# Random House goes to Agency model as of March 1.



## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Say goodbye to cheap new releases from the big 6. 

This according to Publishers' Weekly. News hit twitter about an hour ago.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Darn  

I been leaning more and more on smaller publishers, especially the imprints of Kensington. At least their books are priced reasonably. 

Its not just the new releases though with the big 5 or 6 that are not reasonable, they price older stuff high too. I see more and more not only the ebook more than the paperback, but also older releases priced like a new release. I have seen new releases preorders for 14.99   . And those are for genre books that do not get released as a hardcover, paperback only. 

They keep this up and they only hurt themselves. The darknet keeps beckoning louder and louder.


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

And the only power authors have is to not sell their books to a publisher.  I have control over pricing of my backlist and my new books I'm bringing out, but the books that Random House has the rights to, Area 51, and St. Martins, Wild Ride and two precursors, I have no control.
I just don't understand what they're doing.  The math just isn't adding up.  In essence, publishing wants to use ebooks pricing to allow them to continue doing business as usual.  Yet the retail outlet for their product has changed.  I always knew publishers were SLOW and TECHNOPHOBIC, but I'm just amazed at how much they're fighting the future.


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## chipotle (Jan 1, 2010)

I assume this means that the agency model has been a financial success for the other big publishers. My theory is that ebook prices are going to continue to rise until they are consistent with hardcover prices across the board not just for new releases. I also think more publishers will refuse to allow ebooks to be lent at public libraries. 

I have yet to see any signs any of the big publishers are really thinking about the future. With ebooks they had a wonderful chance to create new readers and to bring more people back to reading (i.e., grow their customer base) but they seem to be determined to squander that opportunity.


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## Varin (May 12, 2009)

Christ, it's like playing on a see-saw with them; first we're down because they blanket their books in No-TTS, then we're up in the air because they didn't drop to their knees in front of Apple and Jobs, now we're back down: Random House, the last of big six, close to the one year anniversary of Agency Pricing has decided to follow the rest.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/46325-random-house-switches-to-agency-model-for-e-book-sales.html

Where do I complain?


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

hmmmm .... well, I guess more of their books will be on the back burner of my wishlist.


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## Cardinal (Feb 24, 2010)

Thanks for the heads up!  I've been meaning to get the Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy books and just grabbed them before the Agency Model hits them.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Random House has a lot of imprints. I just went and checked for Bantam, one of their imprints as they list a lot of romance, historical romance which is what I like reading. So to compare with whats to come, I checked on the prices right now for those books. They range from 4.61 through 6.15 mostly with a few at 8 something and a couple at 12 something. 

When the agency happened with the others, books that I had looked at before where around the 5-6 something mark and after agency went to 7.99-12.99. 

Ballantine is another imprint and right now books average between 5 and 6, mostly at 5.38. 

My guess is, they all go to 7.99-9.99 like the others.  

eta: the more I look at the imprints the more I realize I been reading lots of those authors and loved that they were reasonably priced. Most of their imprints that have romance have that low average price right now. I am going to be really upset if they price them all higher. I read A LOT. I can't afford to pay that much for books


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

It doesn't bother me one bit. I stopped buying the big publishers' overpriced ebooks a year ago. Since then, I've been on a steady diet of indie books, and I'm not missing anything with all the great indie talent that's out there.


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## RodGovers (Jun 7, 2010)

JimC1946 said:


> It doesn't bother me one bit. I stopped buying the big publishers' overpriced ebooks a year ago. Since then, I've been on a steady diet of indie books, and I'm not missing anything with all the great indie talent that's out there.


I'm with you, Jim. I have over 300 Kindle books and apart from a handful they all cost less than $3.99. I have found some wonderful authors many of whom I would never have come across but for ebooks. The big publishers can keep their 'big' names because I won't buy them.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

I've marked down a few sample prices for popular Random House titles to see were the prices go.  Unbroken $9.99, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest $8.95, and Cutting for Stone $5.00.

I'll buy a few books over $9.99 now and then, but not as impulse buys.  I'd say I'll read more indie books, but all the indie books I've read so far have been basically meh.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Geemont said:


> I'd say I'll read more indie books, but all the indie books I've read so far have been basically meh.


