[Web4lib] eBooks

Mon Mar 7 16:51:39 EST 2011

Publishers have traditionally covered editing, layout, cover art,
marketing, advertising, and getting books placed in the big chains (B&N,
Borders, Wal-Mart, drugstores, etc.).  The latter function doesn't apply
to the ebook world, though, and many authors are able to do everything
else except for the cover art and editing.  The other things aren't hard
to learn and don't take an inordinate amount of time.  

Some have had great success finding artists through DeviantArt.  Some
artists on there - particularly those in Eastern Europe - can produce
excellent covers for very little money.  

Everyone knows about the drawbacks of ebooks.  There are some pretty
substantial benefits these days, though:

- Authors who put their ebooks on Amazon get to keep 70% of the profit,
and can list them for free.  Traditional publishers only offer a
fraction of that.

- Ebooks don't have to go in and out of print.  Once they are made
available, they can continue to generate money from new sales on an
ongoing basis.

- Authors that own the e-publishing rights to their backlist titles can
sell them as ebooks and start earning money on them again.

- Prolific authors can put out books as quickly as they can write them.

- Readers are more likely to make impulse buys on low-cost ebooks than
higher cost ones.  In some cases, authors - even ones who are well
established in the print world - can make more money by selling
under-$3.00 ebooks than those which are priced higher, taking advantage
of the "impulse" buy.

There are a number of established print authors out there who have
converted their backlist titles to ebook format.  There are quite a few
who will sell print rights for their new books to traditional
publishers, but insist on retaining e-rights for themselves.  A few have
given up on print altogether and moved their fan base over to the ebook
world (J. A. Konrath is a good example of that).  Some put out both
ebook and print book versions through Amazon, without ever going to a
publisher for the print version.

There is really no upside to having a traditional publisher put out the
ebook version of a print book.  Years ago, most publishers quit putting
significant money into advertising midlist titles, so even that benefit
has more or less disappeared.  It is much easier (and free, if you do it
right) to advertise online extensively.  Print publishers are, for the
most part, clueless when it comes to how to effectively do that.

In addition, MacMillan and others have forced Amazon and other ebook
vendors to allow an "agency model" that allows the publisher to set the
final price, instead of an MSRP.  If the author handles his or her own
ebook publishing, the price of an individual item can rise and fall to
suit the immediate purchasing patterns of the market.  Each ebook has to
"find" it's own optimized price point.

Jesse Ephraim

Director, Roanoke Public Library
308 S. Walnut
Roanoke, Texas 76262
(817) 491-2691
jephraim at roanoketexas.com

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Robert Balliot
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 1:19 PM
To: Cary Gordon
Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] eBooks

Ultimately, it will really come down to the authors themselves. Kindle
allows self-publishing with 70% of the royalties going to the author in
the
US and the UK.  The publishing houses, just like the newspapers, had
cornered the market because they were able to invest big money in
delivery,
staffs, advertising, buildings and massive printing presses.   So, they
could offer 5% royalties or less and maybe an advance of $10K that might
have to be paid back in part if enough copies did not sell to cover it.

With electronic publishing, what can they really offer other than
advertising? Libraries offer free advertising - especially public
libraries
with over 9000 venues. Amazon offers better advertising for almost all
products.  There is even the possibility that Kindles will end up
becoming
free:

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2011/02/free_kindle_thi.php

These are big changes. Keymasters now equal Gatekeepers:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjP4FM6JDlk

R. Balliot
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com

On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 9:09 PM, Cary Gordon <listuser at chillco.com>
wrote:

