I do understand why Amazon is upset, and I honestly think that if the $15 price point proves too high, it will be reduced. At the same time, I understand why the publishers felt the need to have the option. So many people get angry (and some strike out at authors in their anger) when they can't have The Hot New Hardcover in an electronic format the day it's published that something had to be done—and if that "something" is pricing it like a paperback, you've just killed your hardcover sales.
I'm glad to be a paperback author, and to have paperback pricing. But if I can ever sustain a career as a hardback author, and make more money, thus allowing me to spend more time writing, I'm going to want those hardbacks to sell. Saying "You can pay $25 for a paperback or $7 for an electronic version" makes that impossible, because no one will buy the hardback.
Now, maybe this heralds the eventual death of the mass-produced hardback book. I don't know. But with the current hardback/paperback structure and price points, the $15 is the start of finding a position that makes sense, and lets the lights stay on.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-02-12 07:18 pm (UTC)I'm glad to be a paperback author, and to have paperback pricing. But if I can ever sustain a career as a hardback author, and make more money, thus allowing me to spend more time writing, I'm going to want those hardbacks to sell. Saying "You can pay $25 for a paperback or $7 for an electronic version" makes that impossible, because no one will buy the hardback.
Now, maybe this heralds the eventual death of the mass-produced hardback book. I don't know. But with the current hardback/paperback structure and price points, the $15 is the start of finding a position that makes sense, and lets the lights stay on.