Electronic Publishing for Short Stories

[Simon Haynes]

If you publish the printed version in Australia or the UK and sell an ebook at the same time - which would be available worldwide, given the nature of the internet - you might be jeopardising any chance of selling that book to the US market.

If you live in the US, and the UK and Australia are secondary markets, then it would be less important not to have made it available to people in those countries as an ebook beforehand.

 

[Steve Jordan]

I know very well that the traditional publishing industry is scared to death of e-books, to the point of actively discouraging them with high prices, ripoff contracts and draconian DRM systems.

So, I guess if you are adamant about getting published by a print publisher, you shouldn't rile them tomorrow by selling an e-book to the worldwide market today. Stay with the herd. Nobody likes a maverick, right?

Neigh.

 

[Simon Haynes]

Given I'm actively involved in selling PDF versions of an SF magazine which was print-only for 22 issues, I don't see myself as running with the herd. I was one of the most vocal supporters of an electronic edition, precisely so that our authors could reach a wider market. (The magazine is Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, by the way.)

We still have trouble convincing some of our authors to appear in the PDF, usually one or two of them per issue. The reason stated? They want a chance to sell the same story to other markets.

(Since we buy first Australian print rights, they can still sell that piece to the US and UK. However, we also ask for worldwide electronic rights, and that's the stumbling block.)

A short story might represent several days work, or perhaps a week or two. If you sell all the rights it's not a huge deal, especially if you're writing stories regularly.

However, a novel can take years to write and polish. You can't write 20-30 of them a year, so it's important to place each one carefully and not use up rights you might want to sell in future.

 

[Susan Boulton]

I know very well that the traditional publishing industry is scared to death of e-books, to the point of actively discouraging them with high prices, ripoff contracts and draconian DRM systems.

Just curious, where did you hear this?

 

[the_faery_queen]

i've heard this too. someone told me that some big print companies really hate small print, ebook included i guess, and do their best to mess them up. not sure how true it is *shrug*

i think that ebook and print book, if you're struggling to make a name for yourself, are both valid options. if you want to be a writer, if you want to make a living out of it, then sell it in whatever fashion you can, and promote it as best as you can. if you make enough of a storm, a big publisher will still accept you, even if the book has been out in ebook form in the states. they won't turn down something that looks like it can make them cash (look at eragon )

 

[Steve Jordan]

It's no secret that publishers fear the loss of income from easily-copied digital texts. They see what's been happening in the music industry, and they are afraid of losing their shirts as every copy of their books are pirated from under their nose.

In response, they apply DRM systems so stringent that, if you damage or lose the device you read your books on, you might have to buy the e-books again to read them on another device (even if you still have the book file). Or, if the company that sold you the e-book goes under, or if you lose or change the credit card used to purchase the book, you will not be able to obtain the codes required to transfer that book to another device. DRM of this sort serves to scare customers off, keeping e-book sales low even among people who have the hardware to buy and read them.

Their other tack is to charge the same amount for an e-book as its hardback counterpart, which infuriates e-book consumers. After all, e-books do not carry the same physical costs of a hardback (no printing, storage, handling, or transportation/distribution), so why should they cost the same? Even the cost of a paperback, or a used book, seems higher than an e-book should be.

Finally, availability of e-books is across the board (not always available in the desired format, often not available as e-book at all), further discouraging readers when seeking a new book in digital format.

These are the actions and tactics of an industry that does not see the value and marketability of the e-book format, and reacts in knee-jerk fashion to a perceived threat. These major publishers could potentially lose the market to newer companies and risk-takers ready to try a new business model. If they are not careful, they could find themselves selling horseshoes as the automobile rolls by.

 

[Simon Haynes]

If they started selling ebook versions of major bestsellers for US$2-$3 they'd go like crazy, especially with the new Sony e-ink Reader. Even if you might possibly have to buy the book again in the future, for that price who cares?

I think one of the sticking points is that publishers can't afford to annoy the wholesale trade. Bookstores are not going to be happy if the same books are available digitally for 1/5 the price of the copies on their shelves.


Finally, many publishers have agreements with distributors which prevent publishers selling direct to the public (and that includes setting up a subsidiary to sell books.) I'm guessing ebooks are an uneasy stand-off where those agreements are concerned.

 

[Steve Jordan]

It's true, standard contracts between bookstores and publishers tend to hold e-books at arm's length. I expect that this will change over time, as pressure from e-book consumers encourages bookstores to try other sales strategies that include e-books... or as publishers responding to consumers force bookstores to work out an e-book sales strategy.

If neither side wants to do this, they will probably be forced by outside competition, as popular authors or online e-book stores adopt e-book strategies. Some are already experimenting with e-books (with mixed success so far).

But I think that eventually, publishers and bookstores will see the light, and realize that e-books allow them to stock many more books, instantly available, never out of stock. They can offer incentives for buying print books, like special packaging/covers, or limited editions, to justify the extra cost for print over e-books. They can consider e-books "loss leaders" for more expensive hardbacks and table books.

And if, as you say, e-books a fifth the cost of a print book "go like crazy," they will still be making good money, especially off of books that need virtually no expenditures for storage or shelf space.

 

[BookStop]

Tons of books are already available in ebook format, but don't seem to be flying off their virtual shelves or anything. Look at amazon.com - they have over 1 million edocs available from 50c to $3. FIctionwise is another great resource for ebooks at an affordable price, but I don't think they are puling millions of dollars or anything. I don't think folks will ever get used to reading longer works on ereaders - it's a strain for the eyes.

Now short stories, sure. I read short stories all the time in eformat simply because they are, generally, free. Free is awesome, and sometimes it's all my short attention sp...ooo, look, shiny

 

[Simon Haynes]

The point with e-ink is that it's (supposed to be) no different to reading off printed pages. I'll be keeping an eye on the Sony device for sure.

If you had an ebook device which worked like a paperback, and novels were $2 each instead of $20 (Aussie dollar prices) it'd be quite something. Publishers could also bundle a new horror writer's first book with the latest S King novel, for example, which would help to get new people started. Or they could give away book one in a series completely free, hooking people into the rest.

Actually, if ebooks came out 12 months or so after the paperback, which itself comes out a year after the hardback, it'd probably work. Most books aren't in the shops for 2 years and it'd give the publisher another market to sell the same book to.

 

[Susan Boulton]

This might sound silly, but, with ebooks I would have to carry around another electronic gizmo to add to the moblie phone, ipod, palm pilot etc... Or worse, one device which does all! Which would make me a bigger target for the yobs while sitting on a bench in the park at lunch time. Least with a crinkled paperback I can read when and where I want, even abandon it on the back seat of my car without the fear of someone one trying to steal it.

 

[Simon Haynes]

Just read an interesting take on e-pub from an agent. I'll try a link since I've posted 15+ times now: Pubrants

 

[Steve Jordan]

This might sound silly, but, with ebooks I would have to carry around another electronic gizmo to add to the moblie phone, ipod, palm pilot etc...

Actually, Palm Pilots and many mobile phones (mainly smartphones) can read e-books. There are unformatted PDB e-books that can be read on your Palm Pilot. I read mine on my handheld computer, and Win-based Toshiba.

I know, for a lot of people it seems a stretch reading on such a small screen. I had no trouble getting used to it... then I freak when I see someone reading an e-book on a cellphone screen! As with many things, you can get used to it if you want to...