators, solid e-royalties percentages with escalators, decent audio percentages (downloadable or otherwise), etc. and I’m open to talking about non-outrageous advances or dare I say it? No advance at all if we can truly do a shared equal risk on a no returns basis (a la Vanguard Press and Harper Studio).
Maybe I’m alone on this (but I doubt it), I’m totally open to discussing less on the front end for a larger share of the back end.
But what I hear from publishers is the same low advance spiel with no change on the back end. And you’re wondering why I’m not leaping out of my chair with joy. I often hear that agents are to blame for demanding crazy advances etc. but have publishers asked themselves lately what’s been offered in return? Given an alternative, agents could be persuaded to think outside the box. Not given any viable alternative, then we have to stick with business as usual in order to best represent our clients.
Two to tango, certainly, as I’m thinking that “business as usual” won’t suffice for either publishers or agents as the publishing model rapidly changes…
And since it’s Friday and sheesh did I get off on a rant there, a gratuitous Chutney-in-the-snow shot from this morning. She HATES wearing her fleece. Can you tell? She won’t even look at me. Grin.
No Imeem file available.
38 Comments on Publishers, You Want An Edge On the Competition?, last added: 11/2/2009
The industry is completely going to implode if it doesn't change it's unsustainable practices soon. HOLY CRAP I mean honestly. And then everyone makes fun of people who self-publishes.
Hell's yes. Along with the numbers, the conditions need to be negotiated. It's one thing to acquire digital/electronic rights, but if a publisher then just sits on them and does nothing to actively publish and market-or publishes a shoddily formatted ebook, then the author is out potential sales.
And, while we're at it, if an author is going to be investing their own resources heavily into the marketing of a project (digital, paper or otherwise), that should be accounted for/compensated by the terms of the contract. More and more publishers are expecting authors to contribute to the marketing (or be wholly responsible for it), and publishers reap the benefits of the author's marketing and promotional efforts, but there's no modification of advance or royalty structure to reflect that. At best, the marketing department will split costs here and there if an author hires a publicist or sets up an event. Definitely needs to be discussed before the ink is on the contract.
Is that snow I see? I heard that happens in some foreign countries. Never happens in Wisconsin, where I live. Not like that, not in October. Please, be a nice agent and keep that white stuff there. Pleeeeeease.
I agree: I would rather reap more benefit (money) from my efforts to sell the book at the back end. That way, everyone wins if the book does well, right?
Amen! I couldn't have said it better! As an author would I love a six or seven figure advance... of course...would I love an advance period? Oh yeah... but I would much rather have a larger chunk of all of the sales, small or large. I honestly think it's a better deal for the publishers also... but that's just me. Ahh... well.. we call can dream can't we?
Ah, but you are ignoring the fact that your suggestions makes sense. It's an everyone-wins scenario, which in the face of greed, just does not stand a snowball's chance in a frying pan.
Just to play devil's advocate here, if you went to no advance (or very small advance) and then offered a heavy royalty structure, what is going to be the publisher's motivation to get it out in a timely manner? Or what's going to make them fight for shelf space in book stores?
It would be interesting to see the numbers how much a hypothetical book would generate if it was "mid-list" (yeah, I just went there) vs. a blockbuster.
I do like the idea of higher royalties/lower advances
Anonymous said, on 10/31/2009 8:41:00 AM
if you went to no advance (or very small advance) and then offered a heavy royalty structure, what is going to be the publisher's motivation to get it out in a timely manner? Or what's going to make them fight for shelf space in book stores?
The motivation is the thousands in up front costs publishers expend during production - before the book ever hits the shelves. I'd say a return on investment is motivation enough, wouldn't you?
Why buy a book if you don't have any plans to push it? Makes no sense.
Authors says this a lot... and get told we're merely authors, we don't understand business, we don't know what we're talking about, we shouldn't worry our silly little heads over things beyond our ken, blah blah blah.
And then self-published people come along saying, "Do it MY way! Self publish! I get ALL the profits of my book!" Cheerfully ignoring the fact that the advantage of dealing with a major house is their massive production, marketing, and distribution capabilities, so that I can -write- full-time, instead of spending 1/4 of my time producing my books and 3/4 of my time hawking them to readers. And I'd much rather have a reasonable percentage of 100,000 sales than all of 100 sales.
But publishers so indeed need to be REASONABLE.
And one of the key problems with net, in addition to the low percentages being offered to writers, is that calculating net is extremely complicated--meaning it's also extremely complicated for the writer to figure out if she's being paid what she's owed. If a publisher makes 12 different distirbutions deals for a title, the author needs to know how each one is being calculated, because her net will be different on each of those dozen sources; and each title on her semi-annual or quarterly royalty statement SHOULD (but probably won't) account for the dozen different inflow terms on which her sum total for that period is being based.
When a publisher attempted to negotiate a net royalty into a contract with me last year, they COULDN'T ANSWER all my lawyers questions about the income sources and the different percentage deals on which my royalty income would be based.
Negotiations ground to a standstill as my lawyer kept saying, "If you want Laura to agree to net, she needs to know WHAT she's agreeing to." In the end, they reverted to offering me the traditional royalty basis, a percentage of cover price. On that basis, ALL I need to know to monitor my royalties is how many copies of a title are sold (which, as anyone who's ever read a royalty statement knows, is hard enough, since they leave out so much information!).
Anon 7:41 - I guess what I was thinking, if I were a publisher is that I would take a contract out on a book, let's say, that was rough b/c it cost me nothing to do so... I would then have the author edit and re-write and edit some more and keep them strung along, and then if it didn't come in with really, truly, great potential I would print it... otherwise, I would say, "tough luck" and maybe I've helped the author get a better book, but maybe not, and either way it's not cost me (the publisher) a penny up front (nor given the author a penny). It would also be a way to keep new authors from signing with rival publishing houses.
Personally, I would forgo the advance if they committed the funds to buying shelf-space or marketing.
Cam, before embracing the idea of higher royalties in exchange for lower advances, you have to keep in mind how many houses don't report roylaties accurately. For example, three major houses have been successfully sued for this just by people whom I know personally, and a fourth is currently being sued.
Collecting royalties can also be a problem in dealing with small presses, which don't all manage their monies as well as they could. (I speak from recent personal experience with this.)
So much of advances negotiations for a writer is based on knowing that if you ever do get any royalties, there's a reasonable chance you're not actually going to get what you should, and so it's best to collect as much as possible up front.
A massive corporation that's part of an international conglomerate is better at hiding income than an individual author, her auditor, or her lawyer are at finding it. One writer who agreed to a large settlement after 3 years of legal battles told me that sum was considerably less than what was missing, but they were settling because they knew they'd never find the rest.
The problems involved in royalty reporting and payments is why writers want such big advances. It's a way of ensuring we actually get paid, and that we make our deal decisions on the basis of KNOWING what we're getting paid. I tend to regard my royalty earnings as confirmation that I should keep asking for bigger advances.
Let's face it. The way the traditional pub contracts are written, authors have Vegas odds at best. With my last four novels,the house definitely won. By the time I added up my advances against my marketing expenses (a new website, promotional material, travel, etc), I was way in the loss column.
For years I said give us deals where the publisher and author are partners in the process- let us join in on the risks as well as the rewards by taking lower advances. No thanks, they've said. They only want us as silent partners.
Time for a change, indeed. Thanks for beating the drum, Kristin! My hope is that other agents will join the chorus, and then maybe we can make some headway.
I love the way Kristin greases the...ahem...wheels of the inevitable future for new fiction authors--i.e. no advance, royalties only.
And who's first with an almost religious support of it--surprise! Nathan Bransford.
And then the ubiquitous chorus of wannabes knowing no better than to hero-worship the agents think it's a great deal. To quote a young Tom Cruise as he screams over the roar of an M-60 in the movie Taps:
“It’s beautiful, man. It’s beautiful!”
P.S. Agents, it used to be, existed to get writers as big an advance as possible.
Curious said, on 11/1/2009 11:09:00 AM
Does 25% of net mean that if the publisher decides to offer the eBook for free, the author doesn't get paid for any eBooks? Is there language that prevents the publisher from being able to do this?
Thank you. It feels good to see someone else give that rant. I don't feel so alone in my opinion on the shifting publishing business model.
Anonymous said, on 11/1/2009 8:24:00 PM
Advances are necessary but those don't need to be excessive--just enough to give the publisher an incentive to sell the books to readers.
Ebooks are not developed enough yet. There's no proven method yet of promoting them and it's not going to get any easier when all of them use the same promotion methods. Ebooks need careful editing and more control over what's accepted to begin with.
Online markets need to set criteria for what they're willing to list for sale within the literary industry. Readers have a right to expect good writing and that means quality in both the writing and the editing process.
As an author I would totally and 100% give up an advance in return for higher royalty rates. I've been saying that forever. It's best business deal for agents and authors all around.
Anonymous said, on 11/2/2009 10:57:00 AM
I'm going to have to read up on the whole payment system of publishing because it seems a bit confusing to me. I just hope publishers give authors what they're due - it's not easy writing a book after all and like everyone else, writers deserved to be paid appropriately for their work...
Anonymous said, on 11/2/2009 11:56:00 AM
what's that white stuff on the ground around your dog?
I agree with much of what you say. However, if you eliminate or significantly cut down the front end advances, you've also cut down the publisher's investment in you. Doesn't a higher advance ensure a higher commitment level from the publishers? Also, don't book sellers sometimes gauge how many books to order based on the size of the advance? I'm all for better profit sharing, but not if it's going to weaken the publishers commitment to make the book succeed.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? BARE NECESSITIES by Phil Harris
Sorry to interrupt our fun with royalty statements (and don’t worry, I’ll resume on Monday) but I saw these three articles and they definitely are worth sharing.
First article is a follow up to the one on Tuesday about FTC fining of blog reviewers for nondisclosure. Richard Cleland highlights that the FTC doesn’t have the authority to level fines, and he says, “the blogger or endorser would not be fined, but the advertiser would.”
Second is a blog entry on the HuffPo site from Steve Ross (Former President, Collins Division at HarperCollins and Sr. VP, Crown Division at Random House) asking why we can’t all just get along and responds to two recent blog postings by Chip O'Brien and Mark Coker with the following:
“Both blogs are, to this reader, rife with fallacious thinking, faulty reasoning, and/or tunneled perspectives that ignore the complex realities that publishers face during this turning point for the industry. But at a time when it is in the best interests of everyone who loves books to help the major houses endure, they're being scapegoated, demonized and ridiculed for trying to survive with the crippling business model they've been handicapped with for decades.”