> I think that it is pretty straightforward. Whatever you think that the
> print book business proposition was is irrelevant. For all other
> media, publishers are selling highly proscribed licenses to access
> their protected intellectual property, and they can sell them under
> any terms they like. The choice of whether to purchase a license under
> the terms offered is yours.
>
> Case in point: Amazon. Your Kindle, their "book".
>
> Libraries have limited bargaining clout, particularly when you
> consider the fractious nature of our industry and community. The only
> courses of action that I can see are: Throw ourselves on the
> publishers mercy, which for me conjures up an image of diving off a 50
> meter platform into a thimble; Convince the House, Senate and Supreme
> Court that we need legal protection; or organize enough that we can
> reach out directly to content creators with a viable plan for
> disintermediation.
>
> Cary
>
> On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 3:40 PM, Jim Knutson <tintin at exchangenet.net>
> wrote:
> > This ebook thing is interesting, creepy and eerie. Amazon can suck a
book
> off your Kindle (and refund you, too, I'm sure).
> >
> > This came to mind when I read at boingboing: HarperCollins to
libraries:
> we will nuke your ebooks after 26 checkouts.
> >
> > It's almost like they never really become the purchaser's property.
> >
> > RE:
> >
> > From: "Anders Ericson" <anders.ericson at norskbibliotekforening.no>
> > To: "Jim Knutson" <tintin at exchangenet.net>
> > Cc: "Jill O'Neill" <jilloneill at nfais.org>; <web4lib at webjunction.org>
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 2:35 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Web4lib] eBooks
> >
> > Cory Doctorow, himself, urges us to take action:
> >
> > http://boingboing.net/2011/02/25/harpercollins-to-lib.html
> >
> >
> > Anders Ericson
> > Norway
> >
> >
> > 2011/2/25 Jim Knutson <tintin at exchangenet.net>:
> >> Interesting.
> >>
> >> This came in on another listserv:
> >>
> >> Attention Oregon Libraries:
> >> One major publisher, looking for more profits, has decided eBooks
> licensed
> >> to libraries will only be valid for 26 circulations. After that you
will
> >> have to buy it all over again!
> >>
> >> This is a very disconcerting development on the part of a greedy
> publisher.
> >> Libraries must unite in opposition to this "checkout limit"
concept,
> even if
> >> it means boycotting publishers who institute it. It's the thin edge
of
> the
> >> wedge.
> >>
> >> More than a hundred years ago publishers had similar profit-driven
> concerns
> >> about the availability of books for free at libraries cutting into
> retail
> >> sales. We need to go back and rediscover how libraries overcame
that
> issue.
> >>
> >> According to Library Journal:
> >>
> >> "Josh Marwell, President, Sales for HarperCollins, told LJ that the
26
> >> circulation limit was arrived at after considering a number of
factors,
> >> including the average lifespan of a print book, and wear and tear
on
> >> circulating copies.
> >>
> >> As noted in the letter, the terms will not be specific to
OverDrive, and
> >> will likewise apply to "all eBook vendors or distributors offering
this
> >> publisher's titles for library lending." The new terms will not be
> >> retroactive, and will apply only to new titles. More details on the
new
> >> terms are set to be announced next week.
> >>
> >> If a lending period is two weeks, the 26 circulation limit is
likely to
> >> equal roughly one year of use for a popular title. For a three-week
> lending
> >> period, that stretches to a year and a half."
> >>
> >> I think I may write to Mr. Marwell (Josh.marwell at harpercollins.com)
and
> >> inform him that, effective immediately, our library will not buy
any
> title
> >> from any HarperCollins imprint in any format (print, audio
recording, or
> >> electronic) as long as his new policy remains in effect. I will
inform
> >> patrons seeking HarperCollins titles of the reason we do not have
them.
> >> Because many lower-demand titles are profitable primarily through
> library
> >> sales (poetry and reference books come to mind) this action, if
taken by
> a
> >> few thousand libraries, would certainly get Mr. Maxwell to
reconsider.
> >>
> >> Who's with me on this?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Bob Jones, MA, MSLS, CAS
> >>
> >> Library Director
> >>
> >> Milton-Freewater Public Library
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> From: "Jill O'Neill" <jilloneill at nfais.org>
> >> To: <web4lib at webjunction.org>
> >> Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 12:19 PM
> >> Subject: [Web4lib] NFAIS Webinar on eBooks
> >>
> >>
> >>> NFAIS Webinar: e-Books and the Future of University Presses: Key
> Findings
> >>> from a Three-Year Study
