Sep 01

“Muscular Debate” over eBook Pricing

Thanks to Jorgen for pointing us to this article at the Financial Times about the debate over eBook Pricing. Seems publishers are still blaming the greedy authors.

More hilarious quotes as publishers continue to sell us this theory that they’ve never really made much money anyway, and this $9.99 per eBook at Amazon (STILL WAY TOO MUCH to the CONSUMER! ) is just chiseling them into the ground. They always somehow neglect mentioning the important cost saving aspect of producing eBooks, as in there is no printing, shipping or storage to cover. Outside of paying the author his/her royalty (if he/she’s lucky, 8-15% of cover price) there is only some minimal cover design and layout cost, some advertising, and well, they’ve yet to explain where the rest of the money goes.

The truth is publishers have to evolve to suit the new market. There is still plenty of profit to be made, they just can’t make the same profit per item. eBooks are just far cheaper to produce than hardcover or paperback. GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK HEADS!

Aug 31

For eBook Readers and Writers

This article at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing leans toward eBook Writers and Publishers, but it’s got some excellent background for those of us with only a general knowledge of the new technologies and exploding eBook Marketplace.

There’s a focus on eBook format, too. Something that everyone who’s in the game as a reader or writer wants to settle out soon. The discussion is hurting Kindle (proprietary format), while it’s promoting interest in a more omnivorous machine. (Think Sony’s products or the rumored Apple Tablet.) We need format universality in eBook publishing so we can focus on getting the best out of the technology.

Aug 30

Google Books etc.

Sorry. Technical issues kept us out of the game for most of the day.

Here’s an interesting article at cnetnews to tide you over. Some in-depth specifics and background on the Google Books settlement.

I hope to be back in full swing tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.

Aug 29

Asustek to Launch Eee-Book Reader

This article will remind us that there are more ways to read an eBook than Kindle, Sony or Apple’s.

Netbook maker Asustek plans to launch its own eBook Reader under its Eee label. Asustek has been a big player in the netbook market so might prove to be a dark horse in the race. Keeps it interesting, yah?

Aug 28

An Aggressive move by Google!

It was a fight between eReaders by Sony and Amazon that Google Books is now going to turn into an outright mugging. Two weeks ago Sony adopted the open EPUB format for its eBooks and various eBook Readers. (Once it’s downloaded the eBook is yours to read on any device you want.)

Now Google Books is going to offer its million-plus eBooks in the EPUB format. Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times.

Amazon, can you say: Painted ourselves into a corner? It’s going to be hard for Amazon to respond with its locked, Kindle-only proprietary format. There’s only one thing they can do. Adopt EPUB or die!

Now this is getting exciting, yah?

Aug 27

Rumored Apple Tablet Responds to Sony’s Daily Edition

I knew this would happen. With Sony’s announcement of a new 3-G wireless eBook Reader (the Daily Edition) set for a Christmas release, the rumor mill started up about Apple’s Tablet. Read a story about how the fabled machine might measure up to the competition at Computerworld. Most of us are wondering whether the Tablet actually exists, and you can bet frontrunners Sony and Amazon are having some sleepless nights over it. I have a feeling we’ll soon find out.

So, we’re all here waiting. What’s it going to be then, Apple?

Aug 26

Sony Continues Punching, Amazon reels against the ropes!

Okay, Amazon, you better get this straight, if you can even make it back to your corner between rounds: Give your head a shake and come out fighting. Read the full report at PCWorld.

Sony is in this to win. Weeks after announcing two new eBook readers, the PRS-300 ($199) and PRS-600 ($299) Sony continues punching with the December release of the “Sony Daily Edition,” a 3G Wireless eBook Reader ($399) with a 7-inch screen that looks more-than-capable of going toe-to-toe with Amazon’s self-declared champion Kindle. More on the battle for eBook supremacy at Internetnews.com.

Without Kindle’s proprietary format, and free to purchase and read EPUB books anywhere, Sony’s machine (while pricey) is set to win the fight unless Kindle’s plan includes more than a lot of talk about being the best and biggest in the busy. They’re going to need some pretty fancy footwork too, yah?

Aug 25

iRex adds a wireless feature…

This story at ABC news has IREX Technologies getting into the wireless act. They announced Monday that its upcoming reader will give users access to the upgraded and fully functional Barnes & Noble Inc.’s eBook Store.

IREX has several eReaders out on the market and plans a 2009 launch for the wireless machine. This emulates frontrunner Amazon Kindle’s capability while offering an 8.1-inch touch screen.

Now I hope they copy Sony Reader’s adoption of the EPUB open document format for their eBooks, yah?

Aug 24

Much that has been said before…

In the out-of-the-gates-last department, Businesswire.com presents an article that could have been written months ago. Nothing new really, just the early stages of cogitation about the eBook Revolution, e-Paper’s impact on communications, etc. Presented to you as a recap, and for those who have not yet formed an opinion.

As I said, it’s kind of a reiteration, but it’s a slow news day, yah?

Apple Tablet, where are you?

Aug 23

Re-thinking the ISBN…

Ok, some publishers are arguing the new technologies are making the ISBN irrelevant. As the eBook revolution is making it affordable for publishers to dust off their backlists, those publishers are now looking at the old ISBN rules and crying foul. ISBN rules say you’ve got to have individual ISBN for all issues and re-issues of a book, as well as eBook or CD versions of the same product. (Let’s say a minimum of 2 ISBN per book and it adds up.)

A bit of checking around showed that  ISBN prefixes cost as much as $250 for a block of ten pre-numbered ISBN purchased from any of the 160 authorized ISBN agencies worldwide.  When publishers reissue products in multiple formats from a backlist of several thousand titles, they say it’s an extra cost that is unjustified because of modern technical advances in web search, store search engines and computer databases.

Read the full lowdown on ISBN from ISBN.ORG

What is the purpose of an ISBN?
The purpose of the ISBN is to establish and identify one title or edition of a title from one specific publisher and is unique to that edition, allowing for more efficient marketing of products by booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers and distributors.

What do I do when I receive the ISBN and where is it printed?
An ISBN should be assigned to each title or product, including any backlist or forthcoming titles. Each format or binding must have a separate ISBN (i.e. hardcover, paperbound, VHS video, laserdisc, e-book format, etc). A new ISBN is required for a revised edition. Once assigned, an ISBN can never be reused. An ISBN is printed on the lower portion of the back cover of a book above the bar code and on the copyright page.

Sounds like a nice little racket. I was okay until I read you have to assign a new ISBN for each revised edition. With today’s printing technology, e.g. Print-On-Demand and the adoption of the eBook (where, frankly, editions can be revised continuously) one’s options are considerably restrained by this necessity for reclassification. Having to acquire a new ISBN for each revised edition unnecessarily complicates a process that the ISBN should streamline, one would think and it seriously restricts the flexibilty that the new publishing technology offers. Yah!

What happened to the Dewey Decimal System?