I write for Silhouette Nocturne. This means my books, like all of Harlequin’s category lines, are in stores one month. They are available online through retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble for about six months; they can also be ordered into a brick and mortar store by a customer for that same amount of time. After that if a reader wants a new print copy, they are pretty much out of luck. But the books are still available in e format long after that.
I have readers email me looking for my earlier books quite a bit. I give them their choices–used bookseller or ebook, but I honestly don’t think most of them see the ebook as a legitimate option right now. While ebooks are IMO definitely the wave of the future, your average book reader has yet to experience them and certainly doesn’t own a reader.
But the thing is–they could still buy that ebook in PDF, print it out and read it. Do I expect them too? No.
And why don’t I? Aren’t they buying story? Aren’t they emailing me because they really want to know what happened in those books and they enjoyed reading my previous “stories?”
For some reason last week after replying to a reader I started thinking about this. Is a reader really buying story or are they buying a book? And what is the difference? If a reader was buying story, wouldn’t they be happy to have any alternative that would get them the story–even if it meant printing the story out themselves, or reading it on their computer? I guess they would, but I know I, as a reader, wouldn’t pay $5 to $25 for many stories if the experience wasn’t there for me too. And by the experience I mean the book–you know cover, pages, easy to read format. When I buy a book I am not just buying story. I am buying all that packaging too. A lot like when I go to a restaurant. I buy the food, of course, but I also buy the decor and ambiance. If the place is cold or smokey, I’m not eating there–no matter how good the food is. And I can’t see myself paying $8 for a story without a package I like either.
To authors this may not seem fair–because without story there is no book, but I think it is also a good thing for us to remember. Yes, people love our stories–but they also love our books, and they are not exactly the same thing.
So, how about you? How many stories would you pay the same for even if it wasn’t available in a convenient package? And when you look at the two pieces–how much in your view of your $5 to $25 are you paying for story and how much for the package? I say “in your view” by the way because let’s face it most of the $$ you do pay for a book is for packaging, and shipping–only say 6 to 25% of that goes directly to the author (depending on type of publisher, etc.), add on another few % for editorial input cost and the lion’s share is still in the other categories.
So, let’s hear it. If the bookstores all closed tomorrow and the publishers all went belly up–how much would you pay authors, both new and favorite, for their stories–without any convenient packaging? Disheartening as it is, I have to think about my answer for a while…
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This is an excellent question and it speaks to the publishers who are attempting to put out ebooks in proprietary formats that req
Let me try this again – I hit enter in the middle of typing and posted my comment!
Anyway, my point was – certain publishers have made their books a headache to purchase and to read. They’re the ones who will say e-publishing isn’t economical because they want to make sure their readers can’t and won’t go anywhere else. It doesn’t work that way.
I recently purchased one of these books during a promotional period when the publisher offered it at a low price. It took several downloads to get the proper software installed to read it, and some time to get the software to work properly. I could not print out the book to take with me anywhere, or download it to another device, so I was chained to my computer. By the time I actually opened the file I was annoyed enough to skim the story, found what little I read of it less than impressive.
The author loses out because I won’t be seeking out any more of her books. The publisher assumes I’m just another reader who prefers print books because I won’t be buying any more of their ebooks. Would I pay a discount price for another shot at something like this? Nope.
The price is honestly one of the things keeping me from jumping on the first class trip to the future that is the e-reader.
Say I wanted the Kindle. $200 outlay, and then $10 for each book after that. The outlay…would have to be a present. Christmas or birthday. The book cost is the kicker.
I read books pretty fast, and the convenience of the e-reader would probably only exacerbate the AMOUNT that I read.
I did the math. I simply cannot afford to get an e-Reader with my current book consumption.
Right now, I buy a book and if I don’t like it or didn’t enjoy it enough for multiple future readings, I donate it to the library or resell it or gift it to a friend (assuming I think they’ll really enjoy it).
With an e-book, you buy the book and then you’ve just got bytes. You can’t resell bytes, can’t donate bytes, for all I know, you can’t even share them with your friends. “Hey, borrow this book, you’ll love it!”
I love having a solid, paper, real book, but that’s not my biggest concern with the ebook system.
I can go to the used book store and pick up paperbacks for 3 to 7 dollars. I still get the story, it cost less than the ebooks for the Kindle, and I can pass the book love along when I’m done with it.
If I could get for…say…five dollars – maybe two – copy of an ebook that would self-destruct after say…a month, but I could at any time spend a wee bit more and get a “permanent” ebook copy, I”d probably dive in head first.
Book pirates notwithstanding, it would allow me to enjoy the STORY without getting the BOOK. I could pay more if I wanted the book.
