Tell me your valentine…

So how about a valentine contest? (sticky…see below)

 

My brilliant ebook price idea (or so I like to think)

I had an idea.

I think it might even be a relatively good one… maybe even a great one.

But then again…I could be wrong.

See More Funny Pictures|Idea Kitteh

Anyway.  Here’s my idea.

One thing publishers really should have started doing, from the beginning, was getting readers to their sites to buy ebooks.  This cuts down on the middle men sites like Amazon, Sony (although yes, I love my Sony store and I’ll pay a few dollars *a few* dollars more total to avoid hitting two or three or five different places), Diesel, etc, etc, etc. and since they aren’t paying the distributor, they are able to keep more of the profit, which they could then pass on to the reader-maybe they could even keep those ebook costs at or close to $9.99.  The distributors take about a 30% cut, I think.  Not sure on stats, but I think.

But now, people are used to going to places like Amazon, or they’ll get used to going to the Nook store with BN.com, etc, etc.

Maybe what the major publishers (AKA The Big 6) should consider doing?  Developing their own Readers.  Maybe subcontract with Sony or the makers of the Nook-but please, be foreward thinking and do not make the reader to where it would only read books from their respective publishers-they will not sell that well. I’m a Nora Roberts/JD Robb whore and even I am not going to buy a dedicated ebook reader that would only allow me to read books from her publisher.  I like lots and lots of options.  Readers need lots and lots of options.

This reader/publisher idea thing could offer them that, and it would be in a way that could benefit publishers, authors and readers.

Why would this be a good idea?

Well, if publishers develop their own readers, they could use that as a way to get readers to check out ‘their’ ebook stores.   They’d make money through the ebook readers, and it would also serve as a platform to draw attention to the fact that you can buy ebooks through the publisher sites.  Granted, this isn’t going to work all that well unless pubs offer the ebooks at more reasonable prices.

Perhaps they could offer a running promotion that people who own ‘the pub ebook reader’ get an ongoing 30% discount on any titles purchased through their ebookstore. Vendors get a discount anyway, so why not pass that to those who hit their stores?

Maybe the publishers could start offering ‘bundled’ discounts-say five of JD Robb’s In Death books at 20-25% discount in general, and those who have the ‘publisher’ reader could get the bundle at a 35% discount… I dunno, something reasonable, certainly, but give them a reason to check out the publisher’s ebook store.

Harlequin is awesome about offering bundles, it looks like.  Other pubs could start offering this sort of thing and it could get readers to start checking out the ebooks on their sites, rather than through the E-tailers.  Build up a relationship with the ebook customers-give them the discount you’d give the vendors.

Readers would probably love it.  Publishers could still turn the profit they need and it could be another step toward adjusting to the changing digital marketplace.

 

What I’m tweeting about

It’s official.  I tweet too much.

 

First Drop of Crimson

Yay!  It’s out today… yes, I’m a dork.  I’ve been waiting for this book.  yay!

First Drop of Crimson

 

