With the news that Random House has adopted the Agency model effective tomorrow, I have one thing to say.
Cee Lo Green “Fuck You”
Uploaded by Push36. – Link to the original video.
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Someone needs to go thru the Sony steps and do some correcting of the grammar esp at the end. It’s got me totally confused. I also don’t think this will work on my new PRS 350 because of the format change to BBeb but it might on my 700.
I’m not a geek. I don’t speak geek. Trying to get me to figure out how to strip the DRM isn’t easy.
Anyone give a class on it???
“Trying to get me to figure out how to strip the DRM isn’t easy.”
If you can install a program on your computer, you can do it. I’d be happy to walk you through it. Would you like me to leave my email address?
(I really do want to stress that I disapprove of piracy – but I don’t trust that my library will be always available and never obsolete, so I strip and save my ebooks locally. I don’t share them.)
@lilywhite- bookwyrm217 @ gmail.com
someone tried a couple years ago to help me with it (and she was a lawyer too who firmly believes since she paid for it, it’s hers, and I agree). I could never get myself thru the directions! 🙂 At least I can laugh at myself.
We have a family of ereaders and I am tired of hubby and I paying seperately for the same book, or the kid in college who can’t afford to do it but wants to read (and her library sucks).
Thanks!!
ev
And has anyone considered that the big publishers are doing this-making it more difficult to buy an ebook- so that we keep buying paper ones? Seriously, sometimes I don’t think they really want us to use this technology.
I sent you a gmail chat invite, ev.
They’ve said they want to slow the adoption of ebooks, so that’s exactly why they’re doing it.
Working47, Well I hope it’s not working!
Alright, I used the directions for python and did it. The possible alternatives came too late in my four hour process to help me. My library is importing, but it seems to be working (not a constant stream of error messages).
The process is definitely easier than the last time I tried this.
lilywhite
I checked the law (or the wiki version – like virtual reality)
There are exemptions, but the only exemption for books is
from http://www.copyright.gov/1201/
go to http://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/ and find the Guide for the Perplexed. That tells you everything you need to know in very simple terms.
“I checked the law”
Meh. Let them come and get me, then.
I never heard the follow up on the college girl that got fined for ‘pirating’ music. I have no idea what DRM is, but will google it. But I will not touch a torrent website as I know they are under watch. It gets touchy in here when we get political, but it seems like everything goes there under the current regime. America needs free enterprise and it sounds to me like the Agency Model contradicts that. There is always the library. Also, everytime I buy a book, I take one to the hall giveaway shelf at our library. My house shudders under the weight of actual books, but there is that love. Ebooks? Not too appealing to this old bird. Though I know I can’t fight the trend.
I got (and fell in love with) my Nook on my birthday, Sept 1, 2010 Even then, most of the books I wanted I paid $5 or less for. From 9/1-12/31 I put 48 books in my e-library. I purchased 41 of those.
Now, all the books I want are $7.99 and up. In the past two months I have read 27 books. I purchased ZERO. I went back to Paperback Swap and the quarterly giant boxes of smut my friends and I exchange.
I have also discouraged friends from buying ereaders when I use to get up on a soapbox on street corners to shout their praises.
Quote: “Agency pricing is screwing with those of us who have been reading e-books for years and those of us who pay attention to the industry, but it’s Score One for publishers because they know new e-book consumers are largely ignorant of past workings.”
Agreed, and I think maybe it’s even more than that. Let’s face it – book publishers don’t have an incentive to encourage ebook purchases because, in their eyes as many have said, ebooks are hurting their business. So would it not be business smart to force buyers into the position of returning to print book purchasing, if possible? And if you as a consumer have to pay more and more for a substandard copy to get a digital version, how many would choose to buy the print version instead? I wonder how many of the publishing folks sit around the boardroom and discuss it in just such terms?
First off, prices on ebooks have climbed across the board, both at the smaller presses and at the larger ones like Amazon. But by the same token, quality at the smaller indy presses has grown by leaps and bounds, so I don’t mind paying a bit of a higher price to get great cover art, good editing, good proofreading, and better writing. Although lately… well, that’s another topic altogether.
So now the big guys want to come in and join in this “new” industry. But they are at heart print publishers. What makes us think they have any incentive to put their heart and soul into doing a great job with digital publishing when they see digital as sort of the enemy? They smile and say they are eager to join in this new frontier of digital publishing, but are they really? They are asking us to pay more money for less quality, because they can put out the digital version before it’s gone through the last couple of proofreads and save a bit of money, oh and no cover art included because well, it’s just a digital version so you don’t need to see the cover and that’ll save us a bit of money, yada yada. And we consumers think it’s simply greed?