I personally have an ebook reader, and have purchased new books (from the authors I know and love) for it. However, there is something to be said about the feel and even the smell of a book. It’s comforting and *real* Most of the customers that come into my store, when I speak with them about ebooks, their answers are very similar. It’s just not the same as having that weight and feel of the book in your hand.
Having said all that, if the publishers and bookstores (heaven forbid, as I are one) went belly up tomorrow, I’d pay whatever it took to get my fix of fiction. I’m obsessed with the written word and need to have that fix, without it, life for me would be just a miserable existence.
As for your readers that email you about your older books, our stores do special orders specifically for people looking for the older things (or new things). We search thousands of “stores” online to find them the best price etc. You may want to have them try their local used bookseller, see if they offer the same thing.
“See a need, fill a need.” I hope ePublishers are reading and will use this as inspiration for making eBooks more desirable. Anyone remember how clunky the first real cell phones were?
I think the biggest problem with ebooks is the method of transport and the cost. I’m on the computer a lot so I don’t mind PDF books, however, I don’t have an ebook reader and at 200 or more bucks I’m not getting one any time soon. So the ebook can’t come with me. It doesn’t travel on the train. I can’t loan it to my best friend to convince her to get her own copy. It doesn’t have the tactile experience of my stacks and stacks of books and it’s just as expensive? Umm…not so interested. As to printing it out on my own…part of what I’m paying my 8-25 bucks for is the paper it’s printed on. Around here I can get about 250 sheets of paper for about 4 bucks. So if the cost of the ebook is 5 dollars and it’s a 300 page book…I pay 10 + toner, so prolly closer to 13 for a printed out copy, which is now 8×10, hard to transport, unbound and I can’t take it into the bath.
I lurve my stories, but when they’re massively inconvenient to get a hold of, and can’t come with me then I’ll go for a story that’s more easily accessible.
I do think as ebooks and reader technology gets better and more affordable they’ll have more appeal, but don’t think we’ll ever completely say buh bye to our beloved books.
~J
Because my husband’s voice carries, I know that I am getting a Kindle for Christmas. I assume that I’ll like it, because everyone else says they do. I typically haul around several books, for research or “just in case” I get bored, so I look forward to being able to cart them around more easily, and to clearing out some shelf space. Still, I don’t think I’ll ever give up the regular book. First of all, there’s the whole bookstore experience. I like the fact that I can order a book on the Kindle from pretty much anywhere–but it’s not going to be as relaxing as browsing through a brick-and-mortar store, plus, there’s no coffee smell (and since I don’t actually like coffee, I’m not going to brew any just to order an e-book!). Plus, when it comes to non-fiction, I live to highlight and write comments. I can touch the text in that way, and it helps me to remember what I read. For some reason, it’s just not the same on a computer. So I’ll always shell out for paper nf books. And then there’s the whole tub thing. I will not be able to take a computer into the tub.
That being said, I don’t think I’d print a book out–that’s really too expensive. And having worked for several years at an academic press doing electronic transcription and layout for an editing project that was making the transition from print to e-form, I have to say that people underestimate the time, effort and manpower it takes to put a book into electronic format, so I don’t expect e-books to ever be as cheap as we might like them to be.
I’ve never read an ebook and I think I’m missing out. There’s a lot of great-looking stuff out there. I love the idea of going paperless, and being able to have an unlimited amount of books with me anywhere I go. (No more taking a battered copy of Gone With the Wind on vacation!)
So I like the theory…I just haven’t taken the leap. Cost and ever-changing technology are my issues. What if I buy the newest thing, and it becomes obsolete?
As far as “story” goes, I wouldn’t pay for that. And I’m an author! Printed pages from a computer don’t fulfill my reader needs: escape, ease of use, low cost.
My books are available in a variety of ebook formats and are also in print. But long before that, I read books online (Project Gutenburg, anyone) via my computer. I agree with all of the above comments that mentioned the price of ebook readers — with the portablility and affordability of music players, I suspect it’s only a matter of time before the ebook readers follow suit. Heck, I’m betting the ebook reader will ALSO be your music player before too long!
As to the publishers who are selling ebooks and print book for the same price??? Hello??? The overhead for ebook is MUCH less than for print. To charge the same money for both is just plain greedy. And I’m willing to bet it ain’t the author who’s getting the bigger piece of that pie!
Buy ebooks, though — they’re good for the planet!
Good topic, Lori!
I don’t have a e-book reader, but I enjoy reading e-books, PDFs and other formats that can be read on my laptop (MS reader among others). I love the fact that I can read a book, and just highlight a word I don’t understand, and get an explanation or google something I want to know more about. With a print book I would have to carry a dictionary with me, which is just plain awkward.
