Published on February 17, 2010
Hi, Angela:
An article in SlashGear hits some of the high points of the situation concerning e-books vs. paper books and why the big publishers are doing what they are doing.
You might not know that I was a freelancer and managing editor of “Video Store” magazine for several years. This situation with the big publishers is very similar to the history of the sale and rental of movies on videotape. At first, the studios tried to prohibit rental of their movies on tape. The Supreme Court knocked that down with what came to be called the “First Sale Doctrine,” in which it was held that when someone bought something they could do anything they wanted with it (short of outright piracy). But…and it’s a big but…this First Sale Doctrine applied only to movies. Not to music or to books.
Then the movie studios held back the release of movies on tape (and on cable and network television) according to a standard formula. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but tapes were not released until six months or more after the movie hit the big screen.
This window shrank as time went on, however, as the studios found they were making more money from sales of videotapes to video rental stores than from the box office.
Will the same happen in the e-book area?
Charles
I address the ebook-sales-delay tactic being used by traditional publishers, as well as well as other points, in today’s article, EBOOK PRICE FIXING: Who Gets Hurt in the End?
Published on February 17, 2010
Success in life is often about timing. Being in the right place at the right time or filling a precise need can shift your life where you least expect.
My experience working as a correspondent for a daily newspaper is an example of that. I reaped exposure, a folder of clips, and learned much about pleasing numerous editors…
Published on February 10, 2010
We’ve been going out almost every night, checking out the local restaurants and shops, and doing more shopping than we should. We ate at a fabulous pizza place on Saturday night (we had plenty of leftovers!) and we ran a few errands after dinner. I had to go to the craft store to buy some batting for a project I was planning to make for our little nephew. I also found two large Styrofoam planes for the boys to play with on the beach. What a disaster those turned into…
Published on February 10, 2010
self-publishing
A year and a half ago, I published an article about hard core sales tactics being used by some POD publishers. Some of the sales reps at some POD publishers work on commission. Obviously, things haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve gotten worse.
Published on February 10, 2010
I agree with the author of that article. Many times I have had no idea what genre my writing falls under, and have been thinking that I write more along the lines of Soft Sci-fi as opposed to the earlier thought of fantasy / sci-fi. It won’t fit in pure fantasy nor pure hard sci-fi. When I sent a submission to TOR fantasy eight or nine years ago, the return letter read, “We feel it is not right for us at this time”.
Even today I still do not really know what they meant. But I had sent it through their fantasy department and, considering what I think of my writing now, it was a genre clash that was the problem.
George Hall
Published on February 10, 2010
I recently read an article that detailed how to make $30,000 annually by writing and maintaining a blog. Much of the article included abbreviations – like CPC and EPC, among others – that I still don’t understand after two years of blogging on my own website.
I’m not sure I want to understand what they mean. I got into blogging to write and market my work, not to be a corporate advertising portal. However, I do need to feed my family, and my chosen way to accomplish this necessary goal is to write for money. It turns out that you really can make money blogging.
Published on February 10, 2010
A new writer can hardly expect to be handed a more or less sure thing, told to put his mark on it, and end up in print. But, by putting myself in the way of an opportunity, that’s not a bad account of what happened to me.
Published on February 3, 2010
We were supposed to head back to DC on Friday but it turned bitterly cold and our nephew woke up with a very runny nose. I decided to spend the day getting caught up on work while Richard drove our tow vehicle to the gas station for a fill-up. While there, he noticed that a problem we’d had repaired right before we left had not really been repaired.
Published on February 3, 2010
This may be old news to you now but, just in case you missed it, Amazon had a showdown with Macmillan (one of the “Big 6” traditional publishers) over the weekend…and Macmillan appears to have won. Other large publishers are expected to follow suit.
Basically, Macmillan wants the right to set their own retail prices for ebooks, and to set their own sales terms to bookstores. In my opinion, this is how it should be. The publisher should be able to dictate the terms of sales of their books to bookstores. Bookstores, of course, can negotiate their own purchase terms with a publisher but no bookstore should be able to dictate how, or at what price, a publisher sells their books elsewhere.
You can read my comments on this situation in detail under Morris Rosenthal’s article HERE.
PublishersWeekly.com is posting frequent updates to this situation.
And, finally, don’t miss this article in Fast Company:
Amazon Revealed: It Hates You, and It Hates Publishers
UPDATE: Harper Collins is also now demanding better terms from Amazon. Click HERE to read comments by News Corp Chief Rupert Murdoch.
Published on February 3, 2010
Angela,
I’d like to thank you for being a good person and reasonable businesswoman. Even when I don’t have time to read your newsletter, just seeing it in my mailbox makes me feel better by reminding me that there are nice people in the world.
I’m writing the content of a website for a guy who has told me twice now that the check is in the mail. Can you believe he was surprised when I told him I was suspending work on his project until I received my check? In what Universe would a writer continue to send him material?
Thank you for letting me share.
M.
