# New Stephen King book "Under The Dome" - E-BOOK VERSION DELAYED and *NOT* $35



## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

UPDATE: Looks like the $35 e-book price controversy is a press error. http://www.stephenking.com/forums/showthread.php?p=334761#post334761 Regardless, the delay of the e-book version is still inexcusable IMO. These dopey publishing houses really don't get it. (Thanks to carrie for posting the link about the pricing issue.)
___

Absolutely RIDICULOUS!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_en_ce/us_books_stephen_king/

New Stephen King e-book delayed
By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer Hillel Italie, Ap National Writer 45 mins ago

NEW YORK - The latest weapon in the publishing price wars: Stephen King.

Scribner announced Wednesday that the digital edition of King's "Under the Dome," a 1,000-plus page novel, would not be released until Dec. 24, virtually the end of the holiday season and a month after the hardcover.

E-books have already been delayed for Sen. Edward Kennedy's "True Compass" and Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue" as publishers try to prevent the cheaper digital editions from taking sales from hardcovers, which, until recently, cost more.

"Given the current state of the marketplace and trends in digital book pricing, we believe that this is the most appropriate publishing sequence for this particular 1088 page work of fiction," said spokesman Adam Rothberg of Scribner's parent company, Simon & Schuster.

Thanks to an online price war among Target.com, Amazon and Walmart.com, the hardcover for "Under the Dome," "Going Rogue" and other popular November releases can be pre-ordered for $9 or less, a strong source of concern among publishers and independent booksellers, who cannot afford to charge so little.

"Under the Dome" will have the same list price as the hardcover, $35. Amazon.com and other online retailers have been offering best-selling e-editions for $9.99, which publishers worry is unrealistically low.

King, ironically, is a pioneer and champion of e-books. In 2000, his e-novella "Riding the Bullet" was initially offered for free and became an online sensation, downloaded so many times that Internet sites offering the book were overwhelmed.

In February 2009, when Amazon.com announced a new edition of its Kindle e-reader, King's novella "Ur" was offered exclusively through the device and incorporated the Kindle into the narrative.


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## travelgirl (Sep 22, 2009)

I find it VERY difficult to believe that Scribner thinks that a $35 price point is a good idea.  

I'll be surprised if it is priced that high when it does become available.  And if they DO price it that high, chances are that the price won't hold there for very long.  

I will not be buying the e-book at that price, and Stephen King is my all time favorite author.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I wish I could care. I used to be a big Stephen King fan, but I haven't cared much for his efforts in the last decade or so.... And in re-reading some of his earlier works, they've lost a lot of their luster for me.

I am surprised that he is letting the publisher get away with that, I know he is (was?) a big fan of alternative publishing formats.


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## louiseb (Mar 2, 2009)

I have so many unread books on my kindle it is no problem for me to wait for this one to reach a good price point. I have not bought his new stuff for many years, but this one has gotten pretty good advance press, and is one he started some time back, in the 80s I think. Gives me hope it might hold up to his classics.


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## chilady1 (Jun 9, 2009)

Stephen King (who I love) and his publisher are seriously delusional if they think people are going to purchase an e-book for $35.00.  Do you know how many books I can find for $35.00?  I am sure there are those that will buy it at that price point because they don't care about price, for me, I will wait until it is at least $9.99.  If The Lost Symbol's release showed the book industry anything, it should have been that there is a demand for new releases, but at the right price!  Remember, Day 1 and into Day 2, I believe the Lost Symbol e-book outsold the hardcover.  Just my two cents!


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## stitchbug (Sep 14, 2009)

Whoa! I wouldn't even buy a DTB at that price!


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

Remember, $35 is the list price...stores will probably sell the hardback for around $20. Still too high for an ebook, but I'm guessing the price will start to float and wind up at $14.99...it's just a matter of how quickly they cave.


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## Jason in MA (Apr 28, 2009)

This is a link to a AP story about Stephen King's new book "Under the Dome" which is set for a November 10th release date. Scribner has announced that there _will_ be an eBook, but it's going to be *$35* and not released until December 24th. When you look at this vs. the $9 price being charged by Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target for the hardcover, it just seems utterly ridiculous.

Heres the story: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20091021/D9BFK6202.html

So what do you all think about this?

-Jason


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Kind of sad considering Stephen King was one of the first to jump on the ereader bandwagon, even writing a book specifically for the Kindle.  I can't imagine Amazon won't offer it for $9.99, but we'll see.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

$35  

I think this is going to bite them in the end.  They're not even pretending it's anything but manipulation.  All they're going to do is alienate the growing ebook market.


