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The good and bad news from the pricing war between Amazon and publishers

Chris Walters — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:59:04 +0000

For readers, there is one easy win to come from the current fight between Amazon and publishers over how to price and sell ebooks, and it is that at least one of the publishers demanding a change in terms has said that it will stop delaying ebook releases if it can practice variable pricing.

Young said the company would release e-books simultaneously under the new model–Hachette USA had been one of a number of US publishers to window new releases because of the price they were being offered for sale on Amazon.com’s Kindle device.

The second bit of good news, although this is more for authors, is that the new model gives authors and their agents room to demand higher royalty rates for digital sales. Publishers Weekly reports that Macmillan has already announced it will bump up digital royalty rates from 20% to 25% moving forward.

The bad news, which you already know, is that the next new ebook release from Macmillan or Hachette might be $15, as there’s no guarantee that Amazon will be the cheapest ebook store in town anymore. Unfortunately, thanks to digital rights management (DRM) across the marketplace, for now at least you won’t be able to comparison shop from your Kindle.

“Hachette moves to ‘agency model’ in the US” [The Bookseller] “Sargent Says Deal is Closer; Macmillan Royalty Rate to Rise” [Publishers Weekly]

(Photo: Jandro S)

Two of the best explanations of the Amazon/Macmillan book battle

Chris Walters — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:52:42 +0000

This whole issue of how ebooks are priced, what they’re worth to consumers, and how to make money off of them is actually pretty complicated. It’s also fascinating, at least to someone like me; for the first 18 months after I bought a Kindle I demanded that no publisher ever go above the $10 mark. (I’ve since softened my stance somewhat for new releases, although personally I don’t buy ebooks over $10 regardless.)

Two of the best explanations I’ve found come from published writers who have an obvious interest in what Amazon and publishers end up doing:

Read “Amazon, Macmillan: an outsider’s guide to the fight” by Charles Stross

Read “Why my books are no longer for sale via Amazon” by Tobias Buckell

Bonus! Read “Kindle Numbers: Traditional Publishing Vs. Self Publishing” by Joe Konrath for an alternate take on earning money from ebooks if you’re a midlist writer.

Set aside 10-15 minutes and read these two (or three) guys for some great insights, for example on Amazon’s reasons for holding to the $10 price point (hint: it’s not really for our benefit), on how much it costs to publish a high quality ebook, and on how to price more efficiently to take advantage of what different customers are actually willing to pay (hardcore fans are usually willing to give more support to their favorite authors).

This post originally appeared on Kindlerama.