Premium Ebooks
Announcement came from MacMillan Publishing that they are going to be delaying ebook release on some titles but are going to be creating premium ebooks with added content to be released with hardcovers. There's been talk the past few months about this sort of possibility, from "I just want the damn text" to "it depends on what this added content is." While I think this is a great idea, publishers need something to up the value of ebooks released at the same time as hardcovers, I have to wonder if the ereader market will support this. Many of the current devices don't have a lot of support for content beyond text, so I'm left wondering just what they have in mind. It could be interesting.
I have no real problem with ebooks coming out after hardcovers. I also don't have an ereader and don't read books off my computer, so the issue has no personal effect on me. Even as an author, this doesn't effect me, as my title is going to come out as mass market, so ebook versions will arrive simultaneously. Regardless, I don't find the delayed release an issue. Ebooks don't have the margin that hardcovers do, so currently, publishers aren't making the profit off of them in comparison. Some say that a sale is a sale, so why would publishers want to reduce their numbers. My thought is that, while ereading folk will complain about waiting, I find it hard to believe they will forego the title by having to wait. Sure they'll buy something else in the meantime, but when it comes out, if they want to read it, they'll buy it. A high percentage of ereaders buy a lot of books. They want them cheap and they want them now. The digital revolution in reading is taking advantage of consumer's sense of entitlement to immediate gratification.
Will they buy a premium edition ebook for a price point more comparable to hardcover prices? Going to depend on what the content is and if their ereader will support it. The technology is quickly developing. It won't be long before we have standard ereading devices that support the variety of things one might get, from audio to video. This is going to appeal to a younger audience generally, but publishers need to be setting things up for the future. It's not difficult at all to imagine a schedule where hardcovers and premium edition ebooks come out first, followed a few months later by standard ebooks and then finally paperbacks. Premium content will be available as after market add-ons, if say for instance you want to download an interview with the author for the ebook you just read.
I look forward to what publishers may come up with for premium content. We will certainly have author interviews, audio versions, and other standard fair, but I can also see other things like: alternate endings, extended versions kind of like director cuts in movies, games based upon the stories, and backstory that was only hinted at in the book or side stories involving interesting minor characters. The possibilities are extensive. The ereader folk can deal. Most of the public has been dealing with waiting for paperbacks for a long time now, so just because digital makes it possible to get hardcovers on the cheap, that doesn't mean we should, at least for some titles. It makes business sense for the publishers, and I'm ok with that.
I have no real problem with ebooks coming out after hardcovers. I also don't have an ereader and don't read books off my computer, so the issue has no personal effect on me. Even as an author, this doesn't effect me, as my title is going to come out as mass market, so ebook versions will arrive simultaneously. Regardless, I don't find the delayed release an issue. Ebooks don't have the margin that hardcovers do, so currently, publishers aren't making the profit off of them in comparison. Some say that a sale is a sale, so why would publishers want to reduce their numbers. My thought is that, while ereading folk will complain about waiting, I find it hard to believe they will forego the title by having to wait. Sure they'll buy something else in the meantime, but when it comes out, if they want to read it, they'll buy it. A high percentage of ereaders buy a lot of books. They want them cheap and they want them now. The digital revolution in reading is taking advantage of consumer's sense of entitlement to immediate gratification.
Will they buy a premium edition ebook for a price point more comparable to hardcover prices? Going to depend on what the content is and if their ereader will support it. The technology is quickly developing. It won't be long before we have standard ereading devices that support the variety of things one might get, from audio to video. This is going to appeal to a younger audience generally, but publishers need to be setting things up for the future. It's not difficult at all to imagine a schedule where hardcovers and premium edition ebooks come out first, followed a few months later by standard ebooks and then finally paperbacks. Premium content will be available as after market add-ons, if say for instance you want to download an interview with the author for the ebook you just read.
I look forward to what publishers may come up with for premium content. We will certainly have author interviews, audio versions, and other standard fair, but I can also see other things like: alternate endings, extended versions kind of like director cuts in movies, games based upon the stories, and backstory that was only hinted at in the book or side stories involving interesting minor characters. The possibilities are extensive. The ereader folk can deal. Most of the public has been dealing with waiting for paperbacks for a long time now, so just because digital makes it possible to get hardcovers on the cheap, that doesn't mean we should, at least for some titles. It makes business sense for the publishers, and I'm ok with that.