What I’m tweeting about

• 22:03 What I’m tweeting about: wp.me/p2E96-17N #
• 23:04 Traditional publishing is nowhere near dead: wp.me/p2E96-17k #
• 23:10 warm jammies rock. @Nightwolfwriter @kindlevixen @IngelaHyatt @AnneDouglas #
• 23:10 just finished reading Nora Roberts’ Tribute. Enjoyed it-not one of my faves of hers, but it’s a keeper, will definitely be a re-read. #
• 23:12 Fictionwise Free Evanovich, Grafton and Lora Leigh eBooks : tinyurl.com/yaa7egf #
• 23:13 @katiebabs …. SQUIRREL! #
• 23:14 I’m going to do something rather drastic here. I’m going to bed before midnight. #
• 23:14 and I’m tired enough that I think I might even sleep… #
• 07:48 @TracyWolff Divine Evil and Honest Illusion, the Chesapeake Bay books and the Irish Jewel Books are my fave of her NR books. #
• 07:48 @TracyWolff couldn’t even begin to start which of theJD Robb books are my faves. #
• 07:49 morning world. #
• 07:49 According to weather.com, we’ve got more snow coming. #
• 07:49 guess I need to stock up on the world’s supply of milk, toilet paper and fruit roll ups. #
• 08:31 ki8ds to school, post office, grocery store, and the Y. I’m tired already. And I still have work to do. o_O #
• 12:31 RT @marjoriemliu: If @PassionGames and I can get 300 folks to tweet #Share_Love, we’ll donate a computer system to women-in-need.org! #
• 12:47 Look what showed up on my doorstep today… #
• 12:48 My first copy of BROKEN tweetphoto.com/10792560 #
• 12:53 Getting to work now. There are…um..3 open projects on my laptop and I might start carving out a 4th… yes, I’m insane. I enjoy it. #
• 19:29 I just the look from the oldest. you know the look… the one that says… "You’re the meanest mom in the world." #
• 19:29 Sigh. Why in the hell does doing what’s RIGHT for them gotta suck so bad? #
• 19:46 @TheSciFiChick Another one… Vacuum cleaners. #BadValentinesGifts #
• 19:47 @GayleWriter she better. and for now, i’m thinking… just way. just WAIT. #
• 19:48 @mctclover yeah. Guess I’d rather be a ‘mean’ mom for actually ‘parenting’. o_O #
• 19:49 eating a taco salad w/ these chips. bit.ly/dBMlQk rather yummy… and rather healthy, I think #
• 19:51 I am ignoring Kate until I am done with my meal. #
• 19:55 @TheSciFiChick *G* Well, lets make it a theme. thermal UNDERWEAR. Although in this weather? We need it. #BadValentinesGifts #
• 19:58 @katiebabs okay, NOW… what were saying? I didn’t quite catch that…. #
• 20:02 @bocadeloba it must be something in the air. glum sigh. #
• 20:03 @katiebabs … SQUIRREL #
• 20:08 @TheSciFiChick *G* Of course they don’t. Here’s one… Sonic Care Toothbrush… how’s that for sexy? #BadValentinesGifts #
• 20:13 @Jeaniene_Frost I’m curious…*G* would she accept a dinner invite from you… @ErikaTsang Re: how I almost made my editor a vegetarian #
• 20:21 Hey, congrats on the Vows thing. That sounds really cool. @JulieLeto @alisonkent #
• 20:22 it’s almost Valentine’s Day and I have nooooo idea what to get my sweetie this year. Normally, I have ideas. This year? Nope. #
• 20:26 oooookay. when the baby bratlet decides to play dressup? She really plays dressup. She’s wearing 4 different costumes. At once. #
• 20:26 She’s a princess, cheerleading, rockstar bride. #
• 20:26 @JulieLeto Sounds it. #
• 20:31 Computer Virus Software. (and that actually popped up as a suggestion from MY software as an update reminder) #BadValentinesGifts #
• 20:31 @jodywallace eh, depends. last year, we went out of town the night. One year, I bought him some Bunratty Meade. #
• 20:33 @jodywallace lol… it’s alcohol. #
• 20:34 @bocadeloba already done. #
• 20:42 @KellyJamieson for him or me… LMAO. ;o) #
• 20:48 @avidbookreader ugh. I HATE music/sound on a website. hate, hate HATE. #

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Traditional publishing is nowhere near dead

This seems to be a common refrain lately. Some people are saying it.

And well, I hate to bust anybody’s bubble-I really do, but…well, these people wrong.

The majority of readers still aren’t into ebooks yet.  They just aren’t.  Quite a few books sold through places like Walmart, Target, even the typical Borders, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, the indies, Half Prices Books and More…those are bought by the people who love their print books.

Most of them aren’t ready to make the switch.

Most of them don’t want to make the switch.

