eBook Wars
So. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last week, you’ve probably caught wind of the kerfluffle between Amazon.com and Macmillan books. I first discovered that Amazon had delisted all the Macmillan authors when I went online to buy Old Man’s War by John Scalzi and was baffled as to why this popular book was not available.
If you’re a book lover like me, this affects you. Even if you don’t shop at Amazon.com. Even if you don’t own any Macmillan books (and odds are you do both). Even if you have no interest in eBooks and don’t expect you ever will. Why? Because these are early salvos in a war that has been brewing for some time, and one that will in some ways define the future of publishing.
I’ve been following the developing story with great interest, both through traditional news and through author blogs like John Scalzi, Charles Stross, Jay Lake, Brandon Sanderson, my agent Joshua Bilmes, and the like. I strongly encourage interested people to go and have a look at what these guys have had to say, even if you don’t agree. I’ve largely stayed out of the conversation myself because I feel that I have little to add that hasn’t already been said. And I’m not a Macmillan author, so it’s not my problem, right?
But then I got an e-mail from a reader asking for my thoughts on the issue, and on a proposed solution he had. I was going to answer the e-mail anyway, so I asked him if I could post the pertinent bits (it was a long letter) on my blog and respond there. He very graciously agreed.
From: Steven
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 12:07 PM
To: Peter V. Brett
Subject: Re: thanks
I mentioned previously that I read your book on an indirect recommendation of Pat’s [Rothfuss]. What I didn’t tell you is that I got it on my B&N Nook. It was $9.99 and I figured what the hell. …I really enjoyed your book and that I was excited to read the next. …I plan on picking up the hardback copy of The Warded Man, I ordered a copy of The Great Bazaar, and I’ll probably get both an ebook copy (for convenience) and a hard back copy of The Desert Spear. So in the long run I’m out more money than I would be back in the classic physical copy only days. I don’t mind that though as I know I can read the digital copy to my heart’s content without messing up the venerable hardback copy that becomes part of my collection.
My worry though is that the higher $15 price point puts it a little too close to the hardback copy of the book. If I enjoy a book I’ll most definitely pick up the hardback copy… but I own a lot of hardback books from years prior that I never was able to get through because I didn’t enjoy them enough. Not to mention it makes me question a little more the purchasing of both formats. It will probably be at most $5 more each time but that does add up. Although this comes from a guy that waits until he knows he has enough to qualify for free shipping before buying things online.
What I would really like to see happen is that hardback books mimic the LPs of today. A lot of labels (mostly the smaller ones sadly) will release albums on LP and also include mp3s of the album with the purchase. So you get that physical record that gives you a listening experience more personal and deep than listening to mp3s in whatever fashion and you also get the music in an easily accessible format as well. Something similar with books would be awesome. A purchase of the hardback gets you a copy of the ebook as well. Not everyone will use the ebook copy, but for those of us who will it’s a great deal. We get the physical copy to hold onto and cherish and the more accessible digital copy to go along with it.
So what are you thoughts on that as an author? Do you think a bundled offer would be detrimental or beneficial to authors and/or publishers? I’m honestly not sure how the higher pricing of ebooks will pan out… especially since they started at $9.99 for most (regardless of who set that price… the seller or the publisher) and the current ebook reader base will definitely see it as a price hike in the short term. I appreciate what you do and what authors in general do and I want to see you all compensated (and compensated well!). It’s a tumultuous future for books I think, but I’ll be rooting for the authors foremost because without you guys there would be no books to begin with.
Regards,
Steven
The following is my my reply to Steven’s letter. It is my opinion only and does not reflect the positions of my literary agency, publisher, retailers, cat, or anyone else:
Hi Steven,
Thanks for writing, and for your support of authors. I don’t know that any of us other than a very few outliers are “compensated well”. The lucky ones, of which I am one, manage to make ends meet, if barely. Most authors don’t, and they are the ones who are taking the brunt of this wrestling match between Amazon and Macmillan. Authors like my buddy Blake Charlton, whose debut novel Spellwright is about to come out from Tor books, a Macmillan subsidiary. For a debut author, initial sales can make or break your career, and by delisting Blake’s books, Amazon has destroyed any hard-earned pre-orders he has garnered over the past few months, and put him into a position that will be very hard to recover from. Maybe the bean counters at Macmillan will keep that in mind when they consider his marketing budget or advances for his future books. Maybe not.