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

CS said:


> Thanks to an online price war among Target.com, Amazon and Walmart.com, the hardcover for "Under the Dome," "Going Rogue" and other popular November releases can be pre-ordered for $9 or less, a strong source of concern among publishers and independent booksellers, who cannot afford to charge so little.


Greetings, marketing folks for idiot publishers:

As an ebook reader who has spent way way way more than I should have on Kindle books this year, I'm wondering: What part of this sequence are you missing?

Publisher "A" releases a book for a list price of $35, and refuses to release the ebook version at the same time, even though they've already stated the price will be the same. Preorders for the hardcover are already as low as $9, meaning retailers are already losing money, and the individual stores you're supposedly worried about can't compete. Hmmm.....tell me again who this is helping? Oh, right. The publisher. Except they're also losing some rather important customers, since ebook owners are reasonably vocal about their loyalty to the medium. Ebook readers as a whole tend to be fairly affluent (this IS a luxury item we're talking about) and they are typically voracious readers. A sizeable number of them also rather passionate about boycotting publishers who do dumb things.

Publisher "B" releases a book for a list price of $26 (still pretty damn high if you ask me). They release the first book in the series, in print for several years now, as an ebook freebie two months in advance of the new release. They go out of their way to make sure the new release is available as a Kindle pre-order ahead of the release date. Both the hardcover and the ebook end up hitting the market at ~$15, the ebook just a few cents less than the paper version. Because the first book was offered for free, literally hundreds of new readers did the following: Got caught up in the series. Bought the other two books in the series that were already available. Bought everything else available from the author, since they're all tied together in some way--all at between $5-10 each. Preordered the new book at the $15 price since they couldn't wait a week for it to drop. And are now anxiously awaiting the next one, some one year away from completion. Wow. Repeat customer. What a concept.

Who made more money? Or did I fail to put this in simple enough words for you to follow? PRICE YOUR BOOKS SO THEY SELL, AND QUIT WORRYING ABOUT EBOOKS UNDERMINING THE SALE OF HARDCOVERS IN AN ALREADY POOR ECONOMY.

Thank you,
Your former customer

------

As an FYI--the $26 list price in the second scenario was NOT something the author had any control over whatsoever, and she was pretty damn appalled at that pricing with the economy the way it is. That's strictly something the publisher controls, though I'd imagine an author as big as Stephen King might have at least some leverage to use. Given how he's been at the forefront of the ebook trend, I cannot wait to see what he has to say about this. I don't care how much I loved an author or how badly I wanted to read a specific book, at $35, I'd practice some patience & wait for it to be available at the library!


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

you can pre-order the hardcover from Amazon for $9.99 - I did hit the tell the publisher but I won't buy if for more than $9.99 - which is sad because it did seem pretty interesting - I haven't read any King in years but this was going to bring me back - oh well - hopefully the buying public DTB *and* e-readers will make their feelings known by NOT buying it...

I can't believe (well unfortunately I can - greed and all) that a company would take a stand like this in these tough economic times.

_**sigh**_


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## jaybird123 (Mar 10, 2009)

I like Stephen King, but,  "there are other fish in the sea".  I have a lot of catching up to do in regards to my reading, and those books are priced pretty low.  So i'm not in any hurry to by a book for over $30.


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

Publishers are shooting themselves in the foot.  

I will say this.  Publishers seem to be more and more upset about e-book pricing being too low.  If they find a way to force e-book prices to almost the same as regular book prices (or even identical, as they seem to be trying with this book), I will no longer buy e-books.

I'm sorry.  The convenience of having an e-reader is not so important that I'm willing to pay just as much for an e-book as I am for a physical copy.  I'll quit buying e-books first.  That's just my take.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Everyone's different.  

We have a separate thread about reasons to buy a Kindle and whether low price of ebooks was a deciding factor.  It wasn't for me, that was a side benefit I found AFTER I bought my Kindle. I bought the Kindle to have a library with me so as to never run out of books. That's still true.

That being said, I won't pay hardback prices, I didn't even when I was buying paper books. I waited for the paperback to come out.  If ebooks start going up in price, I'll buy fewer of them and more public domain and independent books.  And the 300+ books I have waiting for me will keep me entertained for awhile, plus I've been known to reread books I love.

Betsy


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

Aside from the fact that the eBook publication is to be delayed (and that is a real issue), the concern about pricing is, at this point, much ado about nothing. Seriously.

So the list price is to be $35. So what? Amazon doesn't charge list price. I fully suspect that we will see with this book what we have seen with almost every best seller published in recent months - an initial high price followed by a drop to $9.99 within a couple of weeks after. No big deal. Same ole, same ole. OTOH, if they choose to price it higher than $9.99 THEN we have a reason to be concerned. But nothing to this point should leave anyone to believe that Amazon will handle their end of the business any different than they have to date.