Many of them can’t see plunking down the $200+ for a decent e-ink device and many of them are going to hold onto their pennies until a more ‘universal’ device comes onto the market.  The majority of my readers are print readers-and here’s the kicker-I started out in ebooks.  As far as ebook/digital readers go, I’ve got a decent reader base built up. But the digital readers are still outnumbered.

Now… will it stay this way?

Nah.  At some point, digital books are going to be the ‘normal’.  In some ways, I’m ready.  For any parent out there who has a skinny kid (like me) who is hauling around text books that way half her body weight?  Oy, I’m waiting for the day I can opt in to get her a digital text book reader.  My back hurts just watching her lug that back pack around, and she hasn’t even really started getting the heavy books.

I’m also an ebook reader.  I’ve got a Sony and I love it.  Especially if for some reason I can’t get out of the house to the bookstore-whether it’s sick kids, too busy, whatever.  Just go tot the Sony Store, get my book and away I go.  I’ve been reading ebooks since 2003 and I’ve shown my Sony Reader far and wide.  I love my ebook gadgets and I love the options ebooks have.

But…they aren’t dominant yet.

And as long as the local bookstore is a popular place to go on a rainy day, as long as there are readers who want to go browse the real bookshelves over the virtual ones?  As long the readers who want to hold the print book in their hands still outnumber those who are into the digital books?

The print books are not going anywhere.

Traditional publishing isn’t going anywhere.

Is traditional publishing going to have to change? Yep.  But everything changes-that’s just the way the world is.  If you’re not growing, you’re dying.  And as long as there are readers willing to buy books, publishing is going to grow.  Plenty of readers are still plenty willing to buy books.  Right now, traditional publishing is going through some ’stumbles’ as it adjusts to merging digital technology with its traditional publishing choices.  There are going to be screw-ups, there are going to be stumbles, but that doesn’t mean traditional publishing is dead.

It isn’t.

It’s not going anywhere.  It’s going to change some and since the publishing industry wants to thrive and survive, I think it’s going to figure out how to make changes for the better.  But growing is rarely easy.  It’s a matter of trial and error.

 