Keep trying. There's a lot of great indie talent out there.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I'm not sure I will notice much of a difference considering Random House were all alone in their stand and, frankly, I noticed quite a few of their books were expensive (to me that means above $9.99.)  With a huge TBR list on my Kindle I can wait until they drop prices on titles I want.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

A lot of these moves strike me as particularly short-sighted. It's the "we're doing a good job if we can give our bottom lines a tiny bump today" but often doing so at the cost of larger profits in the long run. 

As much as I hate to admit it, if I pay more than I think I should for a book, that does do something to harm my impression of it.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

_edit -- a couple of threads on the same topic have been merged together. sorry for any confusion_


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## easyreader (Feb 20, 2011)

Good luck with that Random House.  How about joining the real world.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

As with everyone else, I'm unhappy.  I contributed to a .000001% rise in Random House profits today, as I went and picked up a couple of their books I'd wishlisted.  I have a big enough backlog that if I stay sufficiently irritated (some people will claim I'm ALWAYS "sufficiently irritated") I can probably read steadily for two or three years without buying any new books!  So this may be a good thing for me personally, in a weird way.

What's sad is that I was having fantasies about Amazon using the Apple changes regarding the 30% cut as the basis to refuse to renew their contracts on the agency model, and forcing a showdown.  Guess that isn't likely to happen now!


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Say it isn't so!! I'm off to buy up the rest of my Nero Wolfe books.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

I agree with everyone, this bites.  I too have gone through my wishlist in a mad search to buy the few books left...mainly two series ("Song of Fire & Ice" and "Outlander").  Being strapped hard for cash, I always placed them on a TBR list to get back too as I go back and forth from the library.  In a wierd way, I think I was lucky.  Most of my favorite authors and wishlist books are already on the agency model.  The ones I purchased today, they were +600 pages and completes the series...so far.

A part of me wonders if Random House was being "pushed" or "influenced" to switch.

Now like everyone, I will just have to wait and see...

Tris


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## Jeff Sherratt Novelist (Feb 9, 2011)

What a shame (and sham). RH just passed on a great opportunity to set itself apart and gain buyers and supporters instead of taking the most profitable way out. Too bad.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

Okay, is it just me or does it seem like prices are slowly rising of Random House books?  I noticed that "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is higher from $5 and I just did a quick search for "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" is at $9.99 when I swear I saw it for $6.25.  

But like I said, it was a quick search...oh and I do live in the PNW, so time zones might come into play.

Tris


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

I was just wondering the other day if RH was laughing all the way to the bank, benefiting from selling more ebooks and at a higher profit per ebook (I assume) than the other 5 major publishers.  Guess they weren't laughing hard enough.

N


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

The problem is that the general public doesn't really know what's going on or if they do, they don't understand it. They will look at the increased prices as part of everything else going up in cost. 

In a recession, the smart people lower their prices to gain customers. The rest try to make up their profits by gouging those few people who can pay with higher prices.


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## kb7uen Gene (Mar 13, 2009)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/02/random-house-switches-to-e-book-agency-model-little-booksellers-chagrined.html?cid=6a00d8341c630a53ef014e5f8dde17970c


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Okay, maybe I'm a bit 'thick' but I found that article rather confusing to read :laugh:  I really thought their choice of supporting image was crazy.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

RH has not been able to sell to iBookstore for the past year because of their stance against agency publishing. They got around this with iPad users because of the Kindle & B&N apps, but with Apple chaning that, there would be no way for those end users to get RH books.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

BTackitt said:


> RH has not been able to sell to iBookstore for the past year because of their stance against agency publishing. They got around this with iPad users because of the Kindle & B&N apps, but with Apple chaning that, there would be no way for those end users to get RH books.


Do you ever get the feeling these guys are all meeting on some luxurious yacht in the Caribbean, reading these posts and laughing at us?


