Great post by Seth Godin on the panicked print industry. I especially like this bit:
“It’s paper that makes the economics of the newspaper industry work (or not work). It’s paper that creates cost and slows things down and generates scarcity. And scarcity is what they sell.”
On the same day that the Kindle sells out, Amazon announces the next-generation Kindle. And it’s significantly improved from the previous version.
The new kindle is lighter, faster, and smaller, all while being able to hold more books than the older version–up to 3500. It weighs in at 8.7 ounces, and uses the same e-ink technology as the Kindle 2, which has better contrast and crisper fonts. And while it’s 21 percent smaller, it has the same 6 inch screen.
Oh, and the battery life is improved as well–Amazon claims you can run it for a month on a single charge.
Perhaps most surprising is the price. The wi-fi only Kindle is priced at $139 ($10 cheaper than the nook), while the 3G version is $189.
So I’m curious, does the lower price and increased specs make this tempting for anybody? The Open Author may put in his order tonight, unless of course The Open Wife finds out.
Publishers like to tell us they only have their author’s best interest in mind, but we know at the end of the day, they are a company, and have to make decisions to make sure they stay in business. We saw the same thing during the Napster era.
The RIAA likes to remind us that piracy only hurts the artists. If we download an mp3, we’re stealing food right out of the mouths of artists. But this isn’t entirely true. When you buy a CD most of the money goes to the ‘suits’, not the artists.
The same is true for authors. Authors average 5-25% for every book sold, so when you pirate a book, you’re doing more harm to the publishers, editors, bookstores, etc., than you are to the authors.
A little tiff over at Random House demonstrates a publisher making a decision that harms authors. Random House claims that all of their authors who signed contracts with them before e-books were around, still signed away their e-book rights. The digital rights were implied.
They’ve already lost one court case, but they’re still trying to keep this dangerous (for them) precedent from being set.
If you really want to support the artists, buy an e-book. Then the author is seeing up to 70% of the royalties. Chances are, they’ve also paid a good editor and cover artist so you’re indirectly supporting other people on the ‘front lines’ of the book publishing process.
Wonder why Amazon only dropped the price of their Kindle to $189? Why not $99 and really put the heat on Barnes & Noble and Apple?
Because they can’t keep it on the shelves even at the $189 price. Amazon reported that at this new price, sales of the Kindle have tripled, and now it’s officially sold out.
Some are speculating that a new version of Kindle will be released soon.
I’ve come across probably the best writeup of what Google Editions is, and how it will affect the e-book market. I think perhaps most interesting is how Google Editions is courting the independent bookseller to assist them in making their own digital store. From the article:
“But now the American Booksellers Association, the trade association for the independents, has contracted with Google to be an e-book supplier and infrastructure back office. So far, 225 of the ABA’s 1,400 members have signed on to the program, and more surely will over time. Each of these stores will have their own website façade that will feature the full catalog of Google’s titles as well as features specific to the community being served. As Len Vlahos, chief operating officer of the ABA explained it to me: “For the first time, e-book buyers will be able to take full advantage of their local independents for the same reasons they always have: trust, knowledge and selection. . . . Now you can buy e-books from someone you love.””
Years ago the customer left the Mom and Pop shops for the better prices at the large chains. Will they now return and show support for the independents?
Most reports said that Google would launch in late June, or July. We’re almost through July, we’ll see if there is any more news this week.
Dear Literary Agents,
E-books.
That tiny hyphenated word is striking fear and glee into the hearts of publishers and authors around the world. People in the industry are scrambling to try to figure out how to adjust to the emerging model. I don’t need to tell you this—you already know it.
When it comes to e-books, authors and publishers face different challenges and opportunities. I’ve talked about many of them on this blog. You may think as literary agents you aren’t impacted as directly by e-books, but I believe there is an opportunity you might want to consider.
For years, you’ve slogged through the trenches of the slush pile. You’ve spent countless hours looking through the dross for that one shining gem–the needle in the haystack. When you’ve found that manuscript worthy to be published, you shop it around, hoping to find it a home.
How does this process change with e-books? Let’s consider things from both a reader’s and a publisher’s perspective.
First, the readers. Self-publishing has never been easier. As a reader, I can browse thousands of self-published books online. I turn to the ratings to decide if I should buy them, but many of them only have one or two ratings. How do I know that isn’t the author and his mother? Can I trust them? I know it’s only 99 cents, but it’s the time I’m most worried about. I don’t want to spend two hours reading a book, only to discover the novel is a stinker.
What about publishers? E-books look like they bay be causing a major shift in the industry. How do Publishers adapt? How do they get ahead, or stay ahead? Many aspects of the old model are changing, but a few still apply—they need to find really good books—books that will sell.
So, literary agents, where do you come in to this picture? I think you’ve already guessed it. You have in your possession to solution to both problems.
You’ve been able to land contracts for many of your authors, but sitting on your shelves are manuscripts that are good—really good. Manuscripts on which nobody was willing to a chance. These books really should see the light of day.
Do you see what I’m driving at?
You need to create a trademarked seal. Maybe it’s administered by the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR). This seal can be placed on the digital version of any e-book, and readers will know that this manuscript is not just a run-of-the-mill self-published book, but a book that is right on the verge of landing a coveted contract. It will serve as a stamp of approval, similar to the Real symbol we’ve all come to know and love while eating our dairy products.
Readers win because they know the book they are about to buy is very likely a cut above the rest of the books available online. Authors win because this symbol on their books will likely drive up sales. And publishers win, too. How?
Publishing a book is all about risk. Will people like this book? Like it enough to buy it, and recommend it to their friend? At the end of the day, it’s a guessing game.