What I’m tweeting about

• 23:02 Books, Shiny, Shiny Books…: wp.me/p2E96-17q #
• 08:58 Great post on e-piracy by @Jeaniene_Frost bit.ly/bhLLcD #
• 09:03 Jeaniene Frost has an awesome post on e-Piracy up…: wp.me/p2E96-17K #
• 09:27 I thought abt getting that one-not worth it? @trelaina @roxannestclaire #
• 09:27 @TeresaMedeiros why wouldn’t they be good superbowl food? o_O #
• 09:41 @mrsgiggles *G* LOL… that’s an image former boyband superstar turns FBI agent posing as a real estate who sells crack undercover. #
• 09:43 oh good grief. I tweet the words ‘r3al e$tate and pick up spam b0ts in seconds. geez. #
• 09:44 @SmartBitches oh when it comes to the weather, I frequently think tv networks need valium. #
• 09:48 i need to warm up the car. going to church, trying to convince myself to go to the Y after, might take kids out to eat. #
• 09:49 have to leave-bratlet spent the night at friends and gotta pick her up. #
• 09:49 but i keep looking outside and thinking… MAN, it looks cold. #
• 10:07 @roxannestclaire LMAO… well, it could be a writer’s tutorial then… *G*@trelaina #
• 10:07 @GraylinFox they are getting absurd aren’t they? #
• 10:08 @amgamble in 94-ish, Lou, KY had ab 24 in of snow dumped on us in abt 6 hrs (give or take). after that, for the next 6-8 years, (cont) #
• 10:09 @amgamble Couldn’t SAY the word flurry without the news pouncing like tiger. Even a special on mcflurries at mcdonalds might have done it #
• 12:49 RT @AuthorToniBlake: Next Sat: Romance booksigning w/me, @shilohwalker , @lorilfoster , @JulesBennett 2/13, 1-3PM, B&N in Westchester, OH #
• 12:50 LMAO. Kids have been terrorizing pets lately and pets have taken to hiding. often. Son just noticed pets are hiding…often. #
• 12:50 Says, "She doesn’t seem to want to play with me." Goes over, checks her nose. "Hmm. Her nose is wet. She’s feels fine." #
• 13:21 LMAO. RT @TeresaMedeiros: "Toyota–The Last Car You’ll Ever Drive." #
• 16:02 Gee, you all have that only healthyctreats allowed deal, too, huh?@VictoriaDahl #
• 17:20 @TracyWolff they terrorize hermit crabs… lol #
• 17:22 Decided I didnt want to hit the Y and I took the easy way out-worked out with Wii fit instead-not as good, but I’ll go to Y tomorrow morning #
• 17:24 @arianna_skye until you get really frustrated when you can’t beat a goofy game… #
• 17:25 @Nightwolfwriter I’m pretty sure snowshoveling counts as exericise and a half. #
• 17:32 @kenyonsherrilyn Hell, I’m distracted by anything shiny. but I love opals, love the deep red rubies, tanzanite. #
• 17:40 @kenyonsherrilyn purple diamonds……. oh… must go find pics. #
• 17:42 LMAO. You gotta love the internet. Doing image search for purple diamonds. One image of a bird diving toward water pops up. #
• 17:42 and… $ex toys, too. #
• 17:45 pretty, pretty and sparkly. bit.ly/dcXjrQ #
• 17:47 @IngelaHyatt LMAO. I alreayd lost it. I just did a google image search for purple diamonds… hold on. lemme see. #
• 17:49 @IngelaHyatt huh. okay. So it wasn’t a badly squashed image of a toy.,… but the google image looked like. bit.ly/d4MgPI opps. #
• 17:49 @IngelaHyatt not entirely sure what it is… #
• 17:51 @LVLM @emeraldjaguar I hadn’t ever heard not to wash… have heard to douche, but that’s a different thing entirely. #
• 17:51 @LVLM @emeraldjaguar going in dirty is groooossss…. #
• 17:57 @emeraldjaguar soap isn’t what causes the problem. It’s the douching-which generally they don’t rec anyway-imbalance pH or something…IRC #
• 17:57 @emeraldjaguar and no, they wouldn’t want to, but you know they do. O_O #
• 18:00 Gee. if i get a notice that I have a new follower, and I look at your page and see no tweets, a link that goes to..oh, say an Amazon store #
• 18:00 an ebay store. that sort of thing? Here’s my reaction. BLOCK. O_O. Am tired of twitter spam. #
• 18:01 But… for my followers who really followers…as in peoples? Hello!!! How are you! I don’t autofollow, but I do read my @ replies. #
• 18:01 And uh…sometimes? I have very weird discussions…. #
• 18:02 @LVLM LOL. Well, soap in certain places will break a lot of people out. #
• 18:03 @bocadeloba I think the reds are prettier than the purple. but the purples I saw, the pics aren’t all that great. #
• 18:04 @has_bookpushers you have time travelers following you? Now THAT is kind cool… weirdly strange, too. #
• 18:08 @has_bookpushers heh. Now that’s kind cool. hmmmm…. temporal anthropologist, huh? #
• 18:09 @IngelaHyatt hey, the google image was thumbnail and the res. sucked. once I clicked thru, I realized otherwise. #
• 18:10 @LVLM LOL. Hell, I’m a nurse, I’ve had complete stranger go into detail about their elimination patterns. O_O Not that I WANT to know… #
• 18:10 @LVLM but i’ve had much more in depth TMI than that. #
• 18:12 My son is getting frustrated he can’t beat my ski jump score on wii fit. #
• 18:12 @has_bookpushers O_O really…hmmmm… #
• 18:19 @has_bookpushers could be fun for researching story ideas, that’s for sure. hmmmm. #
• 18:19 @DrkCherry i beat my kids. ;o) they don’t know how to be still #
• 18:20 @nicholandria the kids love it. I don’t always love it, but it’s handy #
• 18:49 @marjoriemliu Yep. Me too #
• 18:50 salsa. yummy. should be one of the major food groups. condiments. pfft. #
• 18:52 @bocadeloba the7y classify it as a condiment. pfft. #
• 18:53 @angelajames that would depend… who is in it… #
• 18:53 @StaciaKane ick… you sick? Hope ya feel better #
• 18:55 @angelajames hmmmm… i dunno. Think I could pass. Like them, but don’t adore either. Story line any good? #
• 18:56 @bocadeloba plus, it also has healthy benefits. everybody knows tomatoes are chock full of healthy stuff. AND…if you’re stuffy? #
• 18:56 @bocadeloba natural decongestant #
• 18:57 @Rob_Thurman um… who is teh blue dude and why is he blue… @Zombie_Joe …@mark_henry #
• 18:57 @angelajames ahhhh… okay. Well, if we actually have actors who can act ENGLISH… I could maybe enjoy that. #
• 18:59 ok. hands are acting up. time to step away from the desktop for a while. stupid hands. can i get replacements? #
• 20:04 @Shaiha_ LMAO… your DH loves twitter because of my weird discussions…??? o_O #
• 20:05 @Rob_Thurman smurf war. I’m trying to decide if I really want to know. it sounds….disturbing. #
• 20:07 LMAO. RT @Cuppacafe: OMG! Was that Janet Jackson’s nipple? #sb44 #
• 20:13 easy way to make my kids really happy-give them pajamas right out of the dryer. O_O #

