One thing a lot of people argue over the costs of ebooks are the ebooks are cheaper to produce and shouldn’t cost as much.
To a point…I agree.
However, to a point, these people are very wrong.
Books, regardless of format, have to be:
- Acquired (editor combing thru the books to find the ones she/he feels will sell, contract offered, discussed, etc)
- Edited (basic edit-for the story)
- A second edit (depends on house, writer)
- Galley edits (final proof before it gets ready to be released)
None of this is free. People are involved in every step and those people have to be paid.
Aside from edits?
A successful title needs to be:
- Marketed
- Formatted (regardless of whether it’s in pritn or ebook)
- Interior ‘text design’
- Cover design (actual cover for some-a ‘text title’ page for others-those text titles pages are boring as hell, yes, but as hard as it is to believe, I do think it’s likely an extra cost)
Again, none of this is free. People are involved in every step, and those people need to be paid.
There might even be others costs. These are just the ones I know about. I know there’s an interior text designer from looking at the copyright page of my books, and if there’s a designer, there’s a fee to be paid. I know there’s a cover designer, because while I might thank my cover fairy, I know the covers don’t fall from the sky. The books have to be marketed, they have to be formatted. Print, ebook, it doesn’t matter. Somebody with more know-how on the industry could maybe tell me if there are other costs.
Right until the book is either made available in print or made available in eformat-the costs are the same. Edited to add: Shipping, storage, those costs aren’t on the publisher, they are on the bookseller, according this article.
Are ebooks cheaper after that point? In some ways, yes. You don’t have to ‘store’ them. Although there are formatting costs for the various ereader formats. Other costs are associated with the vendors, because those vendors also need to get paid. I’m not a fan of DRM-I don’t think it does jack to combat piracy but until publishers realize that, there are also the costs of DRM. (and please lets veer off into the talks and arguments of DRM-I do no LIKE DRM-I do not like it, Sam I am)
Aside from the costs, when that $9.99 (or whatever price) book is sold for on Amazon (or elsewhere), the cost of that book has to pay the vendor (the store), has to pay the publisher, and the publisher has to pay their employees and the author-authors aren’t employeed by pubs-we’re contracted, so it’s different, and they need to turn a profit. That’s not greed, I’m sorry, it’s just business. Are some businesses greedy? Oh, yes… and that’s where readers can come in and speak up and contact the publishers…repeatedly…and maybe make a difference. Charging the higher ebook price after the paperback’s been released? Absolutely greed and I see no point in it.
But, in and of itself, the need to turn a profit isn’t greed-it’s business. Turning a profit is what lets them stay in business, it’s what lets them contract new authors, and it’s what lets them continue to put books out.
If they don’t turn that profit, then they aren’t able to take as many risks on newer authors, or the authors who aren’t the mega sellers, which means the reader choices of Joe Reader go down…drastically.
Now please don’t jump on me…please. I don’t think ebooks should cost as much as print-I really don’t, and I think $15 might be excessive, although for some authors, I’d certainly pay it, especially if it was DRM-free and I could read it on whatever devide I chose. But I think there needs to be some sort of middle ground reached and unless the people who make the decisions can sit down and talk it out??? Will they??? Are they hearing us??? Who knows.
I don’t tend to buy in hardback much, but for those I like, for the ebook releases/bestsellers, I’d be willing to pay $12.99 for many, a few I’d go up $15.99. Now once the book is paperback? The price needs to go down. The industry is going through some changes right now, and competition coming onto the market isn’t a bad thing, but right now, things are rocky and that’s where this is coming from. I’d imagine the industry relies on the money from the big name bestsellers hardbacks to keep their profit margin and if I’m even close to right, if that takes a dip, as it probably has in this economy, then it makes everything shaky. More and more people are turning to ebooks, so likely, they aren’t seeing as much a profit from that aspect, either. Profits are down nearly everywhere.
I am not supporting anybody who demands higher costs for ebooks, but if there are concerns about whether the $9.99 bestseller price can support the industry…(and it seems there are questions), then I can understand those concerns.
It’s not always about greed. Turning a profit isn’t always about greed. If those publishers don’t turn a profit, they aren’t able to take chances are the lesser-known names, the unknown names. And that wouldn’t be good for any of us. I just hope a solution is found soon. One that benefits the retailers-without giving any one retailer a lock-one that benefits the publishers, and one that benefits the authors and the readers.
I’ve said it once, but I’ll say it again. Right now, the authors and the readers are getting screwed sideways. And not in a good way.