Last but not least, FrogDog Media does a children’s iStorytime ap for the iPhone—just in case you want your 3-year old to read instead of playing a video game on your iPhone. Kinda cool. And they are doing all picture books by new writers.
19 Comments on Three Articles Worth Sharing, last added: 10/12/2009
[Reads]"the blogger or endorser would not be fined".
[Wipes perspiration from brow.] WHEW! Glad to hear that! Some of my favorite things to blog about are other people's books!
Anonymous said, on 10/9/2009 8:08:00 PM
well after i emailed kristin my first 30 pages i thought she was supposed to respond in 6-8 weeks like she said but i sent it august 13 and still haven't heard from her what should i do?
I need a time machine. I can't stand reading anything online longer than maybe 2000 words (oh, I'll do it, but I keep having to scroll back because I can't concentrate as well), detest Kindle, and fall asleep on audio books. I don't really care about it as a writer--heck, give the people the formats they want--but as a reader, they'd best not take away my hardcovers.
I need a time machine. I can't stand reading anything online longer than maybe 2000 words (oh, I'll do it, but I keep having to scroll back because I can't concentrate as well), detest Kindle, and fall asleep on audio books. I don't really care about it as a writer--heck, give the people the formats they want--but as a reader, they'd best not take away my hardcovers.
Nonsense. Absolute nonsense. You can only detest Kindle because you've probably never held one or read from one (of course, now you'll say that you have). No one, unless they have some fetish for books, could ever want to read a book after reading the same work on a Kindle. Books are hard to hold open, and they're heavy, and the one side casts a shadow on the other when your reading in bed. And a Kindle cost less than ten hardcover books. I just downloaded Stephen King's Just After Sunset for 7.99, and I don't have to add another book to this huge computer box full of books I have that don't fit on my book shelves.
The only thing hardcovers are good for now is propping up the printing industry, allowing for greater cover prices for the publishing industry, and keeping the paper industry going. They are obsolete--just like the home telephone, just like the film camera, just like the phonograph album, and just like the mechanical digital watches from the early 1970's.
Oh, I just read your profile. So sorry. Kindles along with Google Books, and Project Gutenberg also make libraries obsolete. No wonder you like hardcovers. Do you realize how many thousands of books I can store on a 4 gig scan disk that goes right into my kindle?
Personally, I find it very rude and distasteful when a commenter disqualifies another's personal views.
"No one, unless they have some fetish for books, could ever want to read a book after reading the same work on a Kindle."
That is merely an opinion, like everything else you stated. It would be nice to respect other's views when they don't match your own. Fetish is not the word to be used here either, it's called preference.
There are plenty of people who will want to read a physical book after using a Kindle. I will also consider it a sad and hopeless day if print books cease to exist.
Now, if someone invented a single-volume kindle with leather binding and ambient light/battery backup that would line-up on a shelf with titles on the spine facing out like dvds....;-)
I'm afraid you all just don't get it. Until you've tried it, you won't know what I'm talking about. Once you go Kindle, you never go back. It's like a cell phone: you don't know how you did without it.
You can all sit around tub thumping singing, "Gimme dat ol' time religion..." But what was good for ma and papa is not good enough anymore. The amount of energy and raw materials that go into making books is obsolete, and it's wrong to continue manufacturing books that end up thrown away as returns.
It's funny that the author-librarian says she wants hardcovers over Kindle; that's what the initial experience is like. You get a Kindle, and the first thing you think after reading a book on it is how you won't go back to paperbacks, but hardbacks are still good. And then you read a few more books and you get a hardback, this heavy object you have to hold open to read, and you realize it's too cumbersome. And then, like me, you loathe haveing to read a book that isn't on Kindle (such as a John Grisham book).
With a Kindle, you can even adjust the font size with a single button. When you stop reading and put it in standby or go back to the main screen, it save the place where you were reading in each and every book you have, so when you click on that book again, it goes right back to the spot where you left off.
Fiction will go to Kindle. Nothing can stop it. The only question is how they will do full-color textbooks and the like.
Yeah, that whole "fetish for books" thing was way over the top when it comes to things that are posted on the internet. Way over the top, even compared to the wealthy getting bailout bonuses while the poor go bankrupt. It was completely out of line for this civilized world. "Fetish for Books" what a horrible thing to say. I can't believe it came off the tips of my fingers. May I burn in hell!
My greatest hope for the Kindle and other eReaders will be the rebirth of the short story and Novella. I'm sure many of you have noticed that a lot of novels (especially mainstream fiction) have tons of fluff in them these days and could be cut down to probably half their published length without losing a single necessary scene. However, since book buyers often scoff at shorter novels (or novellas) they have almost disappeared. Think how hard it would be for Joseph Conrad, a great author, to be published these days - his books just wouldn't be long enough by today's standards. So, my hope is that publishing houses will start offering authors the chance to ePublish short stories and Novellas with the promise of combining them into collections if they sell well enough electronically. How likely would you be to buy a short story for 99 cents if if was easy? I fyou bought a couple and liked them, would you be more likely to buy a collection of them? Would you buy a 150 page paperback for $7.99? Probably not b/c it looks small next to the others, but what if you could buy it for $3.99 electonically. That's my true hope for eReading is that it will open the market back up to shorter works of fiction - I don't always need to read 500 pages to enjoy!
I would actually love to know if any literary agents have tried pitching a series of short stories one at a time for epublication only to any of the big houses? Same goes for novellas... have any lit agents tried pitching it where they sell it electronically first, and if there is any buzz at all, go to print? (or god forbid, imagine if a publishing house hade the main offering be the ebook and use print on demand for those that must have it in print) It seems like it would be a great way for the publishing houses to get out more works and new authors.
The idea of reading a novel on a machine and getting jazzed about it is utterly bunged with lunacy.
Yes, let me read that hot new thriller on my iphone: there's an 'app" for that.
Listen to me now, human. You have been targeted for extinction. All that will be required to make the transformation complete is for you to rend up the power of thought and introspection and expression from LANGUAGE AND READING.
The sooner you give these things up, and embrace the joy of losing your soul to the machine, the happier you will be, the more docile, and compliant.
Don't be paranoid, everyone is doing it. It's going to be alright. Just relax and commit yourself to the void.
Remember that THOUGHTCRIME, is counterproductive to the running of an automated, industrialized corporate state.
I'm not sure e-publishing will help the short story. The problem with short stories are that they dont' seem serious enough to invest time in. I even feel that way about Stephen King's short stories. However, you may have a point regarding the novella. UR, by Stephen King is a novella only available on kindle, and it was a good story with enough length to flesh out the characters, develop suspense, and illustrate the theme. I would definitely buy a novella, but probably not short stories, not even in a collection edition.
I agree that reading a book on any kind of iphone or any backlight screen, like a computer, is lunacy. The Kindle reader, however, uses an e-ink screen, as does the Sony reader (but you can't get Kindle books on a Sony reader). An e-ink screen is actually like reading paper, not like reading a computer screen. And I can tell you that most people who have a Kindle would rather read from it than from paper books.
I will still buy a paper book, but it is not something I like to do. Sometimes, however, it is necessary. When it comes to fiction, it is never necessary except when John Grisham publishes something I want to read. For some reason, his stuff isn't available on Kindle--but it will be. I know it. All fiction will eventually be on Kindle (or something like it).
Example: I am currently reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. I've never read the book. It's very good so far, and though I have a paperback version, I am reading it on my Kindle. It's just too much of a bother to read the book itself. It's the same words, but it's physically more difficult to read the book.
STATUS: Halloween is going to be here before we know it. I’m not sure I’m ready for it to be the holiday season soon.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? UNDER PRESSURE by Queen (with David Bowie)
Or to quote Malcolm Gladwell, we may have reached the tipping point. As I mentioned earlier this week, October is a big royalty statement month here at the agency. All the publishing houses have different royalty reporting periods but the good majority of statements come in February/August, and April/October. In the last week, we’ve received a ton of statements.
And it’s always a happy time because with statements comes money.
But that’s beside the point. What I wanted to highlight tonight was that I’m reading a ton of statements from different houses, different authors, and different genres.
I’m noticing one big change. The amount of eBooks being sold in any given accounting period has risen dramatically.
I’ve been watching this for years. Four years ago, any author that sold more than 50 books in the electronic form (in one accounting period) was blowing it away and mostly I’d only see high numbers from our SF&F authors.
Now I’m looking at titles selling 500 to 1000 copies (and certainly sometimes more) in electronic form regardless of the genre. Even this time last year the numbers were not running nearly this high.
The tectonic shift is happening and it’s all clearly spelled out on paper—although one has to wonder how long those paper statements will last…
26 Comments on Tectonic Shift, last added: 10/9/2009
I'm unpublished in the traditional sense and have sold over 400 novels in the last two months on Amazon Kindle without any website, blog, or marketing strategy, etc., without really trying.
Interesting times (in the Chinese curse sense). I think e-book piracy is really going to be the new big publishing problem.
When considering a book in my publishing house eBook potential is beginning to play a major role in our decisions. I imagine the Irish market is a few years behind the US and even the UK, (we are only now experimenting with eBooks) but anything due in 2011 is now being discussed with smaller print runs and eBook development in mind.
I bought a Kindle almost as soon as they came on the market (Of course, I was two months on a waiting list to get it.). Now, when I talk about Kindle readers, people think I'm selling them, but I'm not, I'm just totally sold on them.
You have to understand the consumer forces at work:
1. The books are cheaper. 2. Every book, just about, is available to you while your in the bathtub--no bookstore can do that. 3. It's physically easier to read a text-based book on a kindle than from any other kind of binding.
So much so is this the case that the hardback book I bought and paid for by Megan Crewe (Give up the Ghost) I have stopped reading because it's just too much of a hastle to read compared to reading a book off the Kindle. If her book comes out on Kindle, I'll probably buy it again in Kindle format and read it then. That is the power of Kindle over books.
Right now, I have four self-published/independent published samples of ghost story novels on my Kindle that I want to look at. If one keeps me interested through the sample, I'll download and pay for the book. They're all selling for less than four bucks.
Barnes and Noble isn't carrying those books! I couldn't get them any other way. Oh, B&N has the latest James Patterson/ghostwriter corporate-produced novel. But Kindle is where the potential literature is.
There are over 300,000 titles on Kindle. No bookstore carries that many different titles. Stephen King has written a novela called UR that is only available on Kindle.
There are other e-readers coming onto the market, but they don't have amazon's bookstore power behind them. Nonetheless, I welcome them if they can do something worthwhile, and I'll check them out. But unless they're using the e-ink screen technology, forget it.