I lean toward consideration that there’s an awful lot of incentive to influence a return to the print model they are used to rather than having to learn a new way of doing business, being a “Johnny come Lately” into a business in which they were once masters. How dare these upstarts try to show us there’s a better way? And God forbid actually paying authors a larger percentage of the money that is being made off them.
As for me, I started buying ebooks back in 2004 from EC and Loose Id and Samhain and Liquid Silver, then at Fictionwise, and even bought at Amazon back when they offered a few .mobi/.prc versions years ago. I had one of the old eBookman ereaders, then when the Kindle came out, I bought one, and am now on Kindle #3 – as they update the models, I buy a new one and pass down the old one to family members. So I’m fairly savvy about digital shopping and ereaders. Since I just did my taxes, I know I spent $4200 on books last year. And I can tell you I spend probably twice as much on ebooks than I ever spent on paperback or hardback books. It’s simply easier and more convenient – I can take my entire library in my purse, no dusting, no overflowing bookshelves, no finishing a book on the beach and being at a loss for something to read next, no dropping the book in the pool, etc. So I can justify in my mind spending more money, and feeling more satisfied in the amount of enjoyment I get from them.
So you can bet I’m making lists of which publishers seem to care about me as a consumer, and thus earn my support, and which ones don’t. And while I will always be a reader at heart, I can guarantee you that I will be okay with spending my entertainment money on other things and go back to buying a few books a year. Or spending all my money at the indy publishers and completely abandoning support of publishers, and by default authors, who abandon me as a consumer.
Bravo, Laurie!
As an owner of a Kindle and a voracious reader, this pisses me off. If you’re going to ask me to pay more for an e-book, then dammit, I want something in return! I want no DRM, I want e-books without typos, I want to be able to lend my e-books out. I want my e-books formatted properly so that I’m not squinting at the screen every other page because the formating went wonky. This is such crap.
A HUGE reason I requested the rights to my three contemporary romances back from Cerridwen was because I felt they were overpriced (and under-marketed). The books were available directly from the publisher site for between $5.99-6.99 which was high enough and then $9.99 on Amazon and up from there on ARe. I was thrilled to get the rights back and offer them myself for a MUCH MORE reasonable price via Smashwords (and their various vendors), Kindle, and ARe.
I work hard on each and every book I write, but without readers what is the point?
PS – no DRM either. I am pretty sure I tried to specify no geographical restrictions either but I’ll have to check on that!
@Lily- sent you back a message.
Bastards.
I will say Sony does a decent job of making sure there are no errors, or as few as possible. I find the ration between them and paper books to be about the same for me at least.
I love my Kindle, but it’s been a while since I bought any books for it. Actually, it’s been a while since I bought any fiction at all, and it’s because of agency pricing.
I exhausted my TBR pile a while ago, and went to Amazon to fill it up again, but everything I wanted to buy was overpriced in ebook format (e.g., several Loretta Chase novels I wanted, a Malcolm Gladwell book, and several others that were priced either the same as the paper book or higher). I don’t want to buy paper. My bookshelf is overflowing. I don’t have space. But I won’t support a publisher who’s price-gouging; t’s a matter of principle.
Bottom line, I have nothing to read right now. I am buying nothing. I’m re-reading some old favorites, playing more video games, doing more crosswords. Maybe I’ll start using the library more. I don’t have to buy books. I’d like to, but if the publishers won’t treat me with respect, I’m not going to give them my money. Sorry, authors, I know it’s not your fault.
I’m considering looking for indie and self-published authors. I figure their books are more likely to be reasonably priced, and I bet there are some gems out there, if I can only find them.
I’m about half way through the comments and one thing I haven’t found about this agency model is that it seems to amount to price fixing, which is generally considered a very bad thing. In fact, it might be illegal (but I don’t have time to investigate that so please don’t ream me for my ignorance here). I also think that this is actually anti-capitalistic since I think capitalism means being able to buy goods and then sell them at whatever price you wish. Yes, the seller has the right to set a price but once you own it, you can set your own sales price. If you wish to take a loss, that’s your option.
I am pleased to agree for a change. Free market enterprise made America what it is. (At this moment, let us just hope we can continue to hold our heads up.) But this is what happens when unions and markets form to control things. What are ya gonna do when you are a writer and have to rely on agents and corporations? At least readers have options.
Someone on the ABNA threads stated she ‘kindled’ her own book and it was $2.99. That is self publishing, but who knows what lies ahead. Hopefully not more Libya like scenarios as in my neighbor state of Wisconsin. Petulance and politics don’t mix well. And then, maybe the 2.99 was a fun read. That Kostkova Dracula thing was a drag and cost a fortune. The subject of value for your dollar doesn’t seem to be in this mix, but it should be.
