Howey’s argument is that the reason the formerly dominant players in publishing are in trouble is that they don’t provide service to authors or readers commensurate with their costs. He makes a strong case.
Originally shared by C. M. Skiera
Considering the recent “indie-shaming” tactics by the New York Times that were brought to light by author Autumn Kalquist, the latest blog post by Hugh Howey is timely and spot-on relevant, as well as a fascinating read.
(And this is a link to Autumn Kalquist’s blog, if you’re interested http://www.autumnkalquist.com/20k/#comment-5067)
As a reader, I will not pay print book prices for digital editions. Considering the digital book can be revoked at any time, paying high prices seems silly. I seem to be renting that digital copy, prices should reflect that.
Also, much of that print price is there to pay for printing and physical distribution. In setting an ebook price as high as (or higher than) the paperback, publishers are exhibiting simple greed. Or attempting to manipulate me into buying the paperback, which I don’t respond well to either.