With a system like this, publishers could look at the digital sales all of the agented unpublished books that have yet to land a contract. They can quantitatively see for themselves what books and authors are selling well. What sells well digitally may not transfer to more print sales, but there is a good chance it will. At the very least it provides one more metric in the eternal guessing game of which books to buy.
And maybe in the end, some of these books still don’t land a contract. But their digital versions will have very likely found their way into the hands of hundreds of readers. These gems you’ve found, these books that you know deep in your heart should be introduced to the world, will find their way onto Kindles and iPads everywhere. And in the end, isn’t that what got you into this business in the first place?
Sincerely,
The Open Author
Funny story.
In my second book, Bullies in the Headlights, I reference a church song in which the words have been changed. Here are the original words:
I have two little hands folded snugly and tight,
They are tiny and weak yet they know what is right.
During all the long hours till daylight is through,
There are plenty of things for my two hands to do.
In the book, I changed the words to the following:
I have five little fingers on one of my hands,
I have six on the other, I don’t understand.
During all the long hours till daylight is through,
I have one little finger with nothing to do.
My sons, of course, like my version better. In my book I have actions that go along with the new words, one of these actions are to stick one’s finger up one’s nose.
So whenever we all get together for singing time, they sing my version, and do my actions. I’ve found it quite funny over the last few months, but today it all came back to bite me in the end.
We’re moving next week, so this is our last time at church. In primary, they have what are called ‘heartfelt’ songs. Basically, it’s a child’s favorite song. Whenever we sing that song, the child whose heartfelt song it is, stands at the front and sings it with everybody.
Well, today the primary chorister said, “It’s the Jensen’s last week, and it just so happens that all five of them have the same heartfelt song–I Have Two Little Hands. So we want them to come up and lead us in the song.
I should mention that I teach a primary class, so I’m sitting right there.
My five boys look shell shocked. They’re supposed to lead the class not only in word, but in action. They don’t know the real words, let alone the real actions. They stood there like deer in the headlights while the rest of the primary sang the song. The other kids looked confused because my boys weren’t singing their heartfelt song.
That’s bad enough, but it gets worse.
After the song the chorister, sounding a little confused, asked, “Why is that your favorite song?”
Son number three was quick to fill in the details. “My dad changed all the words and actions, so we like it.”
There was a few seconds of silence, and then the chorister looked at me. “Well then, why don’t we ask Brother Jensen to come up and teach us his way.”
My turn to look like a deer in the headlights.
Have I mentioned my wife is in primary as well? I look back at her and she is at once able to motion to me–a motion I interpret as ‘if you get up and teach them that song you’re going to sleep on the couch for a year–and at the same time motion to the chorister that no, Brother Jensen’s version might not set the right tone for the rest of primary.
It took some convincing, but we finally got the kids singing time back on track, and we escaped without further corruption of our little primary children.
Hopefully we can do as little damage at our next ward.
One blogger’s opinion on why the Kindle will beat out the Nook. The article has some good insight.
One of several articles reporting that Amazon is selling more e-books than hardcover. This article also had this interesting stat, hinting that Amazon still has the lion’s share of the e-book market:
“Another statistic shared by Amazon sought to suggest that Amazon remains the leading retailer for e-books. The company said that of the 1.14 million James Patterson e-books sold as of July 6, nearly 868,000 were from Amazon.”
Some speculation about e-books in the second half of the year. Very intersting read.
And further speculation about Google Editions, the e-book service from Google.
A report from eWeek that suggests there are now more folks with iPads than Kindles.
So I mentioned how I didn’t really like the recent move by Wylie, but my reasons were because I didn’t want to see exclusivity deals starting to creep up. Imagine if each of the big six publishers picked an e-reader as their distributor of choice. Where would readers be then?
However, the publishers are crying foul over the deal for an entirely different reason. Check out the article over at The Guardian. Publishers don’t like the deal because…well, because it flat out cuts them right out of the picture. Wylie has become, in essence, an e-publisher, completely going around the traditional publishers.
Random House has questioned if Amazon or Wylie has the rights to do this, and has severed their ties with Wylie.
A key question from the article:
“At issue is who holds digital rights in older titles published before the advent of ebooks. Publishers argue that the ebook rights belong to them, and authors and agents respond that, if not specifically granted, the digital rights remain with the author.”
And a bit later in the article:
“Macmillan’s US chief executive, John Sargent, hit out at Wylie’s move, saying he was “appalled” by the two-year deal with Amazon, which he felt “empowers the dominant player in the market to the detriment of their competitors and creates an unbalanced retail marketplace”.
“It is an extraordinarily bad deal for writers, illustrators, publishers, other booksellers, and for anyone who believes that books should be as widely available as possible. This deal advantages Amazon, which already has the dominant share in this market,” Sargent wrote on his blog.
“Independent booksellers across the country are making plans to launch their e-bookstores this fall. Now they will not have these books available and Amazon will.”
I blogged a few weeks ago about how the Wylie Agency was putting all e-book contracts on hold–kind of take a ‘wait and see’ approach. Well, now it looks like they’ve negotiated an exclusive distribution deal for 20 of their books with Amazon.com. You can see the complete list of books here.
I have to admit, I don’t like this. Imagine if half of the pages on the internet were accessible only on a Mac, and the other half on a PC. You’d need both computers to experience the entire web. I’m buying an e-reader so I can read books, not to limit myself to just the books an e-reader company can secure. If Kindle pursues this strategy, will Apple follow suit? And Sony? And Barnes and Noble? Will I soon need eight different e-readers to read any book I want? It appears the deal is only two years, but still…come on.
And what about authors? I want to be in as any bookstores as possible, not just one. I want my books on all e-readers, not just one.
I think this is a mistake, for both Amazon and Wylie. Let’s hope we don’t see more of this kind of behavior.
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