Indeed the Agency model may indeed be seen as price fixing. In searching for information about the legality of purchasing and lending a kindle in my little corporate library, I came across this article in the UK Telegraph – EU raids publishers in ebook price-fixing probe
http://tinyurl.com/4hcn66g
Well, I am glad to see it. I wonder if it will reach Stateside media. But, then let us not swing right over into Fascism. And NO I am NOT a moderate,
Anyway, I’ll like it on facebook, but don’t tweet.
Totally learned a new word today: conflation
Conflation occurs when the identities of two or more individuals, concepts, or places, sharing some characteristics of one another, become confused until there seems to be only a single identity — the differences appear to become lost
Just sayin’ 🙂
“I also think that this is actually anti-capitalistic since I think capitalism means being able to buy goods and then sell them at whatever price you wish. Yes, the seller has the right to set a price but once you own it, you can set your own sales price. If you wish to take a loss, that’s your option.”
That’s precisely what retailers – let’s say Amazon since I have a Kindle – do with paper books. With ebooks, the Agency model makes it so that Amazon isn’t a reseller anymore. Amazon buys a certain number of hardcover copies of, say, the latest Nora Roberts book, and they then own those copies and can sell them for what they like. With ebooks, Amazon doesn’t buy any copies or licenses or whatever you want to call them. Instead, you are buying your ebook from the *publisher*, with Amazon acting as the seller’s agent rather than a reseller.
The best analogy I can come up with (someone else might have a better one) is to think of it like buying a house. Penguin/HarperCollins/whoever owns the house, you want to buy the house, and Amazon will facilitate your purchase but they never owned the house and they don’t set the price. You buy it from the owner and the agent takes a cut of the profit.
It’s inherently confusing because we don’t think of most goods and services being sold this way, and *doubly* confusing because Amazon is selling the bulk-purchased paper books for any price they choose, while making the ebooks available at the publishers’ prices, which results in the ebook price seeming way out of line with the paper book price. The fact that they’re both on the same page feels like having your face rubbed in it.
I’ve been thinking about buying an ereader for the past 6 months or so, but I’ve been holding out.
There are a few reasons:
– I haven’t researched the different models. (I’ll admit to being mildly lazy and somewhat indecisive. Hmmm, make that a LOT indecisive.)
– Although they HAVE gone down in price, the ereaders themselves are an investment. (I don’t put aside a whole lot of petty cash for electronic ‘goodies’—and my rec room DVD player, my 12-year-old ‘bedroom’ CRT TV , my external/backup hard drive, and my PC all kicked the bucket last year. *Sobs* )
– My biggest reason by far, though, was the cost of the ebooks. They always seemed to be only $2 or so cheaper than the mmpb’s—and that was LIST price. (The day I actually pay the $7.99 sticker price on a paperback is a day I’m not shopping correctly.)
So what does this ‘Agency Model’ folderol mean to me?
If book publishers will now be charging MORE for their ebooks, there’s no WAY I’m running out and buying an ereader anytime soon.
I’ll stick with my paperbacks and my discounted hardcovers, thank you very much (at least until my house starts resembling the ones on Hoarders—and then I’ll start donating more books to the library).
Well, then there is the supply and demand thing that is supposed to affect pricing. I cannot tell you how many times I heard that some one got a Kindle for Christmas. My friend’s son said, “Which I will never use…” Anytime I have ordered a “used” book or DVD from Amazon it has been in perfect condition. Usually even a bargain after shipping.
@TracyP
I usually read this blog on my nookcolor, which makes it really easy to download samples of recommended titles. When I saw the price you mentioned for Shades of Gray, I was like …WTF?
So I looked it up because the highest ebook price for fiction I’ve seen so far was for Ken Follet’s last brick-like tome at $19.99 (vs. $35 or something in hardcover). The Fforde book is now $9.99, if that makes a diff.
wow what a really great discussion. I learned so much!
I also wondered why some of my Kindle books had increased on price. I’ll admit that I am an ebook (Kindle) junkie. I truly hate to hold a book to read. The font is too small, the hardcovers are too heavy the covers are sometimes a bit to racey for work LOL so I will forever be a Kindle user. If the books I want are not on Kindle, I am off to the library. Which is not the best alternative because some of the books I love are a bit to hot for our local library or used book store but I gotta really want to read it big time.
I have my go to authors and I will buy their books regardless of the price because I gotta have the ebook. (JR Ward’s Lover Mine I bought the Kindle book for a whopping $17.99! and the hardcover was $9.99) The problem I see is that I would have never tried JR Ward if her Kindle books were $9.99 out the gate. I would not have tried her, I would not have fallen in love with the Brothers.
I want to reach out and try a bunch of new authors but the $9.99 scares me. I want to try out Jaci Burton’s Perfect Play (GOD that cover!!) but I don’t really know that author very well so I am not committeed to pay the big bucks. Same as her “Riding” series (all $9.99) I spend so much $money$ on Kindle books that I will now be shy to try a new author that I haven’t read before. Reading a snippet of a book does nothing for me.
