When it comes to ebook pricing, I’ve changed my position on the matter almost weekly; sometimes I side with publishers, sometimes with retailers, sometimes with consumers. But I think this week I may have finally realized something that forces me into a more permanent point of view on the matter. It’s this:
Most publishers want to maintain the traditional business model and slow the growth of the ebook market.
Most publishers, in fact, are trying to intentionally slow the uptake of ebooks by consumers. I think that’s what the whole pricing issue is really about–driving away customers as much as possible, because ebooks don’t easily fit into the existing business model of the average publisher.
Last week, an industry insider circulated talking points among publishing types, instructing them on how to frame the debate in the media in order to convince consumers to accept higher ebook prices. This in itself is offensive–if your approach to innovation is to act like a political group, and to deliberately strategize how to abuse language so that you can confuse the issue, you’re sending a clear message that you don’t want to have an honest conversation with your customers.
In response, I posted a piece on Consumerist.com that explains the issue in plain language for publishers: if you want to raise prices, make the ebook worth the price. It’s that simple. Add value, raise the price.
I also pointed out four things that publishers should take under consideration immediately, instead of memorizing talking points:
- Stop calling consumers cheap; they want fair value.
- Stop hiding behind industry inefficiencies. Innovate.
- Stop asking consumers to trust you; demonstrate that you want the ebook market to grow, or be honest and admit that you don’t.
- Stop saying lower prices will destroy author incomes and modern culture; it derails any meaningful discussion.
Most complaints you read from publishers commit at least one of the above four sins. Why, take a look at this email I received from a publisher earlier this week when I suggested that she might sell more copies of a novella (a novella!) if she would price the Kindle version lower than $10 on Amazon:
What I think consumers don’t understand is there is still a decent amount of cost & time we as publishers have to put in to offer a book on Kindle (or B&N, etc.)…So, it wouldn’t be fair to us or the author to charge much lower. All publishers struggle to make ends meet and the majority of our authors certainly aren’t making a living off their book royalties, so for this reason I don’t think we can discount books — print or ebooks — any further.
Look at that: she implies Kindle customers are being cheap (as opposed to asking for fair value), she blames the industry for barely being profitable as it is, and she says authors won’t be able to make a living. Three in one paragraph!
So I finally get it. When publishers say they want to maintain a competitive marketplace, or they don’t want ebooks to cannibalize print sales, or they need to recoup the cost of publishing, what they’re really saying is simply: we want to make sure ebooks don’t take off, because we have no idea how to make that work within our current business model and we’re reluctant to try to innovate.
What they’re not saying is that they’re taking authors or readers into consideration. There may be a more profitable model out there for publishers and authors–one that includes lower prices for consumerst, in fact–but it won’t be discovered by one of the existing big companies. And the next time you read a publisher’s complaints about ebook pricing, make sure you’re not just being fed talking points.
“Consumerist: If publishers want more money for e-books, they should offer something worthy of the price” [Consumerist]
RELATED
Read more comments on this topic at the following two posts:
“Consumerist: If publishers want more money for e-books, they should offer something worthy of the price” [Teleread]
“Book Publishers Circulating ‘Talking Points’ To Counter Arguments That Ebook Prices Need To Go Lower” [techdirt]
(Money photo by aresauburn™)
Publishers should add value before raising ebook prices
When it comes to ebook pricing, I’ve changed my position on the matter almost weekly; sometimes I side with publishers, sometimes with retailers, sometimes with consumers. But I think this week I may have finally realized something that forces me into a more permanent point of view on the matter. It’s this:
Most publishers, in fact, are trying to intentionally slow the uptake of ebooks by consumers. I think that’s what the whole pricing issue is really about–driving away customers as much as possible, because ebooks don’t easily fit into the existing business model of the average publisher.
Last week, an industry insider circulated talking points among publishing types, instructing them on how to frame the debate in the media in order to convince consumers to accept higher ebook prices. This in itself is offensive–if your approach to innovation is to act like a political group, and to deliberately strategize how to abuse language so that you can confuse the issue, you’re sending a clear message that you don’t want to have an honest conversation with your customers.
In response, I posted a piece on Consumerist.com that explains the issue in plain language for publishers: if you want to raise prices, make the ebook worth the price. It’s that simple. Add value, raise the price.
I also pointed out four things that publishers should take under consideration immediately, instead of memorizing talking points:
Most complaints you read from publishers commit at least one of the above four sins. Why, take a look at this email I received from a publisher earlier this week when I suggested that she might sell more copies of a novella (a novella!) if she would price the Kindle version lower than $10 on Amazon:
Look at that: she implies Kindle customers are being cheap (as opposed to asking for fair value), she blames the industry for barely being profitable as it is, and she says authors won’t be able to make a living. Three in one paragraph!
So I finally get it. When publishers say they want to maintain a competitive marketplace, or they don’t want ebooks to cannibalize print sales, or they need to recoup the cost of publishing, what they’re really saying is simply: we want to make sure ebooks don’t take off, because we have no idea how to make that work within our current business model and we’re reluctant to try to innovate.
What they’re not saying is that they’re taking authors or readers into consideration. There may be a more profitable model out there for publishers and authors–one that includes lower prices for consumerst, in fact–but it won’t be discovered by one of the existing big companies. And the next time you read a publisher’s complaints about ebook pricing, make sure you’re not just being fed talking points.
“Consumerist: If publishers want more money for e-books, they should offer something worthy of the price” [Consumerist]
RELATED
Read more comments on this topic at the following two posts:
“Consumerist: If publishers want more money for e-books, they should offer something worthy of the price” [Teleread]
“Book Publishers Circulating ‘Talking Points’ To Counter Arguments That Ebook Prices Need To Go Lower” [techdirt]
(Money photo by aresauburn™)