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Are you suggesting COLLUSION   

But Gertie, that would mean that Publishers don't care about readers  

Oh wait we're talking reality here.. DUHHH.. of course they don't


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## Keith Brooke (Feb 16, 2011)

Interesting picking up on a thread like this and seeing just how many of the authors published by the big companies are frustrated by the whole pricing model. My Kindled novels from the big guys are typically at least double the price of the ones I've put out through infinity plus. In some ways it's interesting as an experiment: in the long run it'll be interesting to see how sales compare. But really, when it comes down to it, I'd rather be finding the best possible audience for my work, and I think with ebooks prices should be kept down. As a book-buyer I rarely spend more than $4-5 on an ebook, and I don't think I'm atypical.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I just checked on some books I was watching on Kindle Tracker and quite a few titles have jumped up from the 7.00 range to 9.99 and as high as 11.99.  Do they think that's more likely to make me buy them?  Silly silly people.


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## NotActive (Jan 24, 2011)

content


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Matthew W. Grant said:


> On behalf of independent authors everywhere, I would like to thank Random House for making our products more appealing in comparison to theirs.


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## Anna_DeStefano (Feb 28, 2011)

chipotle said:


> I assume this means that the agency model has been a financial success for the other big publishers. My theory is that ebook prices are going to continue to rise until they are consistent with hardcover prices across the board not just for new releases. I also think more publishers will refuse to allow ebooks to be lent at public libraries.
> 
> I have yet to see any signs any of the big publishers are really thinking about the future. With ebooks they had a wonderful chance to create new readers and to bring more people back to reading (i.e., grow their customer base) but they seem to be determined to squander that opportunity.


I do think the larger NY publishers are wanting the money to flow like it always has, even though the reading segment of the market is shifting expectations toward pricing that's been made available to them on the digital stage. The big dogs need the old income stream to continue the old print business they haven't figured out how to fix in the current financial market where retail stores are closing, bookstore chains are going under carrying billions in debt, and power readers can get their fix of 5-10 books a month cheaper and more quickly on their readers. It's not a model that can continue forever--it's simply a matter of how much the reading public will put up with and for how long.

One of my publishers, Dorchester, moved to a direct-to-digital and trade paperback model last fall, amidst a flood of flack and snark all over the Internet. Since then, they've quietly, systematically, professionally put together a business and marketing plan for not just my spring release but all their authors, which cuts out the middle men and the waste of mass market publishing. They're pushing hard for the digital releases hard, still positioning mine and other trade paperback releases in stores like Barnes & Noble (cutting costs to sustainable levels while still offering readers a print option), and are making inroads into the less-trendy and flagging independent book store market.

They're on the cutting edge of this for authors who are looking for a hybrid option that quite possibly could be the future of print publishing. I'm talking every Thursday on my blog series "Publishing Isn't for Sissies" with Dorchester and other publishing professionals about how this might or might not work, and how these pioneers are setting the stage for a paradigm that the bigger publishers will one day have to accept.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Yep, it all went up. The little average I took yesterday with romance books from 4.61 through 6.18. They are now at 7.99 and 6.99. Some are 9.99 and 11.99. There go my affordable books. I just hope Kensington won't be part of this mess any time soon.  

And the Lisa Gardner book that was .99 and 2.99 yesterday, that has been the #1 seller now for a while is now 7.99.

I guess their experimenting with prizes is over. I guess 7.99 is the new "bargain". 

Outlanders are now 8.99. Those I can forgive as you get like 4 books in one they are so long. Still. 

The Highlander series by Karen Marie moning I can't forgive though at 7.99. Those are not new books, not even close and they price them like a new release.  

Looking at the Dell imprint which has a lot of the big ones in Romance like Mary Balogh, its all 7.99, no matter when it came out. 2003, 2009 they don't care, its all the same.  

I am really getting depressed about this.


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## Keith Brooke (Feb 16, 2011)

I'm disappointed with these moves to raise ebook prices too. On the one hand, yes, it might make offerings from indie publishers more attractive to some book buyers, and so may open up the field a bit. But on the other, having the big guys on the same playing field is good for our credibility too: I want people to buy infinity plus books because what we're doing is high quality and just a bit different to the more commercial offerings, not because they're a few dollars cheaper!


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## Anna_DeStefano (Feb 28, 2011)

Keith Brooke said:


> I want people to buy infinity plus books because what we're doing is high quality and just a bit different to the more commercial offerings, not because they're a few dollars cheaper!