Cheaper publishing. No returns. Cheaper books to the consumer. Easier buying. Easier storage. Easier reading. Almost no environmental impact. More privacy. I can carry thousands of books. More selection. A chance to sample before buying. I can search for titles like this:
Fiction--Horror--Ghosts (800 titles)--list by publication date (access to the most recent works in the world)
Try doing that in a bookstore.
And to authors: You don't have to die with the world never even getting a chance to read what you wrote. Self-publishing to Kindle is free. No printing costs; no distribution costs. 65% to Amazon 35% wired to your bank account for each book sold.
One day, they'll drop the price of a kindle from $299 to who knows, $50. Then everyone will have one. I bought mine when they were $399, and I had to wait two months to get it.
Think about what that means in terms of consumer demand.
Oh, and don't be surprised if you don't see them everywhere around. Only readers are buying them. Most people aren't readers. But then, only readers are buying books.
Based on what Kristin has posted and the author above this post who published to Kindle, I am going to get Caretakers of Eternity ready for publication to Kindle.
I was and still am an independent publisher (though I've been inactive for a while), so I know what needs to be done. I have a publisher's account with Kindle, and I understand how to work with DTP (the Digital Text Platform they use).
So, maybe my next novel will find an agent and a traditional publisher, but this one is going to Kindle. I'm going to use it to learn the ropes.
Maybe the more important skill for an author in the future will not be how to smooch pasty buttockes, and network using their own money to travel, but rather how to format a book using DTP. Maybe in the future readers will have access to quality literature again. Maybe, there will be a million-dollar prize one day that rivals the Nobel Prize or Pulitzer prize, or National Book Award, and it will only be for e-books.
Kristin, Do you think this is a good turn of events? I'd love for you to do a post on this. (BTW: Heading to Denver today - meeting w/Bella & Karen C. for lunch tomorrow. If you can join us, call Bella.)
I am actually very excited for this ebook movement. I've been reading ebooks for about five years now. It started in college, as a way to sneak my romance novels without my studious roommates any the wiser :) Now I have a kindle and still download some ebooks to my computer. It's so nice to have these books at my fingertips at all times.
What concerns me are sites like scribd.com, where entire books are available for the public to read for free. I don't understand how that site is allowed to operate, with such blatant disregard for copyright laws. Yesterday I was searching for reviews on The Book Thief. I've heard great things about the book, but still haven't read it. Well, google had a link to srcibd.com, where the whole book was available to read! I ran off to Amazon and bought the book, because I felt a little tainted for even opening the site with the pirated version :)
My big question about this new turn of events is are these new ebook sales a gain for the author, or simply the same people who would have bought the book in print now buying it electronically? Is it a trade off or a gain in readership?
Frankly, I don't really care how people read my books, so long as they read (and pay) for them :D
I'm a voracious reader with a small library started in my home. However, I'm quickly running out of space. Last year I bought a kindle and LOVE it. Most of the books I buy now are ebooks. This is for several reasons:
1) I don't have to worry about where to store another physical book
2) I can order it from anywhere, at anytime, and start reading immediately
3) I can carry around over a hundred books on my kindle without pulling any muscles in my back due to excessive weight
4) It's better on the environment
With that said, there are some books I purchased originally as e-books but after reading them, I bought a hard copy as well. This tends to happen with non-fiction books in which I want to be able to quickly browse through a book to find a specific section or two. That's not easy to do on the kindle. Plus I find hard copies better if you want to grab something and look up a reference quickly.
I realize there's still a lot around e-books that needs to be finalized, but I do believe that it will become a strong presence in publishing in the coming years.
I think the comparison people make to the music industry is a valid one. They tried to fight the on-line availability of music for years before finally working out the legalities and accepting this new avenue.
Will piracy be an issue? Of course. Certain types of people will steal whether it's a paperback, e-book, or audio CD. The movie industry still has cases of illegal copies. It will never go away. It's simply a matter of formalizing acceptable laws and doing your best to enforce them.
I guess I straddle this fence. I am e-published through Samhain Publishing, and sold over 400 copies of my latest release in the first month alone.
eBooks have many, many advantages. As for me, I will continue to strive for print. I love will always have a love affair with print, though, especially the two I have with my name on them. ^_^ There's nothing like the smell of a new book, the feel of the pages, the weight of it in my hands.
So, I'll still publish with Samhain as long as they'll have me, but I am still on the agent hunt for a print house to settle into as well.
I've been reading these comments with great interest. I've self-released three books (two novels and a collection of humorous essays) on Kindle and it's been a wild and joyful ride. The experience has exceeded my expectations in every way. The sales have been outstanding, but even better than that is the validation in the form of rave reviews, reader emails, and blog comments.
I originally went the traditional route--agented submissions with near misses, great comments from editors etc. I appreciated the efforts on my behalf, but ultimately it didn't lead to a sale. Now my work is out there getting read and entertaining people. And every month Amazon makes a deposit into my account. I can do as little or as much promotion as I want, and I can see the sales in real time. I'd still love to be published traditionally, but even if that never happens, I count myself lucky to have had this option.
If anyone is interested, my books are titled:
A SCATTERED LIFE EASILY AMUSED LIES I TOLD MY CHILDREN
I still love print books and my local bookstore and library, but I honestly think ebooks are the wave of the future.
I love holding a book to read and although I love technology I'm not so keen to read from a computer screen. I get too much of that during the day time already... but I really the time has probably come that we shift to e-books more and save trees. I just wish someone would make an e-book that looked and felt like a paperback.
I just know we can't fit another book in this house. Not that that will stop us from buying them. But I really don't want to be an old lady living with books and magazines stacked five feet high on every horizontal space.
Which is where we're heading.
I need ebooks to save us from ourselves. I don't see any other solution.
I'm one of those who is still torn about the eBook vs. traditional book.
I hardly buy books now as it is (I generally get all my reading material from the library). However I do know that the company I used to work for partnered with Sony Reader to make library books available on it. That was the major thing for me--I have to be able to get books through the library. If I like it well enough, I'll buy it :) Hubby and I have started talking about purchasing an eReader for Christmas. I suspect though he'll end up using it more than me :P
I think books will always be around in the traditional sense, but it makes me wonder--how will authors do book signings? You can't sign an eBook :P At least not yet!
I would love to hear more about this, specifically, how would an agent/publishing house view a work that has been "self-published" to the kindle. Example, Bob the Writer published a phenomenal book on the Kindle that sells 1000 copies digitally over 6 months and is well received by its reviewers. Bob, however, knows that his book is only reaching a small portion of the market because very few people have e-readers. If Bob were to send his query letter, and you loved the story, but then he told you it had already sold 1000 copies. Would you tell him sorry it's too late for this one or would you help him sell the print rights? How does Amazons self-publishing 65/35 split compare to what you could get from a traditional publishing house for digital rights? I agree with Gordon above that e-Readers may well be the future of publishing. It also seems like it could be a HUGE financial bonanza to authors well-known authors. Hopefully piracy doesn't crush the future of publishing the way it has music or movies.
I keep trying to avoid it... Who wants to read a book online? Plus plagiarism is a terrible consequence. I'm worried for us writers!
I want my book to be published in PRINT because I want to see the words on the pages and hold the book in my hands and smell the beautiful scent of fresh print as I rifle through the pages... If I wanted to see it electronically, I'd just pull it up on my computer. Yeesh.
Hear that? It's the angels singing your name. E is here to stay.
Madison, every book will eventually be e-published as well as print. You want your readers to be able to access your story the way they want to-it's all about the reader. So, while YOU may not like e, maybe the person who wants to buy your book will only BUY e. And, if you don't have it (in it's many formats), you lose a sale.
And e-readers are awesome.
Anonymous said, on 10/6/2009 3:27:00 PM
Here's a bookseller's pov, if you're looking for one:
Bookstores are certainly getting into the e-book market. Borders started retailing an e-book reader years ago, and Barnes & Noble (bn.com) entered the e-book market a couple of months ago with the largest library of available e-books in the market-- I think it was 700,000 at the beginning and they're rapidly expanding it-- which can be downloaded onto laptops, Blackberrys and iPhones-- no e-reader necessary. So they're not ignoring the shift.
And it is a shift. Ask the booksellers. Some of us are starting to think about job security for the first time in our long and hitherto delightful careers. I don't think the demand for printed books will ever entirely disappear, but I do think that it's possible we have seen the glory days of the 'book superstore.' We may be on the other side of the trajectory now, where bookstores will start to get smaller again. Print runs will be smaller, prices will go up, fewer titles will be carried in the stores while more will become special-order only, and booksellers will become even more efficient at getting your book from the warehouse to your house very quickly. Those are my predictions, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
Now that e-books are being sold which do not require the customer to invest in an expensive e-book reader, I think that the single greatest challenge to e-books is the threat of piracy. It will be a technology competition, essentially, but I hope (and suspect) that eventually it will become difficult enough to pirate and distribute texts that at least losses due to piracy won't be much more than current losses due to shoplifting.
I'd also love to hear the answers to Cam Snow's questions.
This is so fascinating to me, and as an aspiring author I think about how it changes my approach to marketing my work. I still want to go through the traditional route of agent to mainstream publisher. I just believe in that system for a lot of reasons, but even then the who ebook thing changes the game. How does this changes things in terms of marketing? Obviously ebook readers don't choose their book by browsing through the bookstore. What are effective ways to promote books when they're not attractively displayed on the shelf?
I haven't jumped ship to go buy an ereader. But I'm getting there. I'm waiting for the Apple device!
Get ready for the changes in publishing. Kristin was right; it's tectonic in scope.
I want to remind you all about one thing. Reading from a Kindle is not like reading from a computer or an Iphone, or anything else. It uses an e-ink technology screen (which is why they were originally hard to get a hold of). It is more like reading from paper. In fact, you have to have light to read it. It's not backlit like a computer screen.
It's more like a computerized etch-a-sketch, if you remember that particular toy.
Reading from a computer screen will never work for book length material. It has to be e-ink technology, like the Kindle or the Sony Reader. Unfortunately, the Sony Reader doesn't have access to Kindle Books.
Kindle also has a larger version of itself for use with textbooks and newspapers, but it's close to 500 dollars.
This shift is inevitable. Books, at least fiction novels, will go to e-books like Kindle. This is a moment in history similar to the invention of the printing press. You'll either be part of it from the ground floor, or you'll wish you had.