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> There is a tremendous drive in the academic library environment to
> reshape
> >>> content and service models to deploy technologies in ways that
more
> >>> effectively and efficiently serve the user at the point of
information
> >>> need.
> >>> One of the hottest topics for libraries in this regard is e-books.
This
> is
> >>> also an area of rapid development across the publishing industry -
with
> >>> activity to standardize file formats, a proliferation of dedicated
> >>> devices,
> >>> and the transformation of purchasing and copyright practices
originally
> >>> developed for print books. For libraries, there are associated
issues
> in
> >>> terms of both constrained purchasing budgets and the expanding
> popularity
> >>> of
> >>> patron driven selection. Recent key library events such as the ARL
> >>> Membership meeting, Charleston Conference, and the ALA Midwinter
> Meeting
> >>> highlighted the issues and interest seems to grow daily.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Publishers in a university press environment also face these new
> >>> challenges.
> >>> At a time when print sales are declining, how should e-books be
> integrated
> >>> into production and distribution to demonstrate the ongoing value
of a
> >>> university press in support of academic research? Rising interest
in
> the
> >>> creation of cooperative branded consortia for purposes of
distributing
> >>> scholarly monographs is evident as several such initiatives that
have
> >>> emerged. (InsideHigherEd, New Models for University Presses,
November
> 22,
> >>> 2010, http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/22/presses.) The
> Andrew
> >>> Mellon Foundation has funded one such exploratory initiative
involving,
> >>> among others, NYU Press, Temple University Press, Rutgers
University
> >>> Press,
> >>> the University of Nebraska Press, and the University of
Pennsylvania
> >>> Press.
> >>> The 60 presses that are joining the University Press eBook
Consortium
> >>> (UPeC)
> >>> are focused on satisfying the needs of the scholarly community as
they
> >>> move
> >>> forward in selecting a platform and planning their collections.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> This webinar will address key findings from the three year effort,
> >>> including
> >>> the following:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> . Strategic vision
> >>>
> >>> . Academic library budget developments
> >>>
> >>> . Research about library eBook adoption
> >>>
> >>> . Patron Driven Selection
> >>>
> >>> . Current trends
> >>>
> >>> . New and evolving standards
> >>>
> >>> . Academic publishing in trends
> >>>
> >>> . Exploring technology driven efficiencies in workflow and
> >>> production
> >>>
> >>> . Determining core competencies: what stays in-house
> >>>
> >>> . Expanding service partner options
> >>>
> >>> . Service level agreements
> >>>
> >>> . New business models
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Featured experts are October Ivins, Principal, Ivins eContent
> Solutions,
> >>> and
> >>> Alex Holzman, Director, Temple University Press.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> If you want to learn more about the results of this three-year
> initiative
> >>> register for the NFAIS webinar today. NFAIS members pay $75 and
> >>> non-members
> >>> pay $95. An unlimited number of staff from an NFAIS member
organization
> >>> can
> >>> participate for a group fee of $225. The group fee for an
unlimited
> number
> >>> of staff from any non-member organization is $285. The
registration
> form
> >>> is
> >>> can be accessed at:
> >>> http://www.nfais.org/page/323-e-books-march-23-2011-webinar
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> For more information contact: Jill O'Neill, NFAIS Director,
> Communication
> >>> and Planning, 215-893-1561 (phone); 215-893-1564 (fax);
> >>> mailto:jilloneill at nfais.org or go to http://www.nfais.org
> >>> <http://www.nfais.org/> .
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> NFAIS: Serving the Global Information Community
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Jill O'Neill
> >>>
> >>> Director, Planning & Communication
> >>>
> >>> NFAIS
> >>>
> >>> (v) 215-893-1561
> >>>
> >>> (email) jilloneill at nfais.org
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Web4lib mailing list
> >> Web4lib at webjunction.org
> >> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Hilsen
> > Anders Ericson
> > Nett-red. Norsk Bibliotekforening
> > http://www.norskbibliotekforening.no
> > +4797775170
> > _______________________________________________
> > Web4lib mailing list
> > Web4lib at webjunction.org
> > http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Cary Gordon
> The Cherry Hill Company
> http://chillco.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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