eBooks for Sale!

One thing we’ve heard through the last few years is that one drawback with ebooks is their lack of sharing capabilities. Yes, if you purchase a book, often you can share the book among devices. But unlike actual paper books, you can’t bring it into your library once you finish and donate it.  So, even though the ebooks cost just as much as the hardcopy versions, you’re pretty much “stuck” with it, and no way to re-sell or donate.

Recently, however, Amazon and Apple have both applied for patents to re-sell ebooks. This has caused a great swell of backlash from a lot of different people, the same way it did when Amazon began selling used books, often at prices as low as a penny. Yes, it’s great for the consumer, but not so great for the authors, who see their work devalued. Plus, the biggest fear concerns digital rights. Who owns the book when it can be shared with anyone?  Amazon and Apple have prepared for this problem–only one person can ever have that particular copy of the book at one time.  So, if you purchase a book and then sell it to someone else, the book is no longer yours. I guess each book will have a special DRM (digital rights management) code built into it, making it unique.

Authors still will only be paid for the first copy of each book, even though there could be potential for more revenues with re-sale.  But in the printed world, an author is paid when someone buys the book from a store, for example, but wouldn’t be paid again if that person sold their copy to a used bookseller, for example.

The question becomes, why would someone pay for a NEW copy at full price, when a used copy at a greatly reduced price might become instantly available? (This is the same question for hard copies of books, really, but these books eventually become too worn for re-sale.) Digital copies remain pristine. It won’t matter if you’re the first person to read it, or the millionth…the copy will look exactly the same on your device.  With hard copies, the book’s condition will eventually match the sale price, but with ebooks, it never will. And that’s a BIG problem.

Turns out that Apple and Amazon have thought of this.  Their patents might limit the bottom price, depending on the date the original ebook was released. So, if an eBook sells for $10 one day, people re-selling will have to wait six months, for example, before they can sell it for half that price, and even longer to go down to the penny sale.  They may also limit the number of times a book can be resold, essentially mimicking the way a hard copy might be resold.

This is just in the early stages, and there will probably be a great deal of change before eBooks are able to be resold. The complications are vast and must be settled with all parties involved–authors, publishers and booksellers.

Would YOU buy a used ebook?

Fifty Shades of Writing

If you’ve been one of the masses who read through E. L. James’ FIFTY SHADES OF GREY trilogy, you might be interested to know she’s releasing a new book through Vintage Books. It might not be what you’re expecting, however. It’s a journal about her journey to getting published, as well as writing tips for people who might want to try their own hand at breaking into the world of books.

The Fifty Shades of Grey: Inner Goddess (A Journal) came about because of her fans. Whenever she met with the public during interviews or to sign books, etc., there were always so many questions about how she got started and how the publishing industry works, that she decided she’d publish a journal that revealed the inner workings of writing a book and her thoughts along the way.  Maybe this book won’t be as wildly successful as her series, just due to the topic, but I’m sure many people will be interested.

While she isn’t the first author to pen a book about writing, many readers complained about the poor writing in her series. Will this be something she addresses in the new book? Does it matter?  Some would argue that it doesn’t matter. She did what she set out to do–write something she was interested in and make readers care. That’s all that really matters.

Science Fiction Writers of America Outraged Over Hydra Contract

When we purchase books, many of us probably never think about all the legal things that go on behind the scenes when a book gets published. Last week, however, the Science Fiction Writers of America were up in arms about a new contract idea from Random House that affects their science fiction e- imprint, Hydra. They are not happy, and Random House doesn’t seem to see the problem.

Traditionally, in simple terms, writers are paid an advance from the publishing company as payment for their work. The publisher assumes all costs for printing, binding, distribution etc., and the book is put on the shelves. As the book begins to sell, the publisher is paid until all their costs are recouped and the advance they gave the author has been recovered, and then the author begins to share the profits with the publisher. If costs are not recovered because a book doesn’t do well, an author might never see any more money other than their advance.

With this new model, there are differences because of the fact they are an e-imprint (which means no binding etc., but includes different costs such as digital marketing), but they’ve also switched up all the rules. An author picked up by Hydra will have to cover all the costs and will be paid no advance. That means, Random House might decide to pay their editors $5000 if they feel it is necessary, and their marketing team $8000 if that’s what they believe they need in order to make the book successful.  The author has no choice in the matter and must shoulder the costs.  Then, when the book starts selling, both author and publisher share the royalties.  The argument is that the publisher is taking a chance on the author by giving them the opportunity and providing them with the best people in the business, and yet they both get to reap the rewards right from the start.