It’s important to realize that there are real people suffering because of this pissing match. Blake and hundreds of authors like him did nothing to deserve this treatment by Amazon. No one has all the right answers for what the future of eBooks and publishing in general has in store, but I think we can all agree that taking your ball and going home, leaving everyone else high and dry, is a dick move.
That said, I’d like to address a myth that Amazon has perpetrated by carefully worded press releases and omission of facts. Macmillan is NOT trying to raise the price of all eBooks from $9.99 to $15.99. Nor is Amazon championing the rights of consumers to pay a fair and low price for books. The new model Macmillan is proposing is one that would set the eBook versions of new hardcover books at the higher price point TEMPORARILY, and then reduce them over time, so by the time the book is in paperback, the eBook costs will have dropped accordingly, usually to well below $9.99. This means that a patient reader can SAVE money under the new model, but one who is eager to read a new book the moment it comes out and doesn’t care if it costs an extra few dollars can have that option. This supply and demand model has worked in commerce since time immemorial.
In your case, this means that in the case of a beloved author, you could buy a hardback book as a new release, read it once all the way through, and then put it safely on your shelf until the eBook price drops, and then purchase one for your digital library. Or in the case of a new author, you could wait for the cheaper eBook, and then decide if it’s worth picking up a hardcopy.
As for your suggestion of bundling the eBook with a hard copy, I think that’s a pretty good idea. A lot of DVD movies follow that model, offering free digital downloads along with a hardcopy purchase, so that the purchaser can view the content they have paid for in whatever format they like. Hopefully we will see something like that soon.
What I think a lot of people don’t understand is that books cost a lot of money to make before they ever get to the printer. In addition to the hundreds or thousands of hours of work that authors put into their books (usually at FAR below minimum wage, if you do the math), there is the work of their agent, who scouted and vetted their work and sold it to publishers, their editor, who read the manuscript and likely helped the author improve it greatly. The copyeditor who fact-checks the manuscript in addition to making sure spelling and usage is correct and consistent. The proofreader who goes through the galley. Illustrator/cover artist. The designer who does the layout. The translator if there is one. Marketers and sales reps to sell them. Etc. In addition to being compensated for their work, all these people need a chair to sit in. A desk to work at. Light. A computer with an internet connection. A phone. The publisher has a right to recoup these costs.
By keeping pricing artificially low on new bestselling books, Amazon may sell more Kindles, but that money is coming out of the pockets of publishers, who have been increasingly forced to cut back on that support staff, which will inevitable drive down the quality of the product. I’ve read some unedited manuscripts in my time. Even ones by big-name authors. Trust me, you want these things edited. Amazon is also using this muscle to crush its brick-and-mortar bookstore competition, who can’t compete with the lower price points. Maybe that’s fair in a free market, maybe not, but I think the loss of our local bookstores is a terrible blow to our culture.
Thanks again for writing. I really enjoyed your letter (even if responding made my brain hurt), and I appreciate the kind words about my work. I hope you continue to enjoy my books.
-Peat
P.S.
I’d just like to add that a lot of authors have been recommending to their readers that they respond to Amazon’s bullying tactics by doing their shopping elsewhere. Maybe, even (gasp!) in a store. I think that’s not a bad idea. I myself have used Amazon quite a lot over the years and really think they have done some wonderful things for reading and the convenience of purchasing/returns. I think even now that they can and will recover from this and be great again, but until they start behaving more responsibly, I think I’m going to be taking my business elsewhere.
I actually bought Old Man’s War on Wednesday. The old fashioned way.
I think that was a fantastic response and explanation. Jinx may disagree, however, cos she’s a jerk.
Just to add a quip on this very interesting article: if you buy online none of your money goes to the local community and therefore you if you live in that community. If you buy local at your local bookstore a percentage of that revenue will go back into your community as opposed to none of it when you buy online. A local store I was at gave out information on the importance of buying locally and I have not bought anything online since.