This article ONLY talks about list price and the publication end of things. It does not address what the retailer is going to do. It would be counterproductive for Amazon to change their method of pricing as it would only hurt their attempts at driving book publication primarily to an electronic medium. And make no mistake, that is Amazon's intent.

The publication delay is the real issue here, IMHO. The publishers claim to have a higher built-in profit on their HCs. This is a transparent attempt to drive sales from eBooks to HCs. eBooks have pilfered sales from HCs on new releases, biting into publisher profits. The publishers would like to reverse that trend. They do that by delaying eBook publication, then appealing to those who just cannot wait awhile for the new release and are willing to give up the convenience of an eBook for the immediacy of a newly released HC. And many will fall right into that trap.

Therein should lie the concern. Pricing is not yet a real issue.

Allowing prospective consumers to fret about pricing is just another way that publishers are trying to drive sales from eBooks to HCs. Their thinking is that if (perceived) pricing is a concern, then that is another check mark in the consumers "pro" column when deciding whether to buy the HC.

There is a war going on between the publishers and Amazon and this is just an early battle with much more to come. In this particular case, the interests of Amazon and the interests of the consumer dovetail. We'll see yet more moves cleverly designed to panic consumers and test their resolve to stand by the eBook movement. The take home message is, "Don't panic. The market will out if the consumer stays the course."

And, yes, IMHO the "Publishers are shooting themselves in the foot." Indeed.


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## Jason in MA (Apr 28, 2009)

Agreed. My main issue is the delay, not the price. Amazon will surely sell the eBook for $9.99. It's the delay that has me angry.


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

Well, then, here's another question.

Anytime anyone has asked Amazon about odd pricing for books, Amazon's response (I believe) has been "The publisher sets the price."  Yet now, everyone is talking about Amazon setting a price lower than whatever the publishers decide.

Which is it?  Does the publisher choose the price, or does Amazon?  It seems as if each is blaming the other when something is not in their favor.  

In other words, if the publishers aren't making enough money, it's because Amazon (and others) are pricing too low.  But if someone finds a book that is too highly priced on Amazon, Amazon blames the publishers.


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## travelgirl (Sep 22, 2009)

mwvickers said:


> Well, then, here's another question.
> 
> Anytime anyone has asked Amazon about odd pricing for books, Amazon's response (I believe) has been "The publisher sets the price." Yet now, everyone is talking about Amazon setting a price lower than whatever the publishers decide.
> 
> ...


Great question. Anyone have any insight?


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

Like most things in life, it probably isn't all that black and white although we might like for it to be.

IMHO (and that is all it is for anyone unless they are privy to the inner working of Amazon  ), those comments by Amazon and the publishers are just words. Reality is probably that pricing is indeed set by the publisher except when Amazon is willing to take a loss by offering a significant discount on the product.

Amazon has long stated that they lose money on the $9.99 best seller offerings, so that is obviously NOT set by the publisher. But prices before $9.99 and after $9.99 (when they go back up) are most likely the result of publisher pricing. Again, IMHO it is Amazon's attempt to drive sales towards electronic media. This can be seen by their obvious technological drive in the products they provide (here I am talking about "cloud computing", audio and video downloads, early forays into digital books and such). By marketing new releases at a bargain price, Amazon loses money but gains consumers. It is a long term view and approach.

just common business sense.


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

MikeD said:


> Like most things in life, it probably isn't all that black and white although we might like for it to be.
> 
> IMHO (and that is all it is for anyone unless they are privy to the inner working of Amazon  ), those comments by Amazon and the publishers are just words. Reality is probably that pricing is indeed set by the publisher except when Amazon is willing to take a loss by offering a significant discount on the product.
> 
> ...


I would agree with that except for one possible issue.

Even when the books have a price before and after the $9.99 point, isn't there usually a "retail" price above it? In other words, it still appears that there is a retail price set by the publisher, with Amazon discounting it after the fact (more or less, depending on the book).

I could be wrong on that, though.

I'm not sure how that affects the constant fluctuation in prices. There is one book I'm interested in that keeps jumping back and forth between $9.99 and about $15. But, as far as I know, it is not hitting the NYT bestseller list. What explains the fluctuation?

Interesting ideas. I wish we could get an official explanation. LOL


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

The publisher sets the Digital List price. Amazon discounts it a certain amount hopefully to get it around 9.99. Amazon pays the publishers royalty based on the Digