I consider publishers middlemen anyway, so why not form direct deals with authors?
To some extent, yes. Middlemen. However, this middleman does the traditional role of developing, editing, etc. But beyond that, and in this situation, the analogy would be appropriate, the publisher is *almost* acting as a union for the authors. Sure, you can make a self publishing deal with Amazon, but if you do, you are at risk of having no bargaining power as an individual.
If authors are allowed to set prices for their own content at whatever level they think the market will bear, then I would agree. If authors give up control of pricing in a direct deal because Amazon demands to set prices themselves, then I think authors are better with a publisher negotiating this relationship.
That's not bending in the slightest. Hachette does this - their revenue from selling books via Amazon goes to zero with their costs staying the same. That'll end up being a lot of money. Particularly if Amazon heavily discounts physical books while this is going on to greatly increase sales and apply more pressure to Hachette.
It is not hard to see a monopolist at work here. Kill any creative part of the revenue stream and claim that ebooks are nothing more than a word file for sale. A book is much more than a simple word file. It is a creation from idea to sale that involves way more than just the author's voice. How is the author going to come out ahead here? The price Amazon is offering is still below market value. There is no provision here for the editor, art work, type setting, and proof reading. There is no provision for advertising, marketing or translation to multiple languages. This is just a bad deal all the way around for consumers, authors, and the creative community that supports authors. The only benefits are to Amazon who gets complete control.
It is not hard to see a monopolist at work here. Kill any creative part of the revenue stream and claim that ebooks are nothing more than a word file for sale. A book is much more than a simple word file. It is a creation from idea to sale that involves way more than just the author's voice. How is the author going to come out ahead here? The price Amazon is offering is still below market value. There is no provision here for the editor, art work, type setting, and proof reading. There is no provision for advertising, marketing or translation to multiple languages. This is just a bad deal all the way around for consumers, authors, and the creative community that supports authors. The only benefits are to Amazon who gets complete control.
Pretty much. I would be against this on any day, but since I've been working on some writing of my own, I'm definitely against this. It's an insane amount of effort on the part of just the author; add in the publishing company and it's easy to see why books cost what they do. People deserve to be compensated for their work, and they deserve better than what Bezos is offering.
Amazon wants to be a publisher: they already have the capability to print paper books and they control a popular eBooks platform. Authors would just be trading one middleman for another.
Publishers add value. They edit and often improve books. They reduce the publishing risk and/or enhance the return for authors. They advertise and give new authors a voice they may not otherwise get. As long as they add value, they need to be in the mix.
Authors could also voluntarily form guilds or cooperatives to pay for editing and marketing services if they are not already a superstar author (like Stephen King). The e-book is the best thing to ever happen to authors, but for someone who fails to leverage the medium it could keep them permanently obscure.
Authors could also voluntarily form guilds or cooperatives to pay for editing and marketing services if they are not already a superstar author (like Stephen King). The e-book is the best thing to ever happen to authors, but for someone who fails to leverage the medium it could keep them permanently obscure.
Then they would still have to negotiate with Amazon. I'm sure that will go well. Amazon will tell them what they will get—take it or leave it. And, if their is a guild, I'm sure that Amazon will be scared into toeing the line.
Comments
I consider publishers middlemen anyway, so why not form direct deals with authors?
To some extent, yes. Middlemen. However, this middleman does the traditional role of developing, editing, etc. But beyond that, and in this situation, the analogy would be appropriate, the publisher is *almost* acting as a union for the authors. Sure, you can make a self publishing deal with Amazon, but if you do, you are at risk of having no bargaining power as an individual.
If authors are allowed to set prices for their own content at whatever level they think the market will bear, then I would agree. If authors give up control of pricing in a direct deal because Amazon demands to set prices themselves, then I think authors are better with a publisher negotiating this relationship.
That's not bending in the slightest. Hachette does this - their revenue from selling books via Amazon goes to zero with their costs staying the same. That'll end up being a lot of money. Particularly if Amazon heavily discounts physical books while this is going on to greatly increase sales and apply more pressure to Hachette.
buried the Hachette?
That has nothing to do with it. This is a publicly announced proposal, and the public will take it that way.
melgross -- you're fine with nullifying the author/Hatchette contracts. Why is that?
It is not hard to see a monopolist at work here. Kill any creative part of the revenue stream and claim that ebooks are nothing more than a word file for sale. A book is much more than a simple word file. It is a creation from idea to sale that involves way more than just the author's voice. How is the author going to come out ahead here? The price Amazon is offering is still below market value. There is no provision here for the editor, art work, type setting, and proof reading. There is no provision for advertising, marketing or translation to multiple languages. This is just a bad deal all the way around for consumers, authors, and the creative community that supports authors. The only benefits are to Amazon who gets complete control.
Pretty much. I would be against this on any day, but since I've been working on some writing of my own, I'm definitely against this. It's an insane amount of effort on the part of just the author; add in the publishing company and it's easy to see why books cost what they do. People deserve to be compensated for their work, and they deserve better than what Bezos is offering.
The authors have existing publishing deals with Hachette, not Amazon.
That has nothing to do with it. This is a publicly announced proposal, and the public will take it that way.
People love to be promised things that aren't theirs.
I'd bet your neighbors would to love to get in on a CL giveaway day with all the stuff in your house, but that wouldn't make it right.
So they....
buried the Hachette?
How did it take so long to get here?
How did it take so long to get here?
The AI crowd is usually very sharp, so I went through the thread to make sure no one pre-empted me.
The exception proves the (bolded) rule, at any rate.
Publishers add value. They edit and often improve books. They reduce the publishing risk and/or enhance the return for authors. They advertise and give new authors a voice they may not otherwise get. As long as they add value, they need to be in the mix.
Authors could also voluntarily form guilds or cooperatives to pay for editing and marketing services if they are not already a superstar author (like Stephen King). The e-book is the best thing to ever happen to authors, but for someone who fails to leverage the medium it could keep them permanently obscure.