With the economy being low you can kind of understand why Amazon would want to keep the prices low, as well as why it would be appealing to the public but in retrospect what is going to help is keeping the prices higher, steadier and closer to the real production value. As Peat so well stated it sustains and helps support your favorite authors, editors, publishers and even yourself.
I love the idea of books coming with digital copies in them. It is a fabulous idea.
From the sound of it Macmillian is also strongly in the right.
Great post Pete, this issue is just one piece in a big continually developing picture. Your response to the letter you rec’d was poignant and honest, and I can respect that.
And I really agree that these big decisions affect all of us who love — and work with — books and ebooks, and getting the conversation going and putting our opinions out there is important.
First of all i agree that what amazon did is despicable, it is the lowest form of negotiating and only truly hurts the Author.
However McMillan have lost it if they think $15 is appropriate for a new release E-Book. Its not, in anyway. I know that allot of work goes into making a book, i’ve been trying to get published now for… 6 years or more, and i know it can be expensive, i didn’t work for a year when i first started my book, and i still haven’t recouped that.
$15 is too mutch. Especially after you have bought the book reader itself for anywhere up $500 us. For an example of how it should be check http://www.webscription.net they offer brand new titles for $5 They have been doing it for years If other publishing houses took the same steps we could see a real increase in the traffic through Ebooks, and as a result better payed authors (baen authors get a higher amount of money per diem on ebook sales)
The current 3rd party as a distributer isnt the only model that works.
BrianC
Brian, I agree that there are other models worth trying, though I have no idea how profitable Baen’s webscription program is, or whether a similar direct download model would benefit some of the larger publishing houses which have much higher overhead costs and support a lot more titles.
My agent mused on the topic in his two most recent blog posts. Worth a look:
http://brilligblogger.blogspot.com/2010/02/movies-in-brief.html
http://brilligblogger.blogspot.com/2010/02/royal-tease.html
Great response above. The only issue is that i cannot buy this book now. I had it pre-ordered with amazon to ship to Ireland.
I can’t find anywhere that has stock that will ship to Ireland.
Which book is that, Patrick? Most of the delisted books should be back up now. I am by no means suggesting a full boycott of Amazon if that is your only option to get something you want. Only that people remember there are usually other choices, and that spreading your business around is good for a healthy marketplace.
Thanks for this posting on a war a hadnt really realised was going on.
I enjoy buying books – showing my age I guess. But I also realise that electronic media is one way to read them. BUT I still wish to see the phyisical presense on my book shelf – that glimpse of a cover releasing memories of whats within – in many ways a Proustian responce I know. But that part of the pleasure of owning books.
I do not understand why an e-book should be more than the paperback – but I am sure I would be prepared (when I finally buy one of these devices) to pay an additional amount (say be up to 30%) for the chance to downlload it as well. To pay both prices at their present levels seems too much.
Great Post!
I just heared about this fight. And I didn’t even know what it all was about, because in germany we have a law which protects books as cultural good. That means that i have always to pay the same price for a book, no matter if it’s an eBook or a hardcovercopy.
There is also no difference between online stores or traditionell ones.
So if I want to buy “Das Lied der Dunkelheit”, I can buy it in Berlin, Munich, Karlsruhe and Amazon and will always pay 15€.
The only way to sell a book cheaper is, if it’s damaged or it’s a used one.
There has been a big discussion a few years back (and also after the first realease of the eBooks), if the book-price-controll-law should be canceled or not. They decided against the cancel.
I think it’s a very good law, because with the modern media the traditionell books seem to be less noticed. And it protects smaller book stores, so that they can keep up with the big multiple shops.
But i also do understand the other side, that if the book is a “cultural” good, than there has to be a law like this also for other mediums, like movies and games. And that we’re far beyond the point of protecting books. That they can survive the competition and that in the end a normal price competition would make the books better.
So at last the authors don’t have to worry about their german fans.
[...] other writing news, check out this post from author Peter V. Brett on the e-book wars. He nails it dead-on, I’m [...]