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Jeaniene Frost has an awesome post on e-Piracy up…

Over at the Deadline Dames blog.

I really liked this bit:

Piracy costs. If you love reading, please support that love by obtaining books through legal channels.

 

Books, Shiny, Shiny Books…

Stayed up way too late Thursday night (Friday morning…?)… and ended up ordering me some shiny, shiny new books from Barnes and Noble.

Archangel's Kiss

First Drop of Crimson

Betrayed

Any Given Doomsday

And um…yes, I’ve already read Archangel’s Kiss… but so… I need a matching set, right? *G*

 

What I’m tweeting about

below the cut

 

Something I’ve been pondering

About the whole Amazon/MacMillion/iPad thing. (and man, I must say again, I really hate that name…iPad).

Okay, it’s no big secret that with the kindle and the majority of the $9.99 bestsellers, Amazon has the dominant place, for now, in the digital market.

And it’s also no big secret that the digital publishing industry is getting bigger. It is. Bottom line. But for now, Amazon’s pretty much been in control. They can afford to sell the books they sell @ $9.99 (even if it’s at a loss to them). They make money from the Kindle-that’s their selling point. But other bookstores can’t afford to sell at a loss. Other places can’t compete.  (Although with Apple moving into the game, I suspect things will change.)

Without competition, the ebook market isn’t going to grow the way it needs to.

Competition is a good thing for business, right?

I’m not business minded, but competition is one of things that helps drives the industry, right? Isn’t competition something that drives businesses to create a better product, a friendlier format, etc, etc? Competition will bring (hopefully) about more choices for the reader. Maybe competition will bring more affordable ebook readers to the market.

Me? I’m not reading on a phone anytime soon (read… never), and I know a lot of people are interested in a dedicated device, but they won’t buy one until it hits under $149 or cheaper.

More competition will bring that about.

Does all of this mean I want to see higher ebook prices for readers?  No-I want fair ebook prices that will allow the publishers to turn the profit they need, and still be affordable to readers.

I’m a reader, and I spend an unreal amount of money on books every year.  Unreal…shudder.  Don’t ask.  And as books are one thing I don’t tend to curb my impulse buys very well, if prices go up, that means I’m spending more money-I’d rather not be doing that-if I’m spending more money, I’d rather it because I’m buying more books, not spending more money per book.

