Many traditional publishers are scared of the growing popularity of e-books. If there was ever any doubt of it, the announcements over the last two days of three major publishers delaying the release of the electronic book versions of at least some of their titles by three weeks to six months after the hard cover releases is proof. What is their reasoning for such a move?
The problem is these publishers are fighting e-books instead of embracing and using them to their advantage. No matter how bad they want it, the reality is that e-books and their lower price points are inevitable. They should be planning for this instead of trying to postpone it while alienating potential customers in the process.
I’m not a publisher, or even someone with a business degree, but I do I have a few ideas of strategies publishers could use to make e-books work for them. Note that none of them includes delaying the release date until after the hard cover release.
- Serialize e-book editions of potential best-sellers.
Publishers would serialize the e-book edition of potential best-sellers by breaking the book into three equal parts. Release the first part the same day as the hardcover edition is released. The next two parts would then be released one per month over the next two months. Each installment would be priced from $1.99 to $3.99, whatever would bring the e-book edition to approximately in-line with the price point the paperback edition would be set at. - Bundle backlist books with e-book editions of potential best-sellers.
Publishers could take advantage of the e-book edition of a potential best-seller to promote backlist books from the author or of other authors who fall within the same genre. Prices would be set at around $19.99. Customers would get two books, the author’s older books could be sold, and readers could be introduced to another author they may decide they like and eventually buy more of their books. - Bundle books by debut authors with e-book editions of potential best-sellers.
Instead of releasing a hard cover or paper back edition from a new author, test the waters by releasing their debut novel only in an e-book edition that would be bundled with a potential best-seller in the same genre as their book. Again, the price would be set for around $19.99. Customers would get two books, publishers could take a lower cost risk on new authors, and the new author would get the promotional advantage of being included with an expected best-seller. If the new author is well received and interest is high enough, the publishers could then release print editions in either hard cover, paperback or both with the knowledge that the potential for sales is already there.
Like I stated above, I’m not a publisher or someone with a business degree, but these seem to make sense to me. What do you think? Are they feasible options publishers could take? Or am I way off base in my thinking and should leave business ideas to the professionals? Don’t be shy, speak up and let me know.
Hey Clifford!
Been following you on twitter for a while now and you’re a real goldmine of information. Thanks for the effort!
I think the bundling idea has merit. People like bargains after all. Bundling older works, which are hitting the long tail, will give people the impression that they’re really only paying 50% for the book they wanted in the first place. And bundling new work by début authors will obviously give them a piggyback up, though to an extent that’s how it has always been. Some début authors get a push, and some are left to promote themselves – perhaps it would be fairer to have a coupon for a download from a pool of potential new authors, so that the opportunity gets spread around.
I’m sure you’re aware that Baen have had a subscription plan for ebooks, but as a pre-publication bonus, rather than as a way to delay the ebook. I think it was virtually as you described, except the first third became available two months before publication, the second third a month before and the final third when the book was published. I don’t know how anyone would have the patience to wait to get reading a book they were so keen on in the first place. It would be such a tease.
Anton,
I’m actually still testing my Twitter legs and trying to put out what I believe to be good links and information. Thank you for letting me know I’m on the right track.
The coupon idea is a good one. Instead of one new author getting a push, an entire group gets promoted. That would be a lot more fair to both the authors and the readers.
I actually didn’t know about Baen’s subscription plan. That’s pretty cool. The way I envisioned it, though, promotes the purchase of the hard cover since it’s available before the entire e-book edition is released. I’ll have to check out their site and their plan. Thanks for mentioning it.
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Those are all good ideas, Clifford. And the coupon idea sounds good as well. Publishing is inherently a conservative business, and I think many publishers are simply feeling paralyzed by the fact that they don’t know where things are headed – no one does for sure.
But as you note, one thing that IS certain is that more and more people are reading e-books and that trend is not going to suddenly reverse itself. Publishers would do well to figure out how to deal with that. He says that he’s worried about the $10 ebook competing with the hardcover. But I wonder if his math is even right.
Nowadays, almost no one pays cover price – a hardcover is maybe $17-$19. Of that, large chunks go to Amazon/B&N/Borders/etc. The publisher is not making much per book. Currently, publishers are also making very little on ebooks, but there’s no reason why that has to be the case. To this point, large publishers have essentially abdicated control over aggregation and distribution of ebooks. at this point, they do have an uphill battle to become part of the game, but they still could do it. Not, however, if they persist in the shortsightedness embodied in decisions like these most recent ones,
Edward,
I don’t really believe there will be competition between ebooks and hardcovers. People are going to buy their preferred format (the same as people waiting for paperbacks because they prefer them over hard covers) no matter the timing or price of the release. What there will be is readers feeling discriminated against and disgruntled, potentially causing them to decide not to purchase at all.
To get in the game, I believe publishers need to keep the price reasonable or add value to the purchase through added content, something similar to what I outlined in my post. I also believe publishers will need to make adjustments to the authors share of royalties on ebooks, although that really deserves its own post instead of being gone into here.
These are some very good points you’ve made and need to be considered by publishers when trying to develop successful ebook strategies. Thank you for taking the time to read and further the discussion.