Comments on: Why Are Publishers So Backwards?

By: PublishingGuide

PublishingGuide — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:24:51 +0000

Returns aren’t actually as bad an idea as they seem, in my opinion. I’ll amplify on that in a post very soon.

By: Lucas Murtinho

Lucas Murtinho — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:41:30 +0000

Returns! I know it’s meant to do good, allowing bookstores to keep in their shelves books they’ll have a tough time selling. But in practice it wastes everyone’s time and money. The idea still holds if we’re talking about obscure books, but I really don’t see the point in giving booksellers the right to return the latest Stephen King, for example.

By: PublishingGuide

PublishingGuide — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:23:22 +0000

I agree that ebooks need to be supported in those sorts of ways, if they’re done at all.

I also agree that DRM is probably counter-productive on fiction and most light non-fiction. More expensive titles (made so by the costs of production and the limited market) such as reference, specialist professional books and such, probably benefit in the end from DRM. And titles that folks may want a small amount of information from, such as cookbooks or travel guides, probably not only shouldn’t be released without DRM, they also shouldn’t be in programs such as Amazon’s Look Inside the Book, or Google’s Book Search.

As for e-book pricing, the techniques for pricing books, and the costs underlying the minimum acceptable price would be a great topic for future posts. Thanks for a great idea!

By: Preston

Preston — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:16:56 +0000

Supporting e-books in a methodical manner, such as actually releasing the first book in a trilogy as well as the second and third.

Don’t get me started on e-book pricing or DRM.