I firmly believe the quality of the product/book itself will eventually lead consumer choice. Yes, cheaper books are appealing at first, regardless of their content. But a power reader knows what he or she wants and are looking for another world/reality to lose themselves in. This consumer will seek out quality and accept a slightly higher price point if needed to attain it.

Give our readers the best experience and value for their money should always be our first priority. That's how we sustain relationships and series and careers and businesses.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I understand the big six publishing houses' rationales behind their desire to control income and implementing the agency model. And, their supposition that people are sheep and will pay whatever they charge is not necessarily unfounded - especially when looking at casual readers. For many, they don't realize that ebook prices were raised substantially when switching to this model. For me, however, I will not pay more than 85% of the lowest pbook price for any book priced over $8.

There are 60 Random House books on my TBR list of which 56 raised their price and 3 lowered price. I updated my prices on 2/20 and redid Random House today. The numbers look like this:


*Date**Avg Price* *Percent of 
pbook cost* *count*02/20/11 $7.9278.36%6003/01/11 $10.31103.22%60


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

FYI, here are the results of my very small price checking:

Unbroken was $9.99 now $12.99, plus $3.00
Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest was $8.95 now $11.99, plus $3.04
Cutting for Stone was $5.00 now $9.99, plus $4.99

Also I bought two books last night at $8.54 each and this morning they're both $11.99 and more expensive then the discounted DTB.


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

BTackitt said:


> Are you suggesting COLLUSION


Isn't that what it's called when manufacturers of a product conspire to set prices for product sellers? I could have sworn price fixing was illegal.

Anyone know of a good class action law firm?


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## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

That explains why the prices went up overnight!  Yesterday, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest was $9.99 and the other two in the series were $5.  Today they are $11.99 and $7.99.  I sure wish there would have been some warning so I could have bought a few books I've been eyeing.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

As soon as I heard, I rushed over to Amazon to pick up the rest of the Nero Wolfe books. I blew my book budget for two months, but I did have a $25 gift card. Here's the breakdown.

Death Times Three         $8.69 $11.99
Curtains For Three         $8.69 $11.99
If Death Ever Slept         $8.25 $11.99
And Be A Villain                 $6.29 $7.99
Three at Wolfe’s Door	                $4.38 $7.99
Trio for Blunt Instruments	        $6.15 $7.99
The League of Frightened Men	$8.25	        $11.99
Triple Jeopardy                 $8.69 $11.99

Yesterday's total is $59.39. Today's total is $83.92. In the end, I saved about $25.

I don't think they've published all of the Nero Wolfe books yet, but I'll forego the pleasure of completing my collection at $11.99. I don't mind $7.99 so much, but I still won't be rushing out to get them. I've given up Janet Evanovich, Nora Roberts, Ann B. Ross, three of my favorites, and I've survived. 

Wonder how many people that we don't know about grabbed their RH TBR. Some eyebrows will be raised over at RH when they look at the figures for 2/28.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> Wonder how many people that we don't know about grabbed their RH TBR. Some eyebrows will be raised over at RH when they look at the figures for 2/28.


And then compare them to 3/1.

A couple weeks ago, I used a Kobo coupon and picked up the entire KMM Fever series (all five books) for under $26. That would cost me $44.95 today.


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## padowd (Jan 14, 2010)

I have been buying alot of books and now I want be. I have enough books to last me a lifetime. I have had my Kindle for a long time. I just feel sorry for the new owners who are looking to purchase books now.


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

Anyone know why RH only gave one day notice? It just seemed so sudden...but maybe they've been planning to spring it on us for months.

I picked up George RR Martin's Storm of Swords last night at $5.99. It is $7.99 now. The first two in the series, at $5 each a month ago (hadn't checked after that) are now $8.99 each.



Geoffrey said:


> I understand the big six publishing houses' rationales behind their desire to control income and implementing the agency model. And, their supposition that people are sheep and will pay whatever they charge is not necessarily unfounded - especially when looking at casual readers. For many, they don't realize that ebook prices were raised substantially when switching to this model. For me, however, I will not pay more than 85% of the lowest pbook price for any book priced over $8.
> 
> There are 60 Random House books on my TBR list of which 56 raised their price and 3 lowered price. I updated my prices on 2/20 and redid Random House today. The numbers look like this:
> 
> ...