It seems like it might be an interesting way to do business, and one which some authors would jump at the chance for. But wait…….

The catch is that the author now also loses all rights to their work, too...indefinitely. The publisher asks for all rights, in all forms, for the life of the copyright (which could work out to be 70 years or more after the death of the author). You can see why people are upset.

Last week, there was much uproar over the whole idea, and Random House replied with their own letter to the Science Fiction Authors of America to try to make them see the light. I’m not sure it worked.  It might be more work and cost more money and maybe not net the author the same residuals, but it’s looking like self-publishing might be the way to go to avoid the massive copyright problems. You can read the Random House letter here to see for yourself.

The real problem with this new model, if accepted, is that it might be game changing for the business. What if paper books went the same way? Many authors wouldn’t be able to afford the costs of producing the books and would be forced to release in ebook format only.  If other imprints follow this new direction, the world of publishing is changing, for good or not. Will this be the direction ebook publishers have been longing for since their inception? We’ll have to wait and see.

No Event

Unfortunately, due to lack of registration, the poetry reading by Claudia Coutu Radmore scheduled for Wednesday, March 20th....is cancelled.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to reschedule this event for the future!

100 Years of Books

While some people would find it difficult to read 10 books in a year, others read so many that they lose count. If you love to read, you might also like to do your own book reviews on sites like GoodReads. But one blogger has a unique idea that takes book reviews to a different level.

Matt Kahn is a blogger who has decided to read and review every book that reached the number one position on Publisher’s Weekly annual bestseller’s list, beginning in 1913. He lists all the titles he’ll be reading and review here on his blog, so you can follow his progress. It should be interesting…he’ll be reading everything from The Grapes of Wrath to Fifty Shades of Grey, and a whole lot of John Grisham!  He also plans to provide a bit of background on the authors and the time periods in which the books became bestsellers in order to give readers a better sense of why they got there. I also think it will be fascinating to see how popular books have changed over the last 100 years. Will we see trends? Or will books change with the times?

Maybe you’ll be inspired to read some of these books after reading his reviews. You never know, you might find your new favourite author on this list!  Happy reading!

 

CLAUDIA COUTU RADMORE – POETRY READING EVENT!

 On Wednesday, March 20, 2013 we invite you to the library for a poetry reading by Claudia Coutu Radmore, author of

‘a minute or two/without remembering.’

Join us for an inspiring and evocative evening as Claudia transports us back in time to 1672 when her first French ancestor sailed to New France!

Walk in their shoes, listen to their stories, and experience history!

A minute or two/without remembering takes us from Claudia’s seventh great grandmother, Marguerite de Laplace, one of the ‘daughters’ of the king of France, sent to New France to marry a fur trader; to the Cottu family’s relation to Louis Riel; through the ten year Iroquois threat when the family moved into Montreal for safety; ending with the heartbreaking Seven Years’ War, and its aftermath.

I have come to discover that Claudia is a multi-facetted and multi-talented woman. Born and raised in Montreal, Claudia has spent her life as an educator, an artist, and not least of all, a very accomplished wordsmith.

In 1984 she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Queens University, Kingston.  She has taught elementary school, high school, and adult education in Quebec and Ontario, and trained pre-school teachers as a CUSO volunteer in Vanuatu 1985-1988.

Claudia paints portraits and landscapes in oils, and writes poetry.  She is well known for her Japanese-form poems, as well as for her lyric poetry.  Claudia has edited the Haiku Canada Anthology for several years, is the owner/editor of Bondi Press, and is the president of KaDo, Ottawa’s haiku group.

Author of Your Hands Discover Me (2010), a minute or two/without remembering (2010), and Accidentals (2011), Claudia also edited letters written to her by Leonard Budgell from Labrador, who was a fur trader for the Hudson’s Bay Company, writing the forward to his book “Arctic Twilight” which was published in 2008.  Now retired, Claudia has made Carleton Place her home since 2004. As these are just some of the highlights of Claudia’s career, please visit her website at http://claudiacouturadmore.ca for more info.

So, please join us Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 7-9 p.m. as we listen to the voices of Claudia’s ancestors.   It’s free – just call 613-257-2702 to reserve your spot!