Anonymous said, on 10/6/2009 10:43:00 PM
Liesl, I agree with you 105%-- going the traditional route of agent and publisher is far and away the best way to ensure that your book is the best book that it can be before it hits the shelves, as well as the best way to develop a good relationship with your publisher and guide your career as a writer. Even with ebook technology, I don't forsee that changing at any time in the near future. Thank God for agents and editors! :-)
Gordon, I agree that many people will want that technology, and I think that's the way the entire industry is heading, but I think as far as getting the public used to the idea of an eBook, starting people off on their laptops is a great way to go. The current generation of readers needs to be sold on eBooks, and affordability and accessibility is the way to do that. The generation that is currently in primary and secondary education probably won't need to be sold on the technology as much (provided it's within their price range, which as you said above, it should be before too long.)
Thank you Meredith, and you bring up a good point. Most self-published books on Kindle that I look at through downloading a sample, are not worthy of publication. Leaving the writing aside (because I see as much crap that way in B&N as I do through self-pub) it's the quality of the publishing that makes me reject the sample.
Right now, most of the self-publishers don't know how to use the DTP system very well to format their text. I won't read a book on Kindle that isn't properly formatted and published that way.
The major publishers seem to know how to use it. And I don't know what's so hard given that Kindle puts out all the instructions for doing so, but a lot of the self-pubs have no cover image, the margins are wrong, there's no table of contents, no publishing information, no author information, that sort of thing.
To be quite honest, minor grammar issues don't bother me that much if the rest of the formatting and publishing is good.
As for the writing? You know whether it's worth reading from the first page or two of the sample. And a lot of books now, even published by the majors don't get any editorial attention to speak of. I've heard this time and again.
If one is going to self-publish, they really need to learn what it means to be an independent publisher. Most won't do that, and so agents and publishing houses will persist.
Wow I didn't know all that about the Kindle, Gordon. Thank you!
Eva: I have nothing against e-book readers or about being e-published! If that's the only way for me to be published, I will gladly do it! It's just my dream to hold my book in my hands (as I described above).
Interesting, isn't it? We want a book for the immortality it brings. Because that's what a book symbolizes, even when it sells 200 copies and the rest are returned and remaindered.
Yet the way books are published, the paper in them probably won't last a hundred years. So what about digital?
One thing is for sure: if digital goes away, the functioning of human society as we know it will have gone away, and no one's books will matter anymore at that point.
Digital requires electricity and computer technology. The only way that's going to end is if civilization ends.
Books, however, after they are remaindered, and after you die and your kids throw them all out, do tend to rot over time. And have you seen the paper most books are printed on now? I think newspaper, while thinner, is actually of higher quality.
The story is what really counts. There are good stories and bad ones. Only the good survive. Then only the the ones that can transcend generational changes really last.
You should care about the story, Megan, not about the medium in which it is published. If the story is good, it will last.
A Publishers Weekly story this week http://tinyurl.com/ocydmfcaught my attention when I noticed my former publisher's name, Stephen Roxburgh, founder of Front Street and former publisher at Boyds Mills Press.
namelos editions http://www.namelos.com, the next phase of his namelos publishing effort, announces it's moves to publish electronic and POD books. The article reads in part "namelos will handle financial arrangements with agents and publishers on a project-by-project basis, with the splits depending on its level of involvement. (Industrywide, agents typically get 15 percent of everything.) Namelos will be equal profit-sharing partners with its authors and will not pay advances. “If it’s $4, the author gets $2,” Roxburgh said. “If I sell an electronic edition for $6, the author gets $3."
Some retracting remarks are made by longtime literary agent and industry observer Richard Curtis, and publisher of E-Reads.com. However, knowing Stephen, he hasn't embarked on anything he hasn't weighed carefully and is poised for great success. He's working with some big names: Carolyn Coman (Newbery Award winner), Donna Diamond (illustrator for Bridge to Terabithia).
namelos (which means "nameless" from a medieval German epic poem and is intentionally lowercased) will read any manuscript for $200 and give a five-page evaluation to prepare would-be authors for submission. There is also pricing for a greater commitment to develop projects and match authors with agents and editors at publishing houses.
0 Comments on namelos. The opening move in a new age of publishing as of 9/13/2009 4:29:00 PM
STATUS: Very chaotic and busy today. Logged a lot of phone hours for a negotiation, a revision phone conference, and a possible Hollywood deal.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? EVERYBODY HURTS by R.E.M
Today, one of my authors sent me a very interesting link. Basically you can Google to find a tutorial on Scribd that gives you instructions on how to easily download a Google Books "Limited Preview" book in its entirety into PDF.
You know the “partial” preview that is sometimes enabled on Google Books? Well, these instructions tell you how to get around the partial views to download the file. All of it.
Yep, pirating made easy.
Needless to say, I’m not including the link to the instructions on this blog (although if you’re curious, I imagine it’s not hard to find the link.)
One of the issues in this digital age is how authors will get paid for their intellectual property. And no, I’m not going into the whole DRM debate in this entry.
What I want to say is this. If you are a published author with the preview enabled on Google Books, tell your publisher about this quaint little feature on Scribd and the issue with Google Books preview.
35 Comments on Pirating Made Easy, last added: 7/17/2009
Okay, I'm human--I understand wanting to get something for free. But if these people are fans, and enjoying the product, don't they understand that every stolen copy is one less sale for the author? Whose writing they supposedly like? One less book going toward earning out=one $ less likely the writer will get the chance to do another one, right? Brilliant.
I am very interested to see how a lot of this plays out in the end.
As for the preview option -- I've never used Google books, but I know I love the preview feature available on the Amazon website and through my Kindle. Maybe there's another way Google Books can offer previews without them being attached to the actual book or download.
Doesn't surprise me. In fact, it was almost the first thing I thought of when I learnt of Google's books venture. But then I always figured that was a form of piracy, too.
Anon -- readers don't think of it as taking money from the author. They see it as saving themselves money. And most likely they view all authors as being millionaires who can afford to miss a dollar or two.
Are these previewed books available as ebooks for sale? From what I see, despite them having been digitized for the previews, to buy one you're looking at a paper copy.
Personally, I own a lot of ebooks and their paper counterparts. Baen Books puts out (just about) all its books in both formats, and I get them that way (though I often buy the paper ones used...oooh, piracy! No royalties to the author!). If Google was allowed to sell the ebooks, there'd be less reason for someone to 'steal' them.
Not an author myself, but an avid reader and book-buyer, in both paper and e-copies. I like Eric Flint's view on the subject - he _is_ an author, and has done some actual studies on 'what happens if the ebook is easily available? What happens if it's available free?' Interesting results, too.
http://baen.com/library/ and the Prime Palaver link on the left side. #6 has the data on sales before and after the free ebooks went up.
As a musician as well as a writer, I'm wondering how this is different from copying a CD? The artist doesn't receive a dime from the copied CD. It's impossible to guard from all piracy. It's part of the game.
Books nerds will be looking to strike just as much as the music nerds did (Hey, I'm a book nerd, but an honest one). It's all so scary in out there when things are loosed on the innernets of the webiverse. Maybe that's why the publishers are so reluctant for this to catch on?
I learn little and lots each day...
Anonymous said, on 7/9/2009 10:42:00 PM
Debra,
At least with the CD, they bought one copy. This is Google Books providing a preview snippet of the book, but someone has figured out how to pull the whole book down. No need to even buy that first copy. In the case of copying a CD, if you bought it and then wanted a version for your ipod and your car, that's one thing. It's another to copy it and make it available for thousands to also copy. As others have said here, that's just ripping off the artist or writer -- twice. The first time, the artist doesn't get paid. The second time, they don't get another book deal because the sales were low. It took me a year to write a book. I'd like to get something out of the 'game,' even if I can't get all that I'm due.
The document I found describes a means of obtaining approximately 65% of a book offered in a limited preview, and then only 50 pages at a time before you have to renew your IP address. That's hardly a way "to easily download a Google Books 'Limited Preview' book in its entirety into PDF".
Anonymous said, on 7/10/2009 12:24:00 AM
It's impossible to get 100% of the book from Google via these types of hacks. (I've tried) There is a certain percentage of the book that they *never* serve to any user, so there is no way for one of these hacks to piece together the whole book. Seriously. Try the app that you found on the internet and report back to us if you *actually* are able to download the whole book. My hunch is that you never actually tried the downloader app that you've blogged about. If you'd rather that nobody find your book when they search on Google, I'm pretty sure that you can tell Google to remove your book and they will. All the new books on that site are put there by the publishers because they realize that the exposure to Google searchers and the partial preview leads to *more* book sales.
I guess this gives all the more reason for publishers afraid of the internet not to use GoogleBooks. Pity!
Unfortunately, I think that a lot of people are unaware that they are actually breaking the law. My husband is a musician and you wouldn't believe the fan mail he gets: "I love your music. I have everything you ever put out. Oh, by the way what are the lyrics for [...]" -- the lyrics are all printed in full in the booklets. If you're going to pirate something, don't tell the copyright-holder.
Thanks for the heads-up, Kristin. I'm constantly saddened by how easy it is to steal artists' intellectual property nowadays, and how many people fail to see anything wrong with it. I hope there's a way to fix this!
Anonymous said, on 7/10/2009 7:36:00 AM
@ Emma O W: When you buy songs online, they don't come with the lyrics. You know, iTunes, Amazon?
@ Ms. Nelson: I found the same tutorial as Adrian Lopez, so I'm not quite sure where your "All of it" came from (unless there are other tutorials). I once found a page in a Google Books preview that had a chart I liked. I wanted to have it on hand, and I can say from trying to figure out if it were possible to make a copy of that page that figuring Google out causes headaches.
Anon- Unless the reader has a better-than-average understanding of the publishing industry they don't understand the pay structure. So, no, they won't understand that a free PDF means lost sales, lost profits, or authors not getting another contract. The reader sees a free book. And who doesn't like free?
As annoying as this is to hear, I'm really not surprised. Everything digital can be hacked. It was just a matter of time before someone tried pirating books.
It's something the publishing industry will have to address and deal with before to long. The sooner the better, really. I the meantime, I suppose we can hope for the best.
I suppose this is one of the "kinks" in a new system. This will have to be addressed as a technical problem. Otherwise, too many people fail to make any profit.
This is just the book world catching up to the music world. Musicians and songwriters have been losing money on pirate copies for years. Copying CDs for friends - one friend pays for it and makes copies for everyone else. Also, it happened on sites that allowed file sharing for music. Finally they got sued, but how much money did songwriters lose before that happened?
Google isn't the only way to get free copies of books, however. There are sites out there that scan books and allow you to donwload the files for free.
I think a writer's only recourse is to load these digital copies with pop-up ads and viruses.
I don't download music for free anymore because I grew sick of the viruses and of constantly having to run ad-aware. Now, I pay a dollar per download. I get a nice, clean copy of a song and the peace of mind that comes from not trying to get something for free in a dishonest way.
