# E-Book Release Delayed for Ted Kennedy Memoir



## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

These people just don't get it...

Excerpt:



> E-book fans will have to wait for a download of Sen. Ted Kennedy's memoir.
> 
> "True Compass," one of the year's most anticipated books, is scheduled to come out next week. But publisher Twelve has decided to hold off "indefinitely" on a digital edition. The head of Twelve, Jonathan Karp, said Thursday that the delay was a "business decision" and added that the pictures and illustrations in "True Compass" cannot be duplicated in e-book form.
> 
> "It (the delay) does not reflect any larger corporate policy," said Karp, whose imprint is part of the Hachette Book Group. "We publish each book individually and we felt that this particular hardcover edition of `True Compass' deserves to be the first and pre-eminent format for the book."


Full article here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090910/ap_en_ot/us_kennedy_e_book


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Oh for pete's sake.

I also read they hired a private investigator to find out who leaked the book to the New York Times. Seems they can't do anything right! LOL.

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

What Leslie said....

If you would like to express your disdain for their feelings about ebook publications, Twelve's feedback form can be found at http://www.twelvebooks.com/about/contact.asp (Feedback is the second set of fields on the page.)

Email for Hachette Book Group, the parent company, is [email protected]

Betsy


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

I'm sure they think everyone will run out and buy a full-price copy if they don't create an ebook copy (at full or any other price.)

They're wrong, of course.


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## lmk2045 (Jun 21, 2009)

I sent them an email this morning. This is an example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I don't have any complaints about this. Some books are better off in printed form, and it seems this one has a lot of pictures. I can see it now, if they did release it in e-book without all the pics then people would complain that they didn't get the same book as the printed version.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I have to say if I bought this book, it wouldn't be for the pics, and I'm not going to buy it in hardback vs a Kindle edition just so I can get the pics. I'd be interested in what TK had to say, not what he looked like at age six. (Haven't I seen enough pics of him lately?)

I would buy a book about Ansel Adams in paper form so I could have the pics but not this one. Just me....your mileage may vary.

And the particular book aside, it was the attitude towards the ebook industry in general that really annoyed me and that I contacted them about.

Betsy


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> I don't have any complaints about this. Some books are better off in printed form, and it seems this one has a lot of pictures. I can see it now, if they did release it in e-book without all the pics then people would complain that they didn't get the same book as the printed version.


No reason why a Kindle edition can't have pictures. Many Kindle books do in fact have pics.

Unless the late Senator Kennedy was a painter and several of his full color works are being reproduced here, I really can't understand this argument.

Even then, I'd still want the book on the Kindle.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I think I've mentioned this before but I book I read a few months ago, *A Terrible Splendor*, had pics in the print book but not the Kindle edition. However, at the author's website, he posted all the pictures that were in the book, plus a bunch of others (obviously there was a limited amount of room in the print book for pictures) and that worked just fine for me. Twelve could do the same thing for Senator Kennedy's book. There is no need to ditch the ebook completely, just use a little creative thinking.

Here's a little coincidence you'll appreciate, CS. Twelve is also the publisher of *The Film Club* by David Gilmour. Remember that book? I read a book review in the New York Times (on my Kindle) and immediately went to Amazon and downloaded the sample, then bought the book. At that point, it cost $9.99. But, CS, I remember when you went to buy the book a few months later, the price had gone up to $15 or $16.

Clearly, Twelve didn't have a problem with releasing the ebook at the same time as the print book in that particular circumstance.