103% is just wrong.

N


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## billie hinton (Jan 30, 2011)

I've been buying lots of indies - priced at $5 and under - and really enjoying them. It's interesting how my personal price point has shifted since I got the Kindle. And with so many choices, I have not really missed the big house titles.


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## Christine Kersey (Feb 13, 2011)

I think this is all good news for the Indies.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Not good news for me as a reader though  . I like to read what I like to read. So I am still a bit shell shocked at some of the price increases.


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## talleylynn (Apr 24, 2009)

Last night I bought Bill Bryson's* At Home * for $9.55. Today it costs $14.99. I think $9.55 is too high and was waiting for the price to come down. I decided to splurge since it seems like books from popular authors that go agency become very expensive and never seem to come back down.


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

Atunah said:


> Not good news for me as a reader though . I like to read what I like to read. So I am still a bit shell shocked at some of the price increases.


I agree that it's made me change the way I read and access books. I do read indie but I also enjoy books from NY published authors. Whereas before I would wait for the book to fall into my price range and buy then. Now since months and months go by without a price drop, I've taken to getting those books from the library. I prefer to read on my Kindle but I will not pay more than I feel is a fair price for anything if I have a choice. So instead of getting me to pay a little less for their books, they get nothing from me at all. I refuse to give them any money if they want to be this way. That's my revenge. I'm using my purchasing power to speak my mind. Too bad no one is listening in NY.


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## Paul Levine (May 14, 2010)

As a Random House author, I have a stake in this.

Paul Levine

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 13, 2011)

As an indie/traditional hybrid author, this seems great to me. Publishers have very little brand equity outside of the inside world of publishing, so I think that cheaper books will benefit well from continued high pricing.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Paul Levine said:


> As a Random House author, I have a stake in this.
> 
> My novel, "Lassiter," due in hardcover in September, will be $12.99 on Kindle. I don't agree with the pricing, but obviously, I have no control over it. I think $8.99 would be a fair price when the hardcover is in the $25 range, with the Kindle price falling to $4.99 or so when the paperback comes out.
> 
> ...


If you have a good fan base, they will most likely buy at $12.99. I think we're a little more savvy here than the general public.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

For NEW (to the world, not just e-book format) titles this doesn't bother me much, I can wait for the title to drop to $10 or less. It is the back catalogue that ticks me off. Books that have LONG since dropped off any sales chart should be value priced, not 7+ bucks. 

It will be interesting to see where the sales momentum goes. If amazon really does have 70% of the e-book market and e-books really are outselling books online, that is a HUGE chunk of money amazon can hold over the publishers heads. If sales of e-books slow, or more importantly, e-readers fall, then I think amazon will challenge the publishers again and see if they call the bluff. Hard to say if amazon is in better shape than the publishers for this kind of siege, but if most of the high volume readers have already defected over to e-readers then I think amazon is in a good position.

And if not? Well, there is always the baen e-library, public domain, and the indies. I can slow my "big 6" buying rate and supplement with cheaper alternatives or even revisit the used book store. I drop hundreds of dollars a year into books, most of which goes to the publishers whether the books are digital or not. If enough of us "drop off the grid" as it were I think the publishers would take notice. Let us all agree to spend a year reading Shakespeare, see if the publishers can survive the drought!

Alas, I think the ROI for books is still damned good even at $20/book compared to film, blu-ray, eating out, etc, so most folks will just shoulder the burden, tighten the belt elsewhere, and carry on.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

I'm still trying to wrap my head around why the Big 6 publishers want to do this Agency thing.  They've always been able to control the wholesale price of a book, why do they also want to dictate the profit a retailer wants to make or not make on their e-products?

From a strictly e-book perspective it makes no sense.  The only conclusion I can draw is that they are trying to protect their legacy paper book business.  I suppose they can draw it out for a time but IMO it's a losing battle.

At any rate I just added another publisher I won't buy books from.