Authors are fighting this daily. It's always mentioned in the yahoo groups and it's very frustrating. And trying to keep track of it is like holding down another part time job.
Marie, I think you might be onto something. Why can't publishers have two versions of the ebook available on their own website. (1) Have a book that people can buy for less than $10 (Ebooks shouldn't cost more than that!) (2) The second version is free to the consumer, but comes with ads. If the publisher had 25 ads that appeared once every 10-15 pages, and charged only $.30 per ad, they make almost $10 per book from the advertisers.
Personally, I would pay for the book myself because I despise ads, but having the free version paid for by advertisers is brilliant.
If the publishing business jumps on these opporunities, they'd be set.
Advertisers pay $.25-$1 for a single click through Google Ads. Why wouldn't they pay that much for a chance to advertise in specific books or genres?
Hm, had to school some True Blood fans on illegally downloading Charlaine Harris's books, but you know what? They didn't care, especially those who didn't live in the US and considered the prices unfair(one person said a paperback version cost $23 in their country). I can understand that sentiment, but it's the US people who do see themselves as saving some money that irritate me. The rise of illegally downloading music has made everyone feel entitled to have free access to their entertainment. So you know what? I second Megan's suggestion of putting ads in free copies of e-books, and I also wish international e-versions of a book (translated, natch) were released if foreign rights aren't sold (after all, a lot of pirated books [or movies for that matter] are translated works b/c other countries don't have access to them. But anyways, I foresee a HUGE mess if publishers don't step in and figure out how to satisfy their consumers beyond the print-US market.
Once again, I will recommend Cory Doctorow's "Content". It's free online (available in just about any format you wish to download, including MP3!).
In case you missed it, earlier this week, Amazon filed a patent (not yet granted) for displaying advertising on electronic books.
I remember, back in the early 1970s, paperback publishers would include advertising inserts in the middle of books. (Harlan Ellison argued with his publisher about cigarette ads in his paperback editions.) Did this reduce the cost of the paperback?
My blog uses Adsense. I think I've earned $0.02 since I started. If Amazon or the publisher inserts ads, does the author get a share of revenue generated? Can the author limit who advertises? (Methinks this is one more concern for agents.)
I suspect Google is already working on this bug. A similar bug existed when Marvel Comics initiated their digital subscription service...someone was able to hack the URL and download everything available. It was quickly fixed. (Of course, almost every DC and Marvel comicbook is already available illegally. That snowball is already rolling down the ski slope.)
BN.com offers previews from Zenio, and I suspect there is a way to hack that as well.
People will always steal. People will also pay a modest fee if the product delivered is guaranteed, even if it is available for free somewhere else.
(And I'm so aware of royalties, if an author signs a book I got for free, I'll give them a dollar.)
I tried it out, to see if it would work, and it didn't. I couldn't download any of the pages that weren't available in the original preview. I think people worry too much about it.
And much like torrent sites, people who are going to go out of their way to steal your books to read them likely weren't the type of people who were going to buy a copy anyway...as many have said before me, we should worry more about obscurity than piracy. :-\
Every download a lost sale? What nonsense - this is a scam peddled by record companies frantically trying to shore up their collapsing, greed-raddled business model. AstonWest is right; huge numbers of downloaders would not buy the product anyway. However, as the more intelligent artists are beginning to realise, they will tell thousands, perhaps millions of others about it. The potential free publicity is simply mind-boggling. I believe the singer Prince distributed free copies of a CD through an English newspaper, resulting in publicity that earned him millions from a series of concerts. The lining in this cloud is not mere silver - it positively glistens with gold. All the artists have to do is learn how to use it. As Canute wryly observed, even the greatest cannot stop the rising tide of change; the enterprising, however, can float their boats on it.
I am against piracy, however recently I have had a couple of experiences that baffles me. Last week, I stumbled upon a non-fiction book that I really, really wanted. Curious I went to the publishers webpage, and discovered that the book costs 300 dollar. I cannot afford to pay 300 dollar. 100 dollar? Yes. But not 300. So, in cases like this, the publishers could do more.
In a lot of these discussions about book piracy, the book industry is compared with the music industry. While there are some similarities there is a major difference: Musicians make hundreds of thousands of dollars performing live; authors don't have this option. So when people steal our books we have no option for future payment. That "free publicity" doesn't really work for an author like it does for a musician, who might make a fan who will pay to see him in concert. Is someone going to pay to watch us write our next book? No, and we won't have any time to write that next book because we'll all have to go out and get a job where we're actually paid for our work.
Suzanne Allain is quite right to say that writers are in a different situation from musicians. However, both have to face the fact that the distribution of any digitally reproducible work has to change dramatically. Whatever the perceived injustices and whatever the legal technicalities, the simple fact is that it is no more possible now to charge directly for what can be put on the internet than it is to charge for the air we exhale in the street. The internet is more of a digital atmosphere than a market place, and to get financial reward for artistic endeavours the artists must work out a new business model. As I pointed out earlier this is actually quite easy for musicians, and as long as no-one pines for the days of the controlling middleman, there is potential for huge benefits to both artist and audience.
Writers have never had the money-spinning potential of live concerts anyway, so that comparison is not entirely valid. They do have the advantage that huge numbers of readers like to hold a paper book in their hands while curled up in bed or by the fire, and this is likely to hold true for many years yet, even with the advent of electronic readers. In the short term this needs to be capitalised upon while a solution is developed for the day when electronic readers become indistinguishable from paper books (apart from being able to hold your complete library in their innards). Those who download PDF files and screenshots are most unlikely to buy the paper books anyway, but the publicity may encourage many others - who previously would never have heard of the books - to do so. I have made my new book free to read on Scribd with precisely that in mind.
I am middle aged. That is not comforting. No matter how much I whine and complain about it, I ain't gonna get any younger. So, I try to remember that the energetic younger people that I have to deal with everyday are not the cometition. They are me several years ago. The problem is not how young everyone else is, but how I indulge myself in a nice pity party. In other words, stop whining.
Anonymous said, on 7/14/2009 9:12:00 PM
This isn't something one can stop. Sure, you could change Google Books security and stop this stream but you can't stop this sort of thing from getting out there. Never. Ever. No way. The goal needs top be to provide people with two things:
1- an easy and affordable e-book that is superior in some experiential way to the pirate versions. This may mean more author appearances, associated content and the like.
2- alternate revenue streams and increased profit fro the streams that will soon compete more aggressively with traditional print. This may mean taking on Harper Collins new model or doing something similar. it may me tying books more directly into larger entertainment products to be released in package of sorts.
But the industry cannot stop the piracy nor the appearance of an affordable e-reader which will shift the paradigm.
Things are going to change in every entertainment field. What has happened up to this point is only the beginning. We're all working in, or looking to work in a 19th century field that is outdated. We all better try and figure out what comes next.
Anonymous said, on 7/14/2009 9:13:00 PM
"...the simple fact is that it is no more possible now to charge directly for what can be put on the internet than it is to charge for the air we exhale in the street."
Except on Mars when you have Ronny Cox running the show.
STATUS: How the industry is shifting does make me lie awake at night.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY by Donna Summer
And to piggy-back on to what I was writing about yesterday on the blog, I want to share this very interesting article by science writer Michael Nielsen.
I read his blog entry earlier this week and my mind has been in a whirl since. He tackles the question of whether scientific publishing is about to be disrupted but I think the parallels to traditional publishing are very clear.
In the article, Nielsen highlights the signs of impending disruption in the newspaper industry: “Five years ago, most newspaper editors would have laughed at the idea that blogs might one day offer serious competition. The minicomputer companies laughed at the early personal computers. New technologies often don’t look very good in their early stages, and that means a straight up comparison of new to old is little help in recognizing impending disruption. That’s a problem, though, because the best time to recognize disruption is in its early stages. The journalists and newspaper editors who’ve only recognized their problems in the last three to four years are sunk. They needed to recognize the impending disruption back before blogs looked like serious competitors, when evaluated in conventional terms."
The signs of disruption in the publishing industry are already there. The big question is whether we’ve recognized them in time. The big publishers today are like the Titanic. Huge. Cumbersome. Potentially perceived as unsinkable. And yet, huge tech companies such as Google, Amazon, and the upstart Scribd are changing the face of publishing. What will the big publishers be like in five years? 10 years? They see the ice berg but can they turn in time?
I hope so. I don’t have any answers to share but I certainly see possibilities. Will they merge with big tech companies such as Google? That would not be surprising. What will the role of agent be as publishing transforms?
And digital is the key that has changed all of this.
And how interesting that I’m reading one of the more extraordinary articles to tackle this question on a blog. By a science writer. Not in a publishing industry magazine. Not in a newspaper.
That says a lot in and of itself.
42 Comments on Is Publishing Just About To Be Disrupted?, last added: 7/20/2009
The number one mistake in the news industry? Free online news. There should have been a monthly charge equivalent to the actual paper minus delivery costs years ago. I hope the publishing industry doesn't make the same mistake. If Publishers get their butts in gear and start selling secure downloads on their own sites that can't be copy/pasted, I think there's hope for digital print. They need to get organized and set a standard. It's more cost effective for readers once you remove the actual labor costs of printing, and it might get more authors into their Palm Piloted/Kindled hands.
I do wonder what digital publishing and digital rights mean for agents. Perhaps that disruption is why so many in the industry are wary of jumping aboard? Based on the Romance Writers for Change debate, quite a number of published authors fear the RWA's acceptance of the digital publishing method (no advance but 35-50% royalties) would convince NY to move in that direction.
I'm excited to see what happens, and have high hopes for e-books and e-readers revolutionizing the industry.
I think the main problems are going to arise from publishers changing the way they charge for books, and the way they pay authors (and agents). Authors probably need advances to do crazy things like "eat," but how will that work out with e-book royalties? There is already a lot of debate and rewriting of contracts... how will it turn out?
It's fascinating to be the edge of a huge change like this as it unfolds.
First - I love "She Works Hard for her Money" by Donna Summer. In fact, I absolutely love Donna Summer.
Second - puslishing needs to wake-up and change with the times. The world is becoming digital. I read my books, for the most part, on Kindle. I love my Kindle. I love having an entire library of books easily available.
Will agents still exist in a digital world? Of course. I don't think the publishing world is going to change so much that agents become (gasp) unnecessary.
In the end, we must adapt. Resistance is, at least according to the Borg, futile after all!
Recently I was offered a contract from an ePublisher. I was ecstatic to find a home for my book. And the further I get into this process, I can't help but feel I am getting into something really wonderful that is going to explode in the not so distant future.
