In an effort to lose hearts and insult fans, Stephen King’s publisher, Scribner is trying to blatantly manipulate his “constant readers” by withholding the release of the digital version of his new novel. The move is supposed to force sales of the hardcover version (and profits…). Oh, and here’s the dumbest part of their plan: the digital version will cost the same as the hardcover.
$35 for an eBook!Â
It’s surprising that King would be associated with this kind of outright banditry. After all, he’s been a driving force of eBooks since The Plant and unofficial spokes-scribe of Amazon’s Kindle with Ur. (I read Ur. An incredibly well written sales job, short on scares.)
Read the full story about King’s new 1,000-page-plus mega-work: Under the Dome at The Huffington Post. It’s just proof that fan loyalty and customer service are secondary considerations to quarterly profits.
Now for the backlash from fans and boost in eBook Piracy…
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[…] Many thanks to Jorgen who dropped off a couple of links, the first to a New York Times article that shows Simon & Schuster up to their old tricks delaying the release of eBook titles to force consumers to buy hard covers. The publisher makes the claim that eBook sales cannibalize hard cover sales. They are already trying this trick with Stephen King’s latest, Under the Dome. We commented on that here. […]