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

jason10mm said:


> For NEW (to the world, not just e-book format) titles this doesn't bother me much, I can wait for the title to drop to $10 or less. It is the back catalogue that ticks me off. Books that have LONG since dropped off any sales chart should be value priced, not 7+ bucks.
> 
> It will be interesting to see where the sales momentum goes. If amazon really does have 70% of the e-book market and e-books really are outselling books online, that is a HUGE chunk of money amazon can hold over the publishers heads. If sales of e-books slow, or more importantly, e-readers fall, then I think amazon will challenge the publishers again and see if they call the bluff. Hard to say if amazon is in better shape than the publishers for this kind of siege, but if most of the high volume readers have already defected over to e-readers then I think amazon is in a good position.
> 
> ...


Actually, I'm afraid that this could back-fire. If the "Big 6" see that we're not buying their e-books, then e-books aren't popular and they'll stop producing them. I don't think they'll care that the indies are doing so well.

So, I'm speaking with my wallet. I'm not 'boycotting' any publishers, but I'm certainly not paying these outrageous prices either. I'll either wait for the price to drop or get the title from the library. I wish I'd known of Random House earlier though, I was putting off a title because it was $9.99 (fairly recent release) and now the price is $12.99. Neither library I belong to have it as an ebook. Need to look for a print copy...


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I've only seen one book actually drop in price since the switch.  It was the new Pevear/Volokhonsky translation of "Doctor Zhivago."  It dropped down to $12.99 (from almost $16.00).


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## Michael Robertson Jr (Feb 24, 2011)

It had to happen eventually. I'm surprised Random House held out as long as they did. I think a lot of people felt that iBooks would fail because of the pricing model, but Apple has proved them all wrong. It's obviously not going to catch up with Kindle any time soon (I don't think), but it's holding it's own quite well.

As an Indie Author, I sell better on iBooks than Kindle and Nook combined. I have no idea why, and it's honestly pretty shocking.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

Don't sell us short. Avid readers as a whole dictate to the publishers, not the other way around. Think about it, what do casual readers read? They seem to stick to a handful of highly publicized titles of dubious critical quality and a handful of popular authors who crank out annual titles. The vast majority of books are snatched up by us, and we are the ones that do the QA and spread the word of mouth that can elevate an obscure title into the public's eye. The internet and e-books allow that to happen without the publishers.

Popular authors don't really need the puplishers, they can hire editors on their own and they have an audience what will follow them. Of course who knows how many works by popular authors actually were penned by said author instead of ghostwritten, but would losing those really be detrimental? As more folk tap into the internet and social media books could function just like youtube. Stuff just seems to catch fire and spread, and authors can easily use twitter and other social media programs (or their PR folks, more likely) to announce new works.

Right now I think the publishers have a lock on authors because they control the back catalogues, many authors are probably afraid of losing their marketing and thus their audience, and editors are tied to the publisher, not the author. But times are a' changing and as more e-book phenoms hit it big they will drag the rest with them.

So e-readers are here to stay, the big 6 can't squash them. With the ease of entry into that market and the widespread internet based word of mouth advertizing, I think it will largely replace conventional advertizing (can't even remember the last time a TV book ad aired, and I haven't looked into a magazine or newspaper in YEARS). Our dollars will fuel either market, it is our choice which one. I, for one, vote for the author/reader side. I'll just have to wait for price drops on King, Hamilton, Martin, and a few others. (the Martin one is gonna hurt, and probably be vetoed by the wife anyway  But then again, it's been 6 years already, so this crisis will have resolved by the time ADOD comes out anyway!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

No one has mentioned that the reason the big publishers are doing this is so that *Apple will allow them to sell in the I-Book store*. Steve Jobs announced at the Ipad 2 press conference that i-books now has Random House.

I had not kept up with this thread since Monday. Just listened to the Kindle Chronicles podcast and thought I'd check in. Len Edgerly mentioned this (I didn't listen or watch the Apple announcement on Wednesday, except to see the highlights about the new ipad.)

So, it's more important to the 6 publishers to sell in the i-book store than to serve their readers fairly who are customers of Amazon, B&N and other ebook stores.

