tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post6315390751195414643..comments2023-11-02T07:13:53.064-07:00Comments on Beervana: A Catastrophe for Publishing--and Ultimately, Writers and ReadersJeff Alworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02930119177544342495noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-13759759612961731302012-04-19T10:56:02.349-07:002012-04-19T10:56:02.349-07:00The more I read about this, the more I think that ...The more I read about this, the more I think that there's more than enough blame to go around. The big publishers really shot themselves in the foot. Amazon went along with it because it allowed them to capture the market and are now pushing towards monopoly heights, at which point they'll really start throwing their weight around, which won't be good for anyone (publishers, authorsMarkhttp://beer.kaedrin.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-16909098236743193632012-04-14T21:16:50.878-07:002012-04-14T21:16:50.878-07:00What you say is absolutely true. Books created via...What you say is absolutely true. Books created via a set of professional processes are a lot better than what you or I can produce on our own. Same goes for record albums...they were better when they we produced by pros. The record labels were arrogant and reckless and their power was undermined because they charged too much for their product, which encouraged piracy. And piracy has killed them.<Pete Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17456380762400522665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-83986948534618536592012-04-14T21:15:01.425-07:002012-04-14T21:15:01.425-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Pete Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17456380762400522665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-90248778323959669922012-04-13T09:57:27.036-07:002012-04-13T09:57:27.036-07:00Jeff,
That's an interesting point that it'...Jeff,<br /><br />That's an interesting point that it's the kindle format that is at fault for the layout issues. I never thought about it but it's not terribly surprising considering only one company updates that code base versus everyone being able to update epub. I'm not sure that excuses the piss poor text errors in a lot of them but it would excuse some layout issues if the Rich Isaacshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05356872043234492112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-60523400489086187262012-04-13T09:10:08.399-07:002012-04-13T09:10:08.399-07:00Joe,
It's very difficult to defend the major ...Joe,<br /><br />It's very difficult to defend the major publishers, who have abandoned good business practice in favor of the movie model of chasing rainmakers. (In the past, they nurtured authors, made modest profits on a large stable of writers, and earned a substantial part of their money from backlist titles. When corporations got involved, they started trolling for Hunger Games and Jeff Alworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02930119177544342495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-11562773738696121992012-04-13T09:04:24.123-07:002012-04-13T09:04:24.123-07:00Rich, I'm not a huge defender of the agency mo...Rich, I'm not a huge defender of the agency model per se--but Amazon's control of the market creates an interesting challenge. It's clear their business model is designed around selling books as cheaply as possible and taking razor-thin margins. I am definitely opposed to that: writer royalties are affected by bargain-bin pricing, so this has bad downstream effects. <br /><br />Jeff Alworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02930119177544342495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-86790867438674759342012-04-13T08:28:03.328-07:002012-04-13T08:28:03.328-07:00I'm a professional writer as well and I also l...I'm a professional writer as well and I also like to get paid. A lot.<br /><br />But I'm also an avid reader, and let's be honest: ebooks are far too expensive, and that's not going to change until publishers change the way they do business. Some publishers are catching on, but the big ones that still make their money from $30 hardcovers written by famous authors are going to be Joe Stangehttp://www.thirstypilgrim.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-72909792362827065002012-04-13T07:27:45.262-07:002012-04-13T07:27:45.262-07:00The interesting issue is that the whole complaint ...The interesting issue is that the whole complaint almost always revolves around ebooks. Do you have an issue with prices around regular books?<br /><br />My biggest problem with the "agency model" is publishers are notorious about not lowering their ebook prices properly. Too many times I've seen "Paperback: $6.99" but "ebook: $12.99" because they haven't Rich Isaacshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05356872043234492112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-27999555125686864912012-04-12T21:38:21.719-07:002012-04-12T21:38:21.719-07:00And the problem with Apple is also a different one...And the problem with Apple is also a different one, as reported <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warning-apple-can-hold-your-work-hostage-if-you-sell-through-ibooks-2012-1" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />All in all, I think self-publishing is a very good thing, for authors, readers and publishers, but I agree that the supermarket chain strategies of Amazon, etc. are far from possitive.PivnĂ Filosofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17883511608403454943noreply@blogger.com