L


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Honestly, I think it is probably because they want the hardcover numbers to push the book into the bestseller lists.  Ebooks don't count on that list and if they want the review coverage and press coverage, they'll want the first few weeks to be strong--in hardback through traditional channels.  I'm guessing that they are after press/numbers, which they hope will lead to additional sales.  If they release a digital version, and those sales aren't counted...they might have some money in their pocket, but not the sales figures they want to brag about.  Just a guess.  We ebookers are just lower on the priority list at the moment.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Here's a little coincidence you'll appreciate, CS. Twelve is also the publisher of *The Film Club* by David Gilmour. Remember that book? I read a book review in the New York Times (on my Kindle) and immediately went to Amazon and downloaded the sample, then bought the book. At that point, it cost $9.99. But, CS, I remember when you went to buy the book a few months later, the price had gone up to $15 or $16.
> 
> Clearly, Twelve didn't have a problem with releasing the ebook at the same time as the print book in that particular circumstance.


LOL. *The Film Club* ended up dropping back down to $9.xx eventually and I got it at that point. I wish I had listened to you about the book not being all that great. It started off strongly but once the unique premise was established, the quality deteriorated bit by bit. By the end of it, I disliked both the father and son. Their actions drove me crazy.

But yeah, seems like Twelve is pretty hypocritical. Even worse, they've shown a complete lack of understanding of how the e-book market works. For the most part, I believe their lost e-book sales *will not* translate into hardcover sales. For us, the DTB ship has basically sailed away into the Bermuda Triangle.



MariaESchneider said:


> Honestly, I think it is probably because they want the hardcover numbers to push the book into the bestseller lists. Ebooks don't count on that list and if they want the review coverage and press coverage, they'll want the first few weeks to be strong--in hardback through traditional channels. I'm guessing that they are after press/numbers, which they hope will lead to additional sales. If they release a digital version, and those sales aren't counted...they might have some money in their pocket, but not the sales figures they want to brag about. Just a guess. We ebookers are just lower on the priority list at the moment.


That's true for the most part, but I believe USA Today now has e-book rankings. That's a good start considering how popular USA Today is, so if Twelve's rationale is as you suggest, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

CS said:


> No reason why a Kindle edition can't have pictures. Many Kindle books do in fact have pics.
> 
> Unless the late Senator Kennedy was a painter and several of his full color works are being reproduced here, I really can't understand this argument.
> 
> Even then, I'd still want the book on the Kindle.


Apparently the publisher feels they can't. Yes I do have a couple books that contain pictures. They leave a LOT to be desired on my K and while I was surprised at the improvement of the pics on my kindle app, because the resolution is vastly improved and it's in color I'd venture they are judging the adequacy of the pictures only on the K version.



> the pictures and illustrations in "True Compass" cannot be duplicated in e-book form.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I agree that, on my Kindle 1, the pictures aren't great.  A good compromise would be to have them on a website, as Leslie said.  

But regardless, I still don't think anyone is buying that book to look at the pictures.  Isn't that what Barnes & Noble is for?  You take your Kindle in, read the book on your Kindle, and look at the pictures in the book on B&N's shelf...  

Betsy


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Isn't that what Barnes & Noble is for? You take your Kindle in, read the book on your Kindle, and look at the pictures in the book on B&N's shelf...


You're bad, really bad.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hey, I always buy a white chocolate mocha at B&N while I'm there!  

Betsy


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I'm to lazy to schlep it to a bricks and mortar store just to see something in print that I have no intention of actually buying. I will check on Amazon though and see if there is a preview.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

My "feedback" to Twelve publishing:

Hello!

It is understood that Kennedy's "True Compass" will either be delayed or never available in e-book/digital (ie. Kindle) format.  A large majority of those who use this format do so because of physical (or other) challenges preventing them access to traditional books.  If this rumor is true then you will not allow the millions of people Sen. Kennedy championed for his whole life to enjoy the remarkable words he chose to share with the world.

Please reconsider and offer this book in Kindle format.

Thank you


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## auntmarge (Dec 4, 2008)

I was interested to see this thread because just this morning I emailed the publisher the following:

_Hi, I'm very interested in reading Ted Kennedy's autobio, but especially because of its length would do so only on the Amazon Kindle. Do you have any plans to release it electronically? I think you'd find a receptive and eager readership._

and got back the following:

_Thanks for writing to us. We will eventually make the ebook available, although an exact date has not been set. True Compass will be regarded as an enduring work, and I hope you will eventually want to read it. _


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Every little bit helps...

