Comments on: Are E-Books The New Cheap Paperback Reprint Edition? http://ereads.com/2009/07/are-e-books-new-cheap-paperback-reprint.html Read the latest publishing news and provocative blogs by top commentators in the traditional and digital publishing fields. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:29:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Richard Curtis http://ereads.com/2009/07/are-e-books-new-cheap-paperback-reprint.html/comment-page-1#comment-106 Richard Curtis Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:13:14 +0000 http://ereadsdev.com/?p=677#comment-106 In this case it's not how much royalty the book generates but how many sold books count toward putting the book on the bestseller list. Sourcebooks wants the book to have every opportunity to make the list, but e-book sales don't count toward bestseller list tallies.<br />RC In this case it's not how much royalty the book generates but how many sold books count toward putting the book on the bestseller list. Sourcebooks wants the book to have every opportunity to make the list, but e-book sales don't count toward bestseller list tallies.
RC

]]> By: Aaron Pressman http://ereads.com/2009/07/are-e-books-new-cheap-paperback-reprint.html/comment-page-1#comment-105 Aaron Pressman Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:08:47 +0000 http://ereadsdev.com/?p=677#comment-105 Richard, <br /><br />I am really, really having trouble following this and that leaves me wondering if the publishers are being completely honest. <br /><br />When a new print hardcover comes out, publishers set the list price and collect a royalty from retailers that's some percentage, right? Then many retailer like B&N, Borders, Amazon etc sell the print book at a heavily discounted price. But they still pay the royalty that the publisher established off the cover list price.<br /><br />With Kindle ebooks, doesn't the exact same thing happen and for the exact same of amount of money? Amazon pays a royalty for Kindle books to major publishers on the same percentage of the print edition cover price as it pays on print hardcovers (that's why, as this NYT article mentions, Amazon loses money in many cases where its $9.99 Kindle price is less than the royalty that must be paid).<br /><br />I don't get it. And it seems ridiculous that the NYT article never mentions the heavy discounting of new print hardcovers. I've even seen new print books at Costco for even less than the Kindle edition. Richard,

I am really, really having trouble following this and that leaves me wondering if the publishers are being completely honest.

When a new print hardcover comes out, publishers set the list price and collect a royalty from retailers that's some percentage, right? Then many retailer like B&N, Borders, Amazon etc sell the print book at a heavily discounted price. But they still pay the royalty that the publisher established off the cover list price.

With Kindle ebooks, doesn't the exact same thing happen and for the exact same of amount of money? Amazon pays a royalty for Kindle books to major publishers on the same percentage of the print edition cover price as it pays on print hardcovers (that's why, as this NYT article mentions, Amazon loses money in many cases where its $9.99 Kindle price is less than the royalty that must be paid).

I don't get it. And it seems ridiculous that the NYT article never mentions the heavy discounting of new print hardcovers. I've even seen new print books at Costco for even less than the Kindle edition.

]]>