So here I am, in London, part of a country with neither the Sony eReader nor the Amazon Kindle, yet dinner conversation turned, as conversations often do, to the fact that the Sony eReader will soon be available in the UK. I think that’s just cool, even as I think, “What’s taking so long, Sony, Amazon?”
Let me tell you: awareness of the Kindle, particularly, is great, and people show great interest in the concept when they see an ereader in the wild. I’ve been gone more than I’ve been home for the past few weeks, and I’m getting lots of curious questions. Number one, so far, is “can you make the type bigger?” I can, I say, I can.
Then there’s last week. Four women, four Kindles. I kid you not. Tell me, what’s the percentage of Kindle ownership in your peer group? I should note, four women from different parts of the country (at least one state in the middle) with different kinds of jobs. The ebook revolution is a slow but steady build, not a crazy now-you-don’t-see-it-now-you-do sort of thing. This is definitely a revolution that will not be televised.
Another conversation was about how ebooks are great, the Kindle is awesome, yet, damn, those prices. This one, started by a reader who gets her fair share of books free, yet would be buying even more if the prices weren’t so darn, well, insane. This is not an uncommon conversation. I know, I know, you think the prices are just fine, but I contend you’re living in the publishing bubble.
This coincides with an email discussion about the price of ebooks. Nobody knows the optimal price, but then I wonder how much of the conversation is sheer academics versus real life experience. I loaded up the Kindle before my journey, and, as I browsed for a good variety of titles, found myself price shopping (for books! I know.). I mean, even I look at the relative value of bits and bytes versus a product I can’t, for lack of a better term, recycle. This is a conversation that needs to be had on a serious level, involving real readers. Anyone ever ask us about ebook prices?
Then there’s the rather amusing piece from Persona Non Data about “Kindle Sex: Publishing Strategy” (not amusing as in the author is naive, amusing as in the topic is uncomfortable for some). Turns out there aren’t good numbers from Amazon about erotica sales for the Kindle. You have to love that this information is so very tough to find; heck, you can’t even get to erotica as a category when you browse using the Kindle. I go back to my peer group. Good sales numbers there. One publisher I spoke with suggested rocket launch-like trajectory since the launch of the Kindle.
Here’s a truth: ebooks sell far better than numbers from traditional publishers indicate. This is because there’s a huge market for erotica out there. Women buy erotic ebooks instead of purchasing physical books because, well, if you’re female and over thirty, you’ve been taught that good girls don’t go there. Actually, good girls do. They just do it under the radar. This is good and bad for the ebook industry.
Bad because there are powers dictating pricing and availability who are out of touch with real ebook consumers (granted there are those who are both in touch and responsive to these concerns — I salute you!). While I believe there are many factors that will contribute to the adoption of ebooks as a mainstream reading choice, I remain more convinced than ever that success is dependent on decoupling ebook prices from print book prices.
Reactions to ebooks continue to fascinate me. I have encountered a few “smell of books” people, but even they see the practicality of loading up a reader when traveling. “Oh,” they say, “that makes sense.” Especially now that airlines are more aggressively charging for overweight luggage. Have you ever had to redistribute your books at curbside check-in to reduce the heft of your suitcase?
That is all.
14 responses so far ↓
Diana Hunter // Aug 7, 2008 at 11:28 am
Something tells me that The Powers That Be don’t bother with erotica numbers for the same reason they dismiss romance. It’s only beach reading…it’s not *serious* literature, so it isn’t important.
Diana Hunter // Aug 7, 2008 at 11:29 am
(there was supposed to be a heavy hearted sigh at the end of that…pushed enter far too fast)
RfP // Aug 7, 2008 at 12:52 pm
If TPTB care about the bottom line, they’ll eventually compute those sales figures.
“While I believe there are many factors that will contribute to the adoption of ebooks as a mainstream reading choice, I remain more convinced than ever that success is dependent on decoupling ebook prices from print book prices”
I’m dipping my toe in the e-book water with library downloads. That’s a scenario that totally decouples pricing, and what that’s’ teaching me is that the cost of the *reader* technology is also a huge barrier. I think it would behoove e-publishers and e-reader-makers to work with libraries to create loaner programs for the actual *devices*. (My reasoning is here.)