L


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

I would buy the book if it came out on Kindle.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

At this point I won't buy this book even if it came out on Kindle.  E-books are here to stay.  If a publisher wants to treat e-book readers as second class citizens, that is their prerogative, but I won't bother supporting them.  I can see no reason why a new book can't be released in e-book and print formats at the same time.  Ditto for the JK Rowlings and John Grishams out there, they're dead to me. Bottom line is I no longer purchase DTB's (with the exception of books that don't lend themselves to an e-format) so if a publisher/author wants me as a customer I guess they better make an e-book and if it's a new release the e-book better be made available at the same time.

I truly think the publishers are only hurting themselves, especially in a case like this.  When the buzz surrounding Kennedy's death quiets down so will the customer's desire to have to have the book now.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I looked at *True Compass* in Barnes & Noble yesterday. It has both black & white and color pictures. I've thought about this so much that I finally decided to make an exception and ordered it from Amazon. It's not for the pictures necessarily though. I just don't want to wait. This was the second time this week that I looked at it in a book store.

I seem to have the luck from past experience of books coming out in kindle edition after I've bought the DTB. So maybe this will help all of you who want the ebook.

It's hard for me to come around to buying a DTB these days. I have so many of them that I haven't read yet. I have a small apartment and too many DTBs. I haven't been reading any of them over the summer since I read H.W. Brands *Traitor to His Class* in June.


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2009)

This annoys me. I very much want to read this book but I was really hoping there would be a Kindle edition. I got my Kindle in Nov. 2008 and have only purchased two DTBs since. They were old, out of print books so I had no choice. Guess I'm going to have to buy this one too. It's currently sitting in my Amazon shopping cart along with Alton Brown's new book (it's an illustrated cookbook so not really Kindle friendly.). I agree that the publisher sounds like a real idiot.

By the way, Sen. Kennedy was indeed an artist. I don't know if the book contains any of his paintings however.


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## auntmarge (Dec 4, 2008)

Personally I think they've missed the boat with this.  Here's a ready-made audience, and they want to wait.  I'm going to wait until they give in because the book is so large or, if they never publish a K version, I might go with a pb version next year.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

My copy of True Compass arrived today.  Along with another book that came today, these are my first DTB purchases for myself in many months.

There is a small reproduction of his painting, "Daffodils" that he created for his wife, among the color pictures.  Until I saw this, I didn't realize that he painted.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I still say boo on the publishers for not making this available for kindle.  I made an exception for this one, but it won't be happening again any time soon.  I wonder if Kennedy's family had anything to do with the decision to hold this back?


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2009)

No I doubt that. From what the article said it was the publisher. He's not a fan of ebooks and thinks they hurt rather than help sales. Totally clueless!


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

I found another Ted Kennedy book that *is* on Kindle. Seems quite good from what I've read in the sample.



It was released February of this year, a few months before Kennedy's death.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

I think I might just send a little note to Ted Kennedy, Jr. regarding this.  I've met & spoken to him before regarding issues and since he is on TV quite a bit these days speaking about his father, this book and his role on the board of the American Association of People with Disabilities he might listen.


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## auntmarge (Dec 4, 2008)

F1Wild said:


> I think I might just send a little note to Ted Kennedy, Jr. regarding this. I've met & spoken to him before regarding issues and since he is on TV quite a bit these days speaking about his father, this book and his role on the board of the American Association of People with Disabilities he might listen.


Great idea! It probably depends who has the copyright and what the publishing contract states, but maybe he can put pressure on someone.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

I also wrote to the AAPD, American Association of People with Disabilities, and also left a little note on their FB blog.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I started reading this in DTB last night.  I've only read the prologue and first chapter, but it's very good.  I'm still reading another very long book, so I started this just before sleep.  

This was my first opportunity to use my book buddy pillow with a DTB and it helps a lot.


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