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Originally posted by jornan

So there are no plans to release this book as an actual paperback novel? When did that change? Will this trend continue into other upcoming FR releases? I think this is a huge mis-step for WotC to release this as an e-book only.

lame.

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

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Originally posted by jornan

So there are no plans to release this book as an actual paperback novel? When did that change? Will this trend continue into other upcoming FR releases? I think this is a huge mis-step for WotC to release this as an e-book only.

lame.

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Regardless of how we feel about it, the publishing industry as a whole is leaning towards e-books. Ebooks are beginning to outsell both hardbacks and paperbacks combined. I'm a huge fan of the dead tree format myself, but I can't fault WotC for following a publishing trend.

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quote:

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Originally posted by jornan

So there are no plans to release this book as an actual paperback novel? When did that change? Will this trend continue into other upcoming FR releases? I think this is a huge mis-step for WotC to release this as an e-book only.

lame.

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Originally posted by The Sage

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Originally posted by jornan

So there are no plans to release this book as an actual paperback novel? When did that change? Will this trend continue into other upcoming FR releases? I think this is a huge mis-step for WotC to release this as an e-book only.

lame.

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That's a little unfair.

Especially since Wizards has only limited experience with e-book releases. Thus, we really shouldn't be too judgemental when it comes to another publisher enabling a trend that have proven somewhat popular elsewhere.

Also, as someone who lives outside the US, I'll note further that e-books are usually a delight for international Realms fans who may, at times, have to wait either weeks or months for a particular printed FR release to arrive on their distant shores.

So rather than slam the option as a negative move on Wizards' part, spare a thought for those folk who may not have ready nor immediate access to printed-format novels.

This will come as welcome relief for many... myself included.

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Originally posted by Caolin

Why shouldn't I slam this decision? I am being denied access to a novel that I was really looking forward to. How exactly am I supposed to be happy about this? This is an attempt by WoTC to force people into buying an eReader which will allow them to eventually abandon printed media.

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This is a money grab plain and simple. They will be saving thousands if not millions in printing costs yet we the readers will only save $1.60 on the novel. How long till that 6.39 price goes to 7.99 or higher? Until they start lowering the prices on these eBooks to reasonable levels you will see an explosion in piracy. This is a yet another move by WoTC that alienates a large part of their customer base and frankly I'd rather stop reading FR novels than be force into a new format that I don't want.

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Originally posted by The Sage

I'm not suggesting that you should be happy about the decision to make Wizards' novels as e-books. But acknowledging that this move does make access to these books easier for those who live outside the US is something we can all benefit from. It ensures the spread of quality Realms fiction to wherever the world world web can reach.

And I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing.
Again, I think this is an entirely unfair judgement.

Most of the long-term Realms fans I've spoken to here, who have been purchasing printed FR novels since the publication of Darkwalker on Moonshae, applaud this move. They understand that international shipping rates and local distributors often make for overpriced imported and/or foreign produced novels, essentially making us [and by "us," I refer to all those Realms fan who reside outside the US] pay ridiculous prices for one of our favourite hobbies.

There is, after all, a very good reason for why I stopped buying hardcover releases for Realms novels. I can't justify spending [sometimes] $60AUD on one singular hardcover release each and every month [and I'm not only speaking of Wizards' novels here, either]. What I am to do when multiple hardcovers for some of my favourite series are released in the same month? Spending close to $200-$300AUD on hardcovers in one month is not something I can easily afford.

So, again, while I am a little frustrated by the prospect of not being able to hold a physical copy of Erik's next Realms masterpiece in my hand, I'm more than willing to set that aside if it means I can save a few extra gold pieces each month.

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Originally posted by Caolin
This is a money grab plain and simple. They will be saving thousands if not millions in printing costs yet we the readers will only save $1.60 on the novel. How long till that 6.39 price goes to 7.99 or higher? Until they start lowering the prices on these eBooks to reasonable levels you will see an explosion in piracy. This is a yet another move by WoTC that alienates a large part of their customer base and frankly I'd rather stop reading FR novels than be force into a new format that I don't want.

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Originally posted by Dennis


#65533;Why choose only one when you can have both?!#65533;

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Originally posted by Caolin
But for those of us in the US it amounts to gouging.

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I've heard that it costs from $20,000 to $150,000 to produce a paperback book. The difference in costs depends on a variety of factors, including advances, cover illustration costs ($1500-$3000 for the average mass-market paperback cover painting), size of the novel (200 or 1200 pages), and so on. According to my own publisher (Del Rey/Random House), it costs approximately $150,000 to produce a mass-market paperback novel, including all costs associated with that book (rights, editing, cover art, production, printing, warehousing, distribution, sales, etc.).

For a hardback book, the breakout of costs, according to the January 12, 1998, issue of U.S. News & World Report, is as follows:

22% Royalties, rights, and permissions
8% Editorial
12% Administrative and other associated costs
16% Production
17% Paper, printing, and binding
4% Warehousing
21% Sales and marketing.


People often ask, who makes the bigger profit--the author or the publisher? In reality, the biggest money-maker is neither the author nor the publisher, but rather the retailers, who take approximately 50% of the cover price as income. With retailers taking the lion's portion, with rising costs, flat or fallen profit margins, and with other media ventures making significantly larger profits, publishers, just like other businesses, are looking for ways to cut costs and bump up profit margins.

But surely, you say, publishers make good money? Well, for a book publisher, the profit margin on a hardback book that retails for $25, is approximately $1.

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Originally posted by Elsenrail
I spend 8+ hours a day working on a computer. Reading on a laptop is not for me (or Kindle device). I really relax when I have a paperback in my hands.

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Originally posted by ElaineCunningham

Time is short, so I'll be bowing out of this thread. I understand the reticence to embrace new technology, but I also hate to see people missing a good story.

Good luck with your new book, Erik.

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Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie

Hail and Well Met, everyone!

This industry we're in is a SERVICE industry. If we're not giving you what you want, then we're not doing our jobs.

f with electronic releases is an inspiration.

Cheers

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Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers

E-publishing also provides a way to keep every piece of FR fiction readily available forever. That's good, right?

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