They also probably will not consider that "sales tax" of 20% applies to e-pub but not to hard copy.
]]>Whereas British buyers are cheapskates and much less inclined to spend on expensive titles, according to this report.Iiiiiiiinteresting. Thanks for that. First time I've come across a UK/US difference. paws4thot —
I'm pretty sure this conversation has run before and the real issue is that British buyers (rightly or wrongly) perceive printing and binding as being a significant part of the cost of a physical bookIn my experience that misconception seems to be pretty much universal to anybody not involved in the publishing world in some way. Certainly not noticed US folk grokking it more than UK folk. Interestingly the report that Charlie references puts it down to different business models:
In the UK, there is usually a fierce price war going on between Amazon and some new entrant; currently it is Sainsburys, previously it was Sony and Nook. But there is usually someone trying to buy market share by discounting the price. Previously we had the 20p offer from Sony, now 99p seems more common. In the USA, the current tussle appears to be between the existing ebook stores and the new startups wanting to sell you a subscription model (aka “Netflix/Spotify for ebooks”)
Which is an interesting thought. I'm not sure I'm completely convinced, but it's certainly true that I've not noticed anything like the Sainsburys-type discount pitching in the US from Amazon competitors.
]]>The mills of Euro justice grind exceeding slow. The government of Luxembourg may have run foul of EU law limiting how different VAT rates can be.
The rules for VAT on physical goods are a bit different.
The problem is that the super-low VAT rate messes with competition and free-trade. It's such a big difference, and Luxembourg is taking unfair advantage. So is Amazon, and they are less than clear on the VAT rate which applies.
It also gives Amazon an advantage against non-EU ebook publishers who try to sell direct, though there's nothing to stop anyone else setting up a company in Luxembourg.
On a 99p ebook, Amazon get 96p after tax. But they make it very easy for a customer to think they only get 83p.
]]>It certainly seems to point out that the business model associated with paper books and that associated with eBooks needs to be very different. It's no good saying the consumer is cheapskate - the consumer likes, and will pay, what they like and will pay.
As such I think the 'periodical' structure (a la Dickens), with a free first part and low priced subsequent parts - and eventually a nicely bound paper form - is likely to be a much better model than the existing one. You probably couldn't subdivide too far, but a regular 'friday release for a month and a half' could work well. Couple that social media discussion; a slight delay in release for those who hadn't bought the previous bits (so promoting non-copying) and with a 'half price paper hard back' offer for buyers of all e-parts at the end, and it would probably be more lucrative overall.
Given the hidebound and regressive nature of publishing (as is basically the theme of this page) it would probably have to be done distinct from the publishers and their backward standard contracts.
]]>That doesn't make it a bad idea, but when they're doing something, it's time to sup with a long spoon.
]]>I would have though the apstore model would be an ideal way of charging and distributing this.
Of course expect stories to start to resemble Tv series with cliff......................hangers to the next post.
But that's as old as Persia anyway
]]>It can be made to work, but I'm not convinced that it would result in the books that are thereby made available being as good as those currently published (yes, yes, Sturgeon's Law and all that).
]]>See also Charles Dickens.
]]>However, suspension of disbelief collapsed completely on the finding that this super-advanced, technological "civilisation" had a multi-theistic pantheon of "Gods". Oh yeah? And you want to sell me this bridge, for scrap metal? Really? NOT impressed
]]>It's an interesting story, set in an interesting universe construct, and a worthy entry for the award. (So much so that it's hard on the heels of Charlie's novel. IMAO, of course.)
At some point I need to download the voting packet and see what the rest of the field is like. (Also see about DVDs for the Dramatic Presentation award, but that may be more expensive as well as time consuming - I can't watch them on the bus to work.)
]]>On-Line Hugo voting is now available on the Loncon3 website.
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