Publishers Move to Delay eBook Releases
Interesting development, reported in Publisher's Lunch today:
Big Publishers Move to Broad Delay of eBook Releases
With delayed publication dates the only real weapon in publishers' arsenals in fighting back against the $9.99 price point for high-profile new releases in ebook form, experimentation is getting ready to turn into policy in the year ahead. The WSJ reports that Simon & Schuster will delay ebook releases for about 35 "leading titles" early next year, and Hachette "has similar plans in the works." Meanwhile, we're aware of at least one other big six publisher contemplating the same kind of policy for the first quarter of next year.
S&S ceo Carolyn Reidy tells the Journal: "The right place for the e-book is after the hardcover but before the paperback. We believe some people will be disappointed. But with new [electronic] readers coming and sales booming, we need to do this now, before the installed base of e-book reading devices gets to a size where doing it would be impossible."
Hachette ceo David Young adds: "We're doing this to preserve our industry. I can't sit back and watch years of building authors sold off at bargain-basement prices. It's about the future of the business."
Comments:
This is a war that the publishers are going to lose. Eventually, they will need to adjust as the new 'reading' habit of the world shifts to quicker, faster, cheaper. There's a generation (including moi) who are computer readers - from sports pages, to news to blogs. Online and/or ebooks, Kindles, Sony e-Reader, etc., are just the vehicles people will use. Period.
And hey, hope all is glorious in Maui!
Still hoping to see you in March!
Denny
MERRY CHRISTMAS Rebecca!! Hope you are having a lovely day with your family.
I am afraid this is a bad move.
The industry needs to adapt to the new times and public, not viceversa. The ebooks are here to stay, and authors as well as readers must make the most of them.
I agree, this is a battle that will only hurt the publishers. Imagine if record labels delayed the digital release so they could sell more CD's.
This is funny to me. Fear never gets business anywhere. Control never does either. You've got to put out what people want. Someone eventually will give the public what they want and break this whole thing wide open.
Publishers must turn to the e-books, every book needs e-book i think
The ebooks are here to stay, and authors as well as readers must make the most of them.and ofcourse i can say that its very relevant and useful stuff.
i would like to thanks you and please keep it up , i would like to visit again.
thanks one sec
Infant Baby Bedding
I disagree with nearly all the comments above. This is no different to staggered film releases - first on the big screen, then on the small screen as a rental, and finally available to buy to the general public as a DVD. This is done to take advantage of the demand to see the film soon after original release which provides an opportunity to leverage the higher profitability of the earlier release channels. I don't see why book publishing should be any different. There is already the hardback then softback model and if digital copies are set to replace paper as the mass market version of books then I am a little surpised the digital versions are coming before the softback releases instead of afterwards.
On a lighter note, I guess the next stage will be to do something like a hardback and softback version of the digital releases where the 'hardback' has bigger print and better resolution than the 'softback', possibly with additional features. Give it a few years and they will even be selling limited edition "author's cut" rewrites with "an exclusive second preface and nearly 350 words of editorially cut content, lovingly restored by the original author including 3 previously unpublished internal dialogs!"
This is something that none of them could prevent. Actually there are even groups around the world who support eBooks than that of books itself because it's environment friendly and saves trees.
When is the publishing industry going to wake up to the digital era? Consumers love eBooks because they can get the information they want (virtually) instantly.
Controlling the release of eBooks 'after the hardcover but before the paperback' is not in the best interest of the consumer. The publisher that puts the consumer first will succeed in the 21st century, not those who perpetuate self-interest through restricting access to valuable content that the Author has worked hard to generate and the Consumer so desperately want to get their hands on.
The publishers' challenge, now, is to find ways of getting books and content to consumers in a format that they want, when they want it.
I'm still trying to understand the online industry, because in my country this is not too good
I agree, this is a battle that will only hurt the publishers..
I agree with that politic, the new releases are always in hard cover , the most profitable form to release books, after the paperbak,less prfitable.Digital publications will allow this rule, first hard cover, hight profits and after the other systems .Perhaps in the near future wen digital ebooks are a good market things could chane but,by now there is a minoritary market,anda hardcover books must be a preference
Very nice discussions!
Your blog is quite interesting!
Thanks!
The digital copies are set to replace paper. It will be useful for us!
Nice post. The internet has opened up a whole new world and changed the way we buy audio, video and books. Great to here how this is affecting publishers and what they are trying to do.
this is an excellent post, good for the knowledge, i really likes it.
regards.
hotelomania
Ebooks are the wave of the future. I am a published author, and sales for the ebook are catching up. People just love the convenience of instant downloads.
Post new comment