And I’m not saying this because I want to see people buying me hardback over buying me in ebook-I’m not in hardback and it will be a few years, at least, before that happens, assuming it does happen.  So the price of hardbacks really doesn’t affect me at this point, at all.

I want fair prices…but I mean fair…all around.  Fair means just that… fair. Fair all across the board-something that is affordable to the reader, yet still benefits the author, the publisher and the bookseller, because it’s all one big circle.  One very big circle, often with overlapping parts-booksellers are often readers.  Readers are often authors.  Authors are often readers.  One big, interconnected circle, so I’d like to see something fair…across the board and I can want fair, all across the board.  I’m allowed to do that.  Maybe it’s Pollyanna of me to want that, but hey… it’s kind of my blog and if I want to overly optimistic, I can do so.

I’m not entirely sure if $9.99 (for the ebook version of a hardback) ‘is’ fair.  I don’t remember where I heard it, but somebody said Amazon openly admit they lose money selling books at that price. I do know that other bookstores can’t afford the ‘loss’ Amazon can, so as long as Amazon continues to sell at a loss, relying on the sale of Kindles (assuming that’s how this works) to make up on those losses, then real competition isn’t going to really happen.  Until there’s serious competition, the ebook market isn’t going to become what I think it can become.  That’s just my two cents on it, but as long as one major place stays in control, there’s not really any growth.  It’s just maintaining the status quo.

Competition is what makes a market thrive.  Competition, ultimately, will offer readers more choices.   Competition will bring about other ebook reading devices, it will hopefully get the focus on issues like DRM and how it doesn’t do crap to solve piracy and all it does is annoy users (me included).  Competition leads to growth and as the market grows and expands, maybe the price issue will level out.  It wasn’t that long ago that Amazon was selling the Kindle for how much?  Wasn’t it originally like $399 or $359?  Then they dropped it $259?

They’d expanded the market, leveled things out-those who really got the device when they really wanted it were willing to pay the price and now it’s available at a cheaper price and more are willing to pick it up.  It’s likely that price will drop again at some point, especially with the iPad coming out, and there’s also the very cute Barnes and Noble Nook and even though I’ve got a Sony Touch that I love, I may be taking a second look at a Nook (say that fives times fast).

I think once the publishing industry gets a better feel of the ebook market, once things level out, the current turmoil will settle down.   Right now, things are a mess.   But it doesn’t surprise me, really.  As things start to grow, they often get…messy.  Anybody who has ever had a kid in their house knows that.  The digital age is probably nearing its ‘teen’ years, so to speak, right?  Growing pains are to be expected.  And as traditional publishing tries to merge with digital publishing, there are going to be bumps along the way.  Some people are going to screw up, probably more than others.  Unfortunately, some of us just don’t learn without falling down along the way-I can see this honestly because I know-I’m one of those people who see the light once I’m on my butt and looking upward.

And I still like my idea-a ‘fair’ idea, in my mind-pubs could developed a ‘tiered’ pricing system to use with online booksellers.

When a book is released in hardback and ebook-set the ebook at 50% of the hardback ’s suggested retail-for say the first 6-8 weeks of release.  A book that retails @ $25 would be $12.50 in ebook.  This would give the publishers the time they need to make their profits-which they do need to do-profits are what make it possible for the publishers to keep investing in new authors, new voices, etc, etc.  (Yes, they are also pocketing profits, but we have to be realistic-this is business, businesses are in business to make money-I’m not trying to be greedy here-this is just realistic.  Besides, again, those profits are what enables pubs to take risks on the ‘new voices’…and one of those ‘new’ voices may very well become a fave voice of yours)

After that?  Drop it to $9.99.  Would give book’s sales an extra boost and those who don’t want to pay more than $9.99 will just a few more weeks.  I don’t even know if something like this is possible, but if it is, it could be something offered to all vendors so one particular vendor doesn’t get a stranglehold on the market.

And for crying out loud, when it’s in paperback?  The price needs to drop to the paperback price-or even a little lower.  No ebook should ever cost more than the print version. Period.