I for one will never buy from the i-book store even if I do purchase an ipad2, and I will not pay these outrageous prices for ebooks at any store. I haven't bought from the 5 publishers since they started this one year ago. I have the public library and other sources. That's all I'm going to say.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> No one has mentioned that the reason the big publishers are doing this is so that *Apple will allow them to sell in the I-Book store*. Steve Jobs announced at the Ipad 2 press conference that i-books now has Random House.
> 
> I had not kept up with this thread since Monday. Just listened to the Kindle Chronicles podcast and thought I'd check in. Len Edgerly mentioned this (I didn't listen or watch the Apple announcement on Wednesday, except to see the highlights about the new ipad.)
> 
> ...


except that I checked on the Amazon website Tuesday to see how many pages are in Nora Ephron's short book (101 epub pages) that I was reading on my Sony (NYPL ebook). It's 1*60 pages* in paper and it's now selling for *$11*. You will recall that GW Bush's book had been selling for $10. . . it's now $15.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

mlewis78 said:


> No one has mentioned that the reason the big publishers are doing this is so that *Apple will allow them to sell in the I-Book store*. So, it's more important to the 6 publishers to sell in the i-book store than to serve their readers fairly who are customers of Amazon, B&N and other ebook stores.


top of page 2.


BTackitt said:


> RH has not been able to sell to iBookstore for the past year because of their stance against agency publishing. They got around this with iPad users because of the Kindle & B&N apps, but with Apple changing that, there would be no way for those end users to get RH books.


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## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

The publishing industry is changing even as I type this.  I started out with one of the NY biggies, but they dropped me because I couldn't roll out a book as quickly as they wanted and to be fair, I probably wasn't writing what they wanted.  I'm with a smaller press now and am so much happier, like many of my author friends.; I rarely think of the larger publishers anymore.  My ebooks are doing very well, thank you.  - And I love the control I have over the covers and other aspects of my novels. Too, I can write the book I want to write. That excites me to write, and I know it's going to be published.  So there's just the joy of writing now, minus the anxiety.
And of course, I'm reading ebooks on my Kindle, rather than paying the hefty prices for the hard copy  books.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

Anna_DeStefano, 

Thanks for that information on Dorchester. I remember the fuss, and everyone acting like going digital was one step from damnation, or maybe vanity press. It's interesting to see what's actually happened.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

I don't really understand how the publishing world works.  All I know is that I refuse to buy an ebook for more than the DTB price.  If the paperback is selling for $12.99, I will buy the ebook for $11.99 if it's one I really want, but if the ebook is priced at $13.01, it's a no-go.  And since I don't buy DTBs at all, that means I don't read the book.  I've had my K2 for 2 years, and it's been a good 2 years, but I can go back to watching TV.  I plan to be very stubborn on this point.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

BTackitt said:


> top of page 2.


Correct - but that is Apple's decision. They don't allow publishers to sell products in their store. So the big publishers change the rules to accommodate Apple, and punish everyone else. Why any publisher would bend-over backwards to satisfy a single retailer (who doesn't even control the majority of the market) makes little sense to me.


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## Anna_DeStefano (Feb 28, 2011)

Tara Maya said:


> Anna_DeStefano,
> 
> Thanks for that information on Dorchester. I remember the fuss, and everyone acting like going digital was one step from damnation, or maybe vanity press. It's interesting to see what's actually happened.


It's been a bumpy ride, but they're getting behind their Srping digital releases in exciting ways. I just had one of their PR associates out on my Publishing Isn't for Sissies thread, talking about their recent launch with NetGalley:

http://annawrites.com/blog/category/publishing-isnt-for-sissies/

Dorchester will be regularly guest blogging at PIFS through my May release, revealing more of their new digital promotion and placement plans. It's pretty exciting stuff, considering the flack they got last fall.

Contrary to everyone's original assumptions, they're also gearing up strong in the trade paperback segment of their business. Secret Legacy was just picked up for the "New In Trade" table at B&N as a sci-fi/fantasy release.

They're a pioneer in the digital/print hybrid, and the first NY publsiher to move all-in AWAY from the mass market model.


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## ginaf20697 (Jan 31, 2009)

I just bought a bunch of MM paperbacks at Walmart because they were discounted 25% and the Kindle price had no discount at all. I can't believe they still make more from the paperback than they would from the ebook so what exactly is the point?


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