Look at music these days. While us old people still buy cd's (I'm only 31, but to my nieces and nephews, I am ancient), the younger generation may only own a handful of cd's. They all have ipods or other digital music players. Every song they own, hundreds, thousands, fits into a 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" gadget. It's the next generation that is going to love digital reading devices. I think they're pretty cool...even though I am ancient... but the kids, the 20-somethings, they crave technological wonders. They could care less about holding something, a book, printed pages, in their hands. And if technology is what it takes to get more kids reading...get more people to read, I think it's fantastic.
I'm truly looking forward to the future and seeing the new devices that are introduced and how far they come down in price, just like mp3 players have.
It's scary! I've heard rumors about problems with our local Newspaper. Apparently, you'll only be able to read The Kansas City Star online soon. I'm sorry, but I prefer a hard copy!
Excellent post. Times are changing at a rapid pace and digital is leading the way. You've brought up am important point about the agents role in all of this. Thanks for this post.
I have yet to see a Kindle on an airplane, beach or park bench. I'm not a hater, but I don't think things will change rapidly until EVERYONE owns some sort of e-reader and (this is very biased) I don't think that will happen until Apple seriously enters the market.
But the change is coming. For me, one of the best things about following agent blogs has been how my fears about all the changes had disappeared. Most agents seem excited (resolved) about the future. I wish publishers communicated that same enthusiasm.
I have to agree with Lazy Writer. I know I'm old fashioned, but I love the feel of paper in my hand, whether it be a newspaper or a book. That said, I'm dying to get a Kindle because of the size/space/portability issue.
Excellent post, by the way. I'm glad to see some in the publishing industry recognize that this needs to be recognized and dealt with while the technology is still in its relatively early stages.
First, go read Cory Doctorow's "Content" (it's available free online).
The problem with new technologies is that they are always compared to old technologies ("radio with pictures"). The old guard panics, pulls up the drawbridge, circles the wagons, and doesn't think about how to exploit the new paradigm. (Movie studios were afraid of television until they realized they could sell programming to the networks. And they were frightened of people taping programs on videotape. And of giving stuff away for free (even though commercial television has been doing that for seventy years).
Almost everyone does own some sort of e-book reader: a cellphone. Just as people used to be hesitant when sending text messages, they are now hesitant to surf the web on a phone. (I marveled at how my brother, living in Germany, was so adept at sending texts to people, while in the U.S., hardly anyone did.)
I read stuff online everyday. Literotica, 9 Chickweed Lane, this blog. I blog from my phone (a Treo 755p, but I once did it with a T9 keyboard). My cellphone can read Word documents and PDFs, play YouTube videos... pretty much what my laptop can do, although a bit slower...
Apple has seriously entered the market. You can download IDW's Star Trek comics at the Apple store to read on your iPhone. I'm sure other publishers have titles there as well.
Currently, we're feeling small earthquakes as paper collides with digital. Until one slides under the other and we get some new mountains, ride it out.
I don't think kids are prejudiced against paper. I believe they see it as just another way to get information. They may not worship it as a wonderful gateway to fantastic storytelling, because there are so many gateways available now.
Geeze... I just turned 40... cable television and Apple ][ computers and CDs in the mid-80s, the World Wide Web hitting just as I graduated from college, MP3s and ipods and cellphones and who knows what else... I think my generation, the generation right after the babyboom, are pretty open to whatever is new. We might not be early adopters, but we're not like our parents who have trouble setting a digital clock, or working a DVD player, or...
It's very good food for thought. As an emerging writer myself, the great hastle of becoming published makes me and probably even other writers look at digital publishing and easier ways to get their works out there. It's all very interesting and at times, disturbing. I sense it too even being on the other end of publishing as a writer. Thanks for sharing. Lisa
This is all so true, and having a 13-year-old in the house makes it very apparent. Ask her to find out Mass times while we're traveling, and she'll run to the laptop or grab the iPhone--these kids are tech savvy, fer sure. The whole family is moving to Paris next year and one of the kids' #1 concerns is which technical gizmo we're buying so that we can read English language books.
Eventually all information, entertainment, games-whatever will come to you digitally through your wrist watch... which, with a USB port you plug into a home LCD/plasma screen, (or you just buy a big magnifying glass for your timepiece).
Agenting in the furture will consist of lawyer like understanding/expertise of ever changing copyright laws as it pertains to emerging media. Agents will be hired on a "as needed basis" with the preceived best 20% getting 80% of the work.
Editors will go the way of agents. 20/80.
The reputation of Agents and Editors will act as the vetting process for an author's work. (the better the agent/editor the more consumers will trust the product).
Big House publishers will slowly die or fracture into nimble moving pub entities.
The attention span of the average consumer will be 45 minutes to an hour, if not less.
Oh, sorry... forgot. Digital technology will be replaced by pulses of light, (an electron, having mass, can only travel so fast)... Light travels at the... well speed of light because it has no mass.
Torsten Adair- I didn't realize how much you could do on the iPhone, I've only had mine for five weeks. Still, I really wouldn't want to read on it, I'd prefer something bigger, like the Kindle. Great info!
Utne Reader has an interesting article on this very subject this month: "The Revolution Will Not Be Published" They conclude they can't predict what the future of publishing will be, but that efforts to stop the rush to digital is and has been futil. http://www.utne.com/Media/Newspapers-Save-Society-Publishing-Future.aspx They incluse the oft disputed claim that the stigma of self publishing is vanishing...Well, not yet. But each article like this one points in that direction. I bought my first self-published e-book this week. Very cool and worth the 10 bucks. One Spirit (spirituality book club) is survey members for interest in an affordable e-reader in competition to Kindle. This is bigger than the 7th wave and smaller than a tsunami. So far.
I too like the feel of a book in my hands, but I've been seriously contemplating in purchasing a Kindle.
Interesting post, thanks.
Regards, Donna
Anonymous said, on 7/8/2009 7:51:00 PM
I don't remember what particular clip it was from BEA, but there was something similar --a video--from someone talking about the future of publishing making references to newspapers and other casualties along the way...
Dawn: I couldn't imagine reading on my iPod Touch until I saw the video for Eucalyptus. Since, I've stopped keeping a paperback in my bag. Eucalyptus only downloads from Gutenberg, but the potential is clearly there.
Dawn Maria, I've seen several Kindles in the last several months -- and mostly in the hands of people who qualify for AARP discounts! On park benches, in Boy Scout meetings, and in airports.
After having lugged nearly 30 lbs of books with me on a recent trip -- just to get through two weeks -- I've finally come to the conclusion that an e-reader may not be so much a luxury as a necessity for the way I live and read. Or is it read and live?
Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for technology that doesn't tie me to one shopping outlet so ruthlessly. It'll come. I hope.
Aimee Maher nailed when she said that newspapers should never have provided so much free digital content so early on. It paved the road to their destruction.
I wish I had some input on the agent's role in a digital publishing age. I anticipate change just like everyone else.
Very interesting and thought-provokig article! thanks for sharing.
I'm living here in Germany, and there has been a similar essay, in a media-blog - it lists 4 main reasons for the current drama of the newspaper / music industry. one of it: that both industries are acting rather inside their box, or their "status-island", and don't see the wider picture, especially where new techologies from "other" market segments are concerned.
another main point: as humans, we tend to think linear, while social / and especially technological developments are often chareacterized through exponential growth.
here the link to the article, it oviously is in german, but the diagram speaks for itself: http://netzwertig.com/2009/07/01/innovationspsychologie-warum-der-umgang-mit-disruptionen-so-schwierig-ist
makes me think of this two-sided chinese saying: "I hope you are living in interesing times".
and yes, interesting that these analysis appear in media-blogs.
I don't have time to get to many writer's events, but at the Emerging Writers Festival here in Melbourne, one of the big topics of conversation,was epublishing as an alternative to traditional methods.
Buggy whip manufacturers were probably laughing when the automobile was being tinkered with initially, too. We adapt and experience unimaginable things! Whatever happens will be awesome in its own way.
I wish RWA would read your blog, Kristin. No, I'm not one of those who is angry with RWA about e-published authors being left out. Yes, it happens, and I have no idea what the ideal fix is.
BUT...it does seem, to me, that RWA is riding with the big publishers on that ship. I wish, for the sake of all romance authors, that this wasn't the case.
I wonder how this will affect third world nations? Will the invention of new technologies like Kindle make it possible to increase literacy due to easy access? Or will it widen the divide between technologically advanced countries and developing nations? Maybe hard copies of books will, one day, only be available in remote, third world nations? If so, it might be time to move to Somalia, Ms. Nelson.
FYI: My great-great-grandparents died on the Titanic, and that's no fictional tale. Hopefully nice Midwestern agents will survive the Arctic plunge into the technological age...
Times, they are changin'...and while I don't think we can stop the fact that information such as news, blogs, music, etc. are/will be "free," for me as a writer and speaker, I have to change how I look at and utilize my books and blogs--"use" them as my calling card for other business ventures. Books in the nonfiction world has become a your business card for speaking engagements, tele-classes, workshops, and consulting services. This can translate over to fiction as well--school, business, library talks, community classes, etc., as well as film deals--which I think YouTube and cable are going to open even more opportunities for written to visual exchange. No way literature is dead, it's just morphing--and we have to morph with it.
This topic of disruption of traditional media has been discussed for YEARS in tech circles. Dave Winer started talking about it at least 10 years ago and a good many of his predictions have come true.
The collision between what Technology people know about what they've created and what the affected companies experience is interesting to watch as the collision becomes painful. Really, there's little in that article that hasn't been discussed by the IT folks for some time.
It's nice to see the discussion finding its out of the Technology sphere though.
I got the Kindle app (free) for my iphone last week. I was very hesitant; it's so small, would I get glare etc...
I really love it. My DH commented we will probably buy more books now. And we have no interest in buying a Kindle.
I am thinking the Kindle would might be too big! The iphone size is perfect. I love that I have my phone, books, music, maps, and LOLcats in one small device.
I believe the trick is to keep the wall high enough so that good stuff is not drowned out by mediocrity, but low enough so that the envelope keeps getting pushed. I blogged about it here:
Yes, but...how many new technologies died in the water? I mean, is he cherry-picking the examples of 'these industries adapted in this way to these new technologies'?
I guess I'm the lone holdout here for preferring a good old-fashioned book. I love wandering through bookstores, sampling the actual books. But my sons are bored in bookstores...oh well...pretty sad (at least to me)...
"Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for technology that doesn't tie me to one shopping outlet so ruthlessly. It'll come. I hope."
You can buy books for the Kindle from other outlets. I buy books from Samhain because they are cheaper on their direct site than on Amazon. Just plug the Kindle into your computer and drop and drag like you would for any other device.