Printing an e-book? Not for me, I rather carry my laptop with me and read on that. But I agree with many, that the technology for e-books still requires something, and lacks properties print books have.
As for your question, I would pay authors the 5 bucks that is my roof, for now, for an e-book. That is what I’m willing to pay for the story.
I know which publisher Bernadette is talking about–I had exactly the same problems and exactly the same reaction. I’d lost patience at the end to the point where I couldn’t be bothered to read the book.
Which goes to another aspect of how much I am willing to pay for story. Printing out a PDF book just isn’t practical. That would mean I’d either have to have a paper cutter and cut the pages, then bind them somehow, making a little book myself, or I’d have to carry an 8.5 x 11 sheaf of paper around. How am I going to read that in the bath? At the beach? On the subway?
I am willing to pay MORE for the story if I can access the story everywhere I want to access it, and I think that’s a fair trade. Because just having the story in my possession doesn’t mean I can actually read it. Look at the way Harlequin packages the stuff on their site (not the stuff available for Kindle). It’s so bound up with DRM it’s virtually impossible to read. Why would I pay for that?
I am waiting for Kindle 2.0. (I reviewed Kindle 1.0 on our blog–it was 95% good, but the 5% that was annoying was SO annoying to me that I couldn’t cope with it at all.) If it looks good, and the reviews say it will be, I hope to get one for my birthday. One of the nice things about the Kindle is the ability to read the first chapter of ANYTHING before you buy it.
At that point, I don’t think the price would have to drop all that much in the paperback realm. If I had an ebook reader and could buy–DRM-free, so that I could read it wherever I wanted to, printing it if need be–whatever books would normally be released in MMPB or trade paper, I’d probably pay $5-$7 each for them.
But here’s the thing. I LIKE books. I like the whole experience of books. I have a book-as-precious-object fetish. I think it’s much more likely that what you will see in the future are versions of the Book Expresso machine rather than the complete elimination of the book itself.
But maybe I’m dreaming.
I’m almost totally converted over to eBook,
so much so
that I get irritated when I’m given print books
by authors I don’t know.
If I want a new author,
I’ll pick one in eBook format.
And I only read PDF.
So yeah,
format matters to me.
BTW…
I think eBooks are the future
but I don’t think eBook READERS are the future.
A one-function device makes no sense.
I spend most of my day at the computer–writing and writing-related stuff (e-mail, research, writing blogs, etc.). I don’t want to spend my down time chained to the computer reading for pleasure.
I have the same reaction to most of those who’ve commented above: I like the feel of a book. To hold a book. To glance back at a passage I enjoyed (which I know how to find based on where it was in the physical book–can’t do that with an ebook), to anticipate how much I have left to read.
Perhaps more importantly, I find that I skim things I read online. Even when I’ve downloaded short stories to read on my Palm, I’ve read them quickly. I don’t have the same in-depth experience I do with a book. I tend to download free books and then never read them…
And that’s another aspect. So much information is free via the Internet, that a lot of readers don’t see the value in spending money for something that isn’t tangible.
I’ve not yet played with a Kindle, but I’m curious. It could change my mind. Then again, it might not. I’m open to try, though!
I’m waiting and waiting for book readers to either come down in price, like most hardware does after being around a few years, OR for readers to do more than just read books (mp3 music and spoken boks, phone, todo lists, calendar, ect…) to justify the high price.
Once prices come down, or readers do more than just read books, I’d love to convert to just digital, if it was in PDF. A lot of books only have a few pictures because of the cost of printing them — PDF books could have more pictures.
I don’t need to hold my story, but I don’t want to be anchored to my desk either. They’re just charging too much right now. Maybe after this Christmas prices might come down, especially with the economy.
As uncomfortable as sitting at my computer reading PDF’s may be, I would still do it should all the bookstores close up and the computer become the only means of obtaining the the stories I love. Yes I have a Sony Digital Book Reader, but unlike most folks who own them I hate mine. The text is entirely too small and I often find myself using a magnifying glass just to read the fraking screen. Inconvenient as being attached to my desktop may be, I still prefer using it to read ebooks over that $300+ electronic nightmare. Does that mean I’m giving up e-books? Heck no!
Interesting topic. I don’t have a reader (heck, I don’t even have a cell phone yet!) but I think eventually the technology will improve and spread, just like cell phones and iPods, and then we’ll laugh about even having this conversation
As for how much story is worth… Wow, that’s way deeper. Humans need story, no doubt, but if you consider oral history, folklore, bedtime stories, etc., it’s only relatively recently that people started paying for story. And now with blogging, a 24-7-365 news cycle, etc., you might say people can get their story fix for free again.
I think there’s a reason why the mythological storyteller has always been a wiry dude traveling the wilds to earn his bread & ale. We don’t call them “starving artists” for nothing
My experience has pretty much echoed Bernadette’s thus far–and I’ve tried two different publishers. I tend to be fairly forward-thinking, electronically speaking: I teach college courses online and carry a Blackberry, so I’m hardly resistant to the technology.
Like Dayle, however, I spend all day on the computer grading papers, dealing with e-mails, etc. When I’m ready to relax with a good book, I enjoy the transition to a real book–it’s both physical and psychological in that respect.
I’m afraid, too, that spending a decade grading papers online has ruined me for reading PDF versions of books–I can’t seem to stop evaluating grammar, sentence structure, etc. And PRINT it? Who can afford that??? Nope. For now, I’ll pick up what peaks my interest at the local bookstore or department store, pour a glass of wine, and settle down in front of the fire with an old fashioned ink-and-paper book.
I’m willing to pay twice as much for the experience…
I just wrote a paper about the impact of Epublishing on the publishing industry for my Introduction to Book Publishing class so I’m finding it hard to synthesize my response into a few paragraphs when I just spent 10 pages discussing it. I don’t think that Ebooks are ever going to replace the book (as package) completely, specifically for everyone’s aforementioned reasons. (Also, might I add, you can’t take an Ereader into the bathtub.) However, I do think they can be another market option, because, as in the case of Kimber Chin, some readers love reading electronically. As far as Harlequin, I’m somewhat surprised they don’t offer books Print-On-Demand (POD) as well as in Ebook format after they’re technically “out of print.” The great thing about POD is that a book need never really go out of print. (Although even POD has it’s limitations with things like art books still too expensive to print in that format.)
I think what will likely happen in the industry is that print books will go the way of collectables. If people know and love the book, they’ll buy it in print for either the sentimental value or the special packaging. Booksellers and publishers are already wising up to better, more catchy packaging. Ebooks will likely be read more frequently not just for the purpose of reading the whole book (because some people will never want that option), but also to sample the book to see if they want a physical copy. I’d also predict that POD will be used more as books go “out of print” (in that there won’t be any more offset printing press runs), so that people who DO want the physical copy of the book can still buy it in more than just electronic form.
Oh, and to answer, I’ll pay plenty for a good story, especially if it’s an author I trust. But I also have little time and unless it’s super convenient to download the ebook (and currently it’s not for me), I doubt I’ll be spending on ebooks any time soon.
Great question! I read a ton of ebooks, but on multipurpose devices (a PDA and a small laptop). I’d never print a book out. As someone else said, it’s too much paper, and too hard to read that way.
I personally think the publishing industry is doing its best — probably unintentionally — to kill the ebook market, through terrible pricing practices and restrictive use of DRM. For example, here are at least two publishers now (St. Martin’s & Harper-Collins) who charge almost twice as much for the ebook version as they do for the paperback version. Who’s paying that? I usually won’t even buy the full paperback price for an ebook. (I belong to Fictionwise’s members’ club so get my ebooks discounted. I only buy at full price when they don’t have something I really, really want.)
DRM just prevents the average, non-tech-savvy reader from having an easy downloading experience, so is one major factor in keeping ebooks from reaching mass market status. It doesn’t stop anyone who wants to get around it, for whatever purpose.
By the way, it IS possible to read ebooks in the tub!
I just put my PDA in a ziploc baggie.
I want a Kindle, but at its current price I’m not buying it. The way I see it, Azn should be making it much cheaper because the real money will be when I continually buy books for it. Like the razor being cheap or free and the refills being so damn expensive.
I buy occasional books in PDF to read on the computer–mostly stuff that I want to read but don’t expect that I’ll want to read again and again. But it’s a real pain; it’s not portable, I can’t get cozy (I tried curling up with a blanket and tea at my computer, not so comfy…).
When an ebook device is affordable I’ll buy one and begin purchasing many, many books for it, and hopefully, downloading from my library for their allowed borrowing time, too. Until the costs are under $100 (preferably under $50) for the device, I’m not doing it.
So I did the trip to the bookstore yesterday to buy Christmas pressies, and it reaffirms for me that I lurve books. I love the process of wandering the stacks looking for a new author and carrying a big old stack of books in hand. Yeah, the Kindle will prolly find it’s way into my home when it’s about 250 bucks cheaper, but it’s not a replacement for the real thing.
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As far as how much I’ll pay for a story:
I’ve paid as much as $27 for a hardcover fiction book and as little as $2.99 for an ebook novella.
My preferred price for ebook fiction is under $5. My preferred price for a mass market paperback is under $6. My preferred price for a trade paperback novel is under $15. I’ve stopped buying hardcovers (except as gifts) and borrow them from the library if I can’t wait for the paperback.