My experience with e-books is still limited, so I may be way off base–but I have a number of friends currently wading through the same choices and confusions.
eNotes Book Blog » Blog Archive » Kafka- Really, I Mean Really Into Dogs… // Aug 7, 2008 at 2:41 pm
[…] Booksquare wants us to believe they saw four people with Kindles. I like Booksquare aside from all the lying. Also, while I don’t doubt that there are two to three people in the world that own these things, there is only one person who has “great interest” in the Kindle. […]
Susan G. // Aug 7, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Apparently at the HQ forum recently at RWA National, it was explained to the authors (I was not in the audience at the time, this is second-hand information) that Harlequin charges so much for an ebook because most of the costs for a book of “any sort” are, according to them, fixed costs — the price of editorial services, cover design, office space, etc. Apparently the costs of ink and paper are NOT big factors.
Who knew? Not me, that’s for sure. I thought cover prices went up because of increasing prices for paper and such.
Make of that information what you will.
As to redistributing books at check-in at the airline counter — why, yes, I watched a fellow author do exactly that on the way home from said RWA National conference.
Gosh, how will they give away copies of ebooks at National? (However they do it, it will be cheaper to get them home, that’s for sure. lol.)
Kassia // Aug 8, 2008 at 12:36 am
Susan — yes, it’s a little known fact, but overhead costs and fixed costs and distribution costs are absolutely factored into these prices. Those who suggest the price of creating and distributing ebooks are negligible overlook these elements (particularly the cost of distribution and storage). It makes sense to spread the impact of these costs across all distribution channels.
It’s a long time away from giving away ebooks at conferences, particularly since the devices don’t have the requisite capability for receiving ebooks in the wild without connecting to a souce for downloading. Plus, well, market saturation for readers is still several generations away.
Kassia // Aug 8, 2008 at 12:41 am
eNotes Book Blog — No joke, four women, four Kindles. Maybe they were the only four at the conference, but I doubt it. No, I know it. I know at least one other person who owns a Kindle and was present on site. That makes five. She simply wasn’t present at that moment.
As for great interest, while I still hold my previously stated reservations about the Kindle (single purpose device, etc), going out in public and using the device sparks conversation (and, interestingly, there is a lot of consumer awareness of the product). It’s a conversation I’m happy to have, and me being me, I throw the idea of other readers, including the Sony eReader, into the discussion. I’m very much again market monopolies.
As for the lying (g), oh yeah, I totally make stuff up. I’m not really 5’5″.
carol stanley // Aug 8, 2008 at 9:15 am
The bottom line to me regardless of content I love a real book to curl up with…That is 90% of the enjoyment…carol stanley “Author of For Kids 59.99 and Over
Kassia Krozser // Aug 8, 2008 at 10:48 am
Carol — the thing about books is that market is moving toward greater choice. Do I love curling on with a physical book? Absolutely? Do I get the same experience curling up with my Kindle? No, but I can assure you that what I lose in tactile experience — or rather changed tactile experience — I gain in portability and instant gratification.
Sure, the selection could be greater. Sure, the Kindle could be my dream device (said dream device being able to wash dishes). Sure, there’s going to be a next, better thing in a year or two.
But when it gets down to brass tacks (sorry, in London, it’s all brass tacks here!), my goal is to get lost in a story. The Kindle (or my laptop or any device) doesn’t stop me from losing myself in the words. To me, it’s all about transporting from this plane to the story plane. I don’t care about the medium; I just want to fall into the book.
And I love those publishers who have made it a priority to allow me to do this however, whenever I want.
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[…] Random Ebook Thoughts From A Jetlagged Mind (Kassia Krozser, Booksquare) Here’s a truth: ebooks sell far better than numbers from traditional publishers indicate. This is because there’s a huge market for erotica out there. Women buy erotic ebooks instead of purchasing physical books because, well, if you’re female and over thirty, you’ve been taught that good girls don’t go there. Actually, good girls do. They just do it under the radar. […]