I have focussed alot on small press authors recently. Love the variety at Tourquoise Morning Press (currently in love with Margaret Ethridge’s Paramour) and LazyDay Publishing has turned out some hot books by Melissa Ecker. I love that they are available on Kindle so my focus has been on the little guys recently. (although I did just fork out $9.99 for Lorelei James’ Saddled and Spurred)
I would get all het up about this, but, as with the other Australian readers, it’s hard to muster up the energy after we’ve already been effed over by our local publishing protection laws and geographical DRM. I don’t have a great handle on it, but these two devils combine somehow such that internationally published books aren’t allowed to be sold here if a local publisher can do it instead within a certain timeframe. Or something. The upshot is that all print books are much more expensive, and ebooks are either more expensive, or plain old not available.
For instance, I bought 2 paperbacks today for a friend who needs something to occupy him while being hospitalized – the cost? $41.98. And that’s NORMAL here. All my (new) paperbacks cost between $15 – $30 (top of the range there being for those big-arse wrist-breaking fantasy paperbacks).
As for ebooks, I had been struggling for the last 6 months over the choice of which ereader to buy (I’m a technobimbo AND indecisive), before finally understanding that there’s no point because I’m NOT ALLOWED TO BUY THE EBOOKS I WANT. Please imagine how head-explodingly frustrating it is to hear all about some awesome book on your favourite blogs, then go search it out on ebooks.com, or wherever, only to find half the time there’s some fine print saying it’s available to 245 other countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Holy See, but not to me.
FINE. OR I could buy it from an Australian ebook site for 66% more.
Well, it makes me feel a bit like this:
I wish I could hate you to death
So the agency model is like some nasty customer-hating barrier that I can kinda see hazily in the distance over this shitty wall right in front of me >8-(
Sigh. So, I was tooling around Amazon this morning and found that 6 Random House books I’d bought for 5.00 a couple of weeks ago (non romance) are now all 9.99. Actually it looks like every RH book I looked up is more than it was a couple of days ago. Didn’t take them long, did it?
@ Sam, Sad Sam, No Furious Sam
Don’t bother with Australian stores – buy from BookDepository.Com – they are UK based, have a huge range of books and post to Australia for FREE. An average MMP can be purchased in AUD for about $8, trade paperbacks, for about $15. They also take PayPal if you are worried about c/card security online. The only downside is that it takes about 2 weeks for the books to arrive.
The other thing to do is register as a US resident on your account when you buy ebooks – then you can get around geo restrictions, at least, so I hear. *cough cough*
@ Sam, Sad Sam, No Furious Sam
i totally hear ya – and yes books depository is great for paperbacks but not so for the ebooks. ARe seems to be pretty good in having quite a few non-geographical ebooks but I think its dependent on the publisher.
to further illustrate Sam’s point – even the ebooks in oz are still expensive – you guys are complaining about $10 ebooks
check it: JD Robb’s Treachery in Death (btw this is only an example and i do know there are cheaper ebooks available in oz but still…)
US Borders: $12.99
http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=1101475862
AUS Borders: $19.99
http://www.borders.com.au/ebook/treachery-in-death-the-in-death-series-book-32/24313624/
but we can’t buy from US borders unless we have a US billing account (which i’m sure could be gotten around but you know that’s effort and all)
and i know that keeping jobs in aus is a good thing but when there is that much a price difference it makes it really hard to be loyal and supportive
Perfect sentiment.
It’s not just this issue but also the issue with ebook lending for libraries, region restrictions etc. that I think publishers are shooting themselves in the foot with all of this. Seriously, they should be embracing new technology rather than working against it. 😛
Wow, I’m learning to actually enjoy the boggling my mind gets whenever someone equates Wisconsin to Libya. 🙂
As much as I’d like to switch to ebooks, they are seeming like bigger rip offs the longer I look at them. The only ebooks I read are romances, because i like m/m romance and they are generally only put out by small, independent publishing houses and are therefore quite expensive. I’ve thought about getting an ereader, but the idea of spending a lot of money on a device so I can read an inferior product that costs almost the same as a paperback, that someone else ultimately controls and that I can’t share with others or sell/donate when I’m done just seems counterintuitive. Also, I’m not sure what happens if I buy one device and then want to switch to another. Are the books transferrable from one device to another? Can I download them again? I know from the indie houses I can d/l several formats of the same book either at the time of purchase or at a future date, but is that true of all publishers? And I feel like I shouldn’t have to deal with DMR issues just to read a title I’ve paid good money for. I only see these issues getting worse as time goes on, so for now I’ll continue to pile a few pillows on my computer chair and read my mansmut on my iMac.
All of you poor Aussies have my sympathies. Your book prices are a mind boggling that I don’t think I’d ever get used to.