It is disappointing when some books are not yet available in digital form (I'm looking at you, Hunger Games), but for the most part I love it. The screen even looks like a book.
This is a really interesting topic. Yes, traditional publishing is being disrupted. But unlike other business disruptions we can point to, there isn't a single impending event or technology here that is causing this disruption. It's not a single earthquake that registers a seven on the Richter scale.... no, it's lots of small one's and two's... some that no one even felt. It's the totality of lots of different technologies, and the adoption of lots of new tools and standards that is causing this one... and those little earthquake waves are likely to continue.
I wonder how this will affect third world nations? Will the invention of new technologies like Kindle make it possible to increase literacy due to easy access? Or will it widen the divide between technologically advanced countries and developing nations?
That is an angle I never thought of--and it's very interesting. I sincerely hope the former will happen, but more often than not, it's the latter that occurs. I think the question of access to digital books will be tied to the still-tangled issue of geographic-bound e-books (as opposed to language bound: but then, if English e-books are available to those who speak English, will that increase the dominance of the language and the cultural baggage that goes with language?).
Anonymous said, on 7/10/2009 1:59:00 AM
Kristin, thanks for the link to Michael.
He lived a few doors away and was always brilliant growing up. I'd lost track of him since we all moved on.
When agents represent authors in the epublishing venues, epubs will have to clean up their acts and begin to behave like publishers and not vanity presses who just don't happen to charge upfront fees.
I really believe we are looking at a paradigmatic change in publishing. I think it is generally accepted that the MP3 changed the record industry but what I don't think is popularly held is that the MP3 has only BEGUN to change the record industry. The increasing ubiquity of portable media devices and the atemporality of once fad-bound media entertainments have to cause a major shift. Technology has, to my mind, always been the single causal factor in the evolution of culture. I think that publishing, that looming Victorian giant that we know today will be a thing for the history books.
This is WAY off topic, but I didn't know where else to post it.
I've been working toward submitting my WIP to agents, and one thing that worries me is how young many of you agents are. I feel so old when I meet these youngsters who will have so much power over my future.
Just wanted to get this out. Thanks for listening.
I just read yesterday that McGraw-Hill is laying off a HUGE component of their educational publishing divisions, including the entire copyediting department.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? UNDER THE MILKY WAY by The Church
Today as I have spotty internet from my home connection (curses Qwest DSL and the fact that I can’t have cable broadband at my home), I can’t help but do a rant on digital technology and how that is reshaping the reading experience.
Today, in Deal Lunch, I read about two new eReaders—the Ditto Book E Ink Reader and a new reader by Vodafone Germany. (For those of you who might not have been to Europe lately, Vodafone is a big mobile phone provider across the pond.)
Lower price points and mobile phone eReader technology.
Then I read about Cory Doctorow’s serialization of MAKERS that’s going to be posted on Tor.com. Then I read about the Hachette Book Group’s initiative to offer free Open Access to a variety of books in their entirety via their website. And to top it off, Chris Anderson’s book FREE viewed by 17,000 people, well, for free via Scribd.
And here’s what I want to say about this. It’s not okay to cling to your Luddite ways. Even if you love the feel of a physical book in your hands and hate the idea of reading digitally, you need to branch out and give it a try.
From the start of my agency, I’ve always read electronically on my computer (tablet PC). Then I got the Kindle the year before last and now I’m reading both on my kindle and my iPhone. In fact, lately, it’s been rare that I’ve read an actual physical book.
And for me, the medium doesn’t matter. Only the story does. Now I know that’s not true necessarily for other people but this is where we are moving and you if you are a writer, you need to experience reading in these other mediums. Why? Because the next generation, I guarantee it, will not be as attached to the physical medium of a book. They are already more used to reading digitally in all kinds of ways—blogs, twitter, texts, books, instant chat, etc.
Books are transforming. They might be multimedia in the future—interactive in the digital form—which would shift how writers think about writing a novel or a memoir or a work of nonfiction. You can’t afford to ignore this.
You can already see the shifts happening.
35 Comments on Reshaping Reading, last added: 7/12/2009
It would be nice if ereaders were released worldwide. I'm tired of Australia being a backwater for the rest of the publishing industry.
I understand it takes time to ship stuff out here, but that only holds true in the digital world for the readers themselves, once here, simultaneous worldwide releases of titles would become possible.
Kindle and Sony still insist on deals including 'x' amount of dollars for content, which is useless for non-US based buyers. The cost of the units is still ridiculously high anyway.
I think the digital revolution still has a way to go gain a global tag.
You think you have a problem with your home Internet connection? Try having to pay exorbitant prices for an Internet connection and no ereaders worth a damn!
Skrabs said, on 7/8/2009 2:57:00 AM
Hear, hear BT. It sucks to hear about all this great technology and not be able to access it! (Fellow Australian here).
On the other hand I have to laugh... I'm 27 and my thirteen year old sister is telling me about all these latest gadgets and I feel so out of the loop. Time to get with the program... And the technology maybe.
I read on my iPhone. The thing is, I only do that when I don't have a physical book to hand. Somehow ebooks feel less important. I don't think that's going to change for me, but then I'm old and insignificant.
I love the feel of a book as much as anyone, but living overseas without access to a decent English book selection means I rely heavily on ereader.
I'm embracing it. If reading gadgets are destined to bring about the demise of paper books, it won't happen in my lifetime!
I'm with Gilbert, though- going high tech isn't an excuse for not mastering the craft of writing. And while there are millions of blogs and "published" webwriting with embarrassing errors out there, most avid readers still recognize and demand high quality.
I would like a Kindle, but there is nothing better then browsing a bookshop and taking a book off the shelves and smelling the paper, the print, feeling the paper... it's so much of a physical experience. And having a library, books to look at and surround yourself with.
I know we are moving to a more 'electronic' form of reading and I feel sad if that is all we will ever have. I'd like them for text books, for newspapers and maybe some fiction. When travelling/being on holiday for instance you do not want to carry around great big books.
I'd like to have both. I like that you can download a lot of classics for free. I'd love a Kindle (type thing anyway) for that alone because I don't see why I should have to pay over the odds to get a classic when you can get them for free, legally and easily. £8-10 for a classic not even bound very nicely, cheaply - way too much.
I can see the merits, I like it but I do not want them replacing physical books. The physical ability to walk into a bookshop and browse, for me, can never be replaced by just looking at them online or in e-format. I certainly wouldn't buy as many books that way.
I love my Kindle for many reasons, one of the big ones is that I can read my own novel on it (by emailing the document) and it feels like reading a real book. The biggest downside for me is that I'm a flipper. After I read a book I love to randomly flip it open to a passage and just start re-reading. You can't really do that on a Kindle, or at least not so efficiently.
I would love to be able to read something on an ereader, but I’m waiting to see if one version will rise above the others.
Right now, Kindle doesn’t work outside of the United States, a serious problem for Amazon if they want to be competitive against all the others. Plus I’ve been told, their wireless option is only available on one carrier system, and only in certain parts of the country. Again, a strike against it.
With the introduction of the European product, it makes me wonder if we’re going to have some sort of ’tech off’ between all the competing systems, much like the blue-ray/HD competition, and the ancient VHS/Beta of the eighties.
Eventually there will have to be one model for the entire ebook industry, and as quickly as this new media is gaining in popularity, I have a feeling it won’t be world wide until the dust settles from the battle.
I love the feel of an actual book in my hands. I love having bookcases full of them so I can always refer back to the notes I keep. Since my job requires lots of travel and it is impossible for me to bring the amount of books I will read along with me, I purchased a kindle.
The kindle has been one of the best purchases I have ever made it allows me to keep up my reading pace without taking up space in my luggage.
I don't think the book is going to disappear completely but e-readers are the way of the future and authors would be smart to keep that in mind
I grew up in my mother's small charming bookstore, have worked in libraries and children's book publishing, and now work for a book printer. I love books--real books--and will NEVER read a book on a iphone...how depressing to even contemplate.
For those concerned about the Web's effect on grammar, I understand. However, you're throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Yes, there are millions of blogs out there with terrible grammar. Yes, there will be self-published (perhaps even published) books with grammatical errors. There's many books available online (as Kristin pointed out, Cory Doctorow is one example of a published author who puts his books online for free) that don't fall into such categories, that are legitimate and enjoyable literature.
Furthermore, language is going to change, whether we like it or not. That's why Shakespeare's English sounds weird to us (and why he spelled his name so many different ways). Maybe we want to try and avoid Newspeak--I'd agree with that sentiment--but we can't arrest the evolution of our language; that would lead to creative and communicative stagnation. We can only direct it. And unless you embrace the media that are driving language's evolution--i.e., the Web--you have power to direct that evolution.
I think much of the animosity toward electronic forms of reading comes from a misguided perception that if electronic books become popular, paper books will disappear. This isn't the case. We're going to have paper books for a long, long time. They're more reliable, more durable, and sometimes better.
New technology often threatens old, or seems to threaten. But just as often it improves it. Look at the telephone industry. The Internet's infrastructure is built on top of the telephone network, and people thought it threatened the telephone. This hasn't been the case. In fact, telephone has benefitted from the Internet. Now we've got Voice-Over-IP, better microprocessors for cell phones, and phones themselves are more valuable to a consumer as data problem than a phone.
The point its, books aren't going to be smothered by a digital revolution: they'll be improved. It may not seem that way at first, with Amazon and Sony's rather limited forays into the world of digital reading. But we're in new territory here, and companies are bound to be cautious for a little while.
I don't like the Kindle's build (I don't need a keyboard). I don't like Amazon's DRM structure. And most importantly, I don't like their price structure. Following your link, I found that the price of ebooks for the Cool-ER is much more equitable, the cost of a mass paperback rather than a trade paperback. Perhaps I've finally found an ereader worth buying (neither Sony nor Amazon has produced a product that I find worth purchasing).
I still love my collection of old record albums, but I embraced the advent of compact discs for their excellent sound quality, durability, and ease of storage. My iPod, however, is the machine I've waited my whole life for. I can download every CD I own and literally carry them around in my pocket. As a bonus, I get to say that I have music in my pants :) Even now, though, I still love putting my old vinyl on my BRAND NEW turntable.
I use this musical analogy to make this point: Why can't we have it all? I own a library full of books AND a Kindle. Love them all!
Kindles and e-book readers aside, what does this mean for an author? Is there something we should be doing differently because our books might be read on digital media?
Regarding Qwest DSL - I feel your pain. Every day. Ugh.
As for reading, while I still love print books (paperbacks - I'm not a hardback reader), I read extensively on my PDA now. I was extremely resistant to reading electronically, but once I started, I got hooked. It's unbelievable that I can carry around an entire library with me *all the time* in a device the size of a pack of cards! Very, very cool.
I teach English, and I don't even use a textbook. For my daily grammar lessons, I use a projector to put the lessons on the smartboard, and then my students copy from the board onto their notebook paper.
When do my students ever see a grammar textbook? Whenever there's a substitute teacher.
If I want to read a story to my students out loud, I scan its graphics and create a Powerpoint. Then I flip through the Powerpoint slides as I read to them.
In my early days as a teacher, I used a textbook and found my students bored, yawning, and unresponsive. With a Powerpoint presentation, they remain riveted. In this computer age, kids expect interactive entertainment. You may not like it, but that's the truth. And it's most likely a reflection of what's to come.
Interesting...and, I must admit, inspiring. Will there come a time when a publisher will view e-mail -- as in, several pages of a book delivered daily to my inbox via subscription -- as a viable format for a particular book? Is that time now?
If an author has a project that works within this format, should the project be pitched as such?
I'm all for the digital transition but I'd be more inclined to read books digitally if the devices that one reads them on were not so expensive.
When an eReader drops below $200, perhaps I'll consider it. It looks close with the Ditto Book reader but it's still too much for me, especially since I don't buy more than a dozen books (if that) a year.
Also, do these eReaders support "rented" books from the library? That would be a huge plus for me. I get most of my books through library loan and rarely buy them unless it's something I'm certain I'll love and want to re-read again.
I'm a book collector right now, but I'd still love a Kindle or e-reader :). The only thing that's preventing me from getting one is the price, and also the fact that the majority of e-books are $9.99.
I barely spend $9.99 per book now... for paper books, that I feel provide more for their cost.
When e-books are $3.99-$4.99 and the readers drop to about $100, I'm all over it.
And I will still collect paper books. It will all be okay :).
There is no question that we have to let go of our Luddite ways. Ebooks are the future--I have a Sony eReader that I have begun to favor without even thinking about it, after saying long and hard how much I love the feel, smell, and look of real books. However, here's some free user market research for publishers and purveyors of the medium:
1. I still want a color cover. Book covers still attract me, and yes, I still judge books by them. (Sony ereader does not have this feature.)
2. I might want to share a book with my sister or cousin, like I would with a paperback. How do I do that with an electronic copy?
3. I want the makers of ereaders to continue to improve screen quality. Computer screens have extremely poor reading resolution. But Kindle and ereader have come a long way towards improving the quality of paper-like screens. That improvement MUST be a priority. Anyone who edits their own writing knows that you catch way more on paper than you do on screen. I have begun using my eReader to edit my novel -- it takes way less paper to print out multiple copies; it allows me to catch mistakes that I miss onscreen.
4. I want a digital book structure that is kind to authors, maintains strict editorial quality, and continues to play within the publishing industry. That's right. I want QUALITY CONTROL. I want to know agents and editors and others vetted the copy of the book I'm reading, no matter what format it's in. There's a perception that ebooks could be crappier because they're so easily produces and distributed. The publishing industry should fight right now to market ebooks with that sense of quality built in.
Anonymous said, on 7/8/2009 12:30:00 PM
I love, like a lot of people, love the feel, smell and just the overall contentment a physical book brings. However, I'm not against the new technology. My thoughts are actually a little more practical (and boring). what about our eyes? I mean after a long day at work, mostly staring at a computer screen, do I really have to do more of that just to enjoy a new novel? I hardly use my home computer because I'm just tired of the screen glare, etc. by the time I'm home. I mean, come on, could you really snuggle up in bed with a monitor (no matter how small) or does the allure of snuggling with a good real page turning book just overwhelm you? I hope you are wrong and the printing press will not be put to rest any time soon.
Anonymous said, on 7/8/2009 12:43:00 PM
Yep. Time to begin thinking about putting away the literary 'buggy whips' for that new fangled device trundling down the media highway. Books as we know them? One day they will be purchased by those who appreciate the 'old' way of reading. Sort of like keeping horses as pets.
I have no problem with the idea of eReaders, but I do have a problem with situations like this. The short version is that a guy was having problems getting one of his Kindle downloads onto his phone, and the reason was a limitation on the number of downloads that particular book allowed. (Not number of machines at one time, but number of downloads allowed in toto). There was another story where someone had their Amazon account suspended (for excessive electronics returns) which also cut him off of his Kindle books.
I also have a problem with nonstandard formats like Kindle's proprietary AZW format. What happens when you buy a different, non-Kindle reader? Will you be able to convert those purchased books to another format?
Until these situations are resolved and customer rights are protected, I'll have to stick with print books.
BleeBonn said, on 7/8/2009 2:22:00 PM
I've hesitated because my day job is writing and reading tech docs all day on the computer. Then I go home at night and I'm writing on my laptop. So I just don't want to have to read anything digital for leisure. I know someday I'll have to though. :(
Amen! I just wrote an entire research paper on the digital pub phenomenon. Actually I wish you had published this post two weeks ago, I would have used you as a source!
The romanticism of the printed word is a lovely thing and will probably continue for the time being, but just as the printing press replaced the oral tradition, or the digital camera replaced the fragile roll of film, so will readers replace print and make literature more accessible and portable. It's not a bad thing, it's just a new thing. I'm pretty attatched to my Kindle already. I take that thing EVERYWHERE. I feel the same way about it that I feel about my iPod. I'm not afraid to admit I named it Kin-caid. :::blush:::
Kudos for backing the march of technology. I think there's a lot of opportunity in digital format for the adventurous!
Well, I have to put myself squarely in the eReader camp. I own a Kindle 1, and just ordered a Kindle 2, now that the price has dropped to $299 (+$30 for the cover). The digital age has dawned. Print books still offer a lot and will be around for a long time, but as more and more folks have digital reading devices-- not just dedicated eReaders Kindle, Sony, but iPhones and PDAs with ebook apps-- digital reading is no longer an oddity. I no longer have to explain what my Kindle is when I pull it out of my purse at the dentist's office.
Long term, digital devices may well change book content, certainly nonfiction content, where people may want to link out to other sources. Short term, they may have an impact on length requirements.
In discussing digital publishing, it's important to distinguish between self-publishing in digital form and traditional publishers adopting digital as a viable output. The content determines what sells, not the medium. But digital is important, because it makes reading more convenient, and that's got to be a good thing.
Anonymous said, on 7/10/2009 11:54:00 AM
I don't own a kindle, still think they're too expensive. When they come down to $99 I'll get one.
But in the meantime, the Kindle app for my iPhone is FREE! I didn't think I'd like reading books on a phone, but I love it. I feel like the biggest geek now at the gym, listening to my iPod on the iPhone and reading at the same time. I have a half dozen books on the iPhone right now and love it.
Anonymous said, on 7/11/2009 9:46:00 AM
>It’s not okay to cling to your >Luddite ways... you need to branch >out and give it a try.
Actually, as a consumer, I get to read the books I buy the way I want to. There is nothing wrong with that. I don't need to do anything I don't want to. I'm sorry that you don't think that's 'okay.'
I prefer books simply because they're handy for research---I can just reach across the table and immediately access what I need. You can't mark a page on a kindle with a post-it note.
Ack! I can't believe this. There's this advert in the Daily Mail for a cartridge that goes into your Nintendo DS that has 100 classic novels in it. It even looks and sounds like it's turning pages!
I think Joe and his agents are pioneers, blazing a new trail that will soon become an alternative for publication.
Bravo to Konrath's agent for continuing to believe in Joe's book after the bigs turned it down.
I hope they sell a ton of copies. People who have the courage of their convictions should be rewarded.
I appreciate how well you do at making everything clear and concise. Legalese can get so confusing to me that I really like reading this in plain language that I can understand. The more knowledge we have as authors, the better prepared we are to embark on the publication journey.
I can only hope that I am able to sign with an agent who is as savvy and concerned about electronic rights as you are Kristin.
This is great info - I can't wait until I'm at the point that I need it. :)
Knowing what I know from my own e-book sales, I'd fight for the e-book rights as hard as I could.
Can I just say you're brilliant.
Gotta keep chipping away at that granite. eRoyalties are a really big deal to me, not because what they mean now, but what they're going to mean five years from now. I only hope that I'm in such a dominant negotiating position that my threat to walk away from a deal over eroyalties would have a genuine impact on the final agreement.
As it is, I would take a lower advance for better eroyalties if that established a baseline royalty rate for future publications. I consider it a solid investment in my future.
Thanks for explaining the agency model. I finally understand it. Are the publishers going to be reworking their numbers every time a new technology comes out?
Great song! I heard Cape Canaveral on NPR awhile ago and immediately bought it.
I am so glad someone out there is blogging about this. I'd be really nervous if I didn't SEE agents discussing this topic out in the open. It's bloggers like you that help dispel the myth that you have to get published before you can begin to learn the secrets of the ancient society of the publishing world. :D
Thanks for the informative post, Kristin. You always give us something new to chew on.
Maybe this has been covered before, but I missed it. Do the electronic royalty payments count against the advance or are they independent of it?
Dave K
The absolute thievery that is the royalty structure for e-books makes me very hesitant about even trying to get published in the traditional manner.
As a poster mentioned above, it is not 2010 that worries me. It is 2020 or pick-a-date-down-the-road.
If I am fortunate enough to get published and do well, I am certainly going to regret agreeing to the 25% or 70% model if 80% of my sales are e-sales. So the publisher saves the cost of returns, printing, warehousing and transportation and I get 25% of 70%??
Screw job. Nothing more, nothing less.
Boy, this really makes me want to make sure I get a tough, smart, agent. Thinking of that little side gate to add when the publishers won't budge? Golden. I had been wondering if just such a thing could be done.
In the next blog I read another *agent* quotes Kristin as an authority on how the film industry defines ebook rights. If that's not an endorsement of what a leader she is in the field, I don't know what is.
Wow, that sounds like a really "catch all" tidbit to add to a contract. I like it. Thanks for keeping us informed (like always).
Thanks, Kristin. My agent is shopping several projects right now, so this is really impotant stuff for me to know (and hopefully apply!).
When a book goes out of print, it usually reverts to the author.
How does an ebook go out of print?
I see value in having an agent. I'm starting to see less in signing away my rights with publishers who don't appear to respect their consumer base.
In any case, enlightening post. Encore seems like a good deal; let's see how it pans out.
Anonymous of 2:19
Two words for you: Sales Thresholds
In the Out of Print clause is how we protect authors when it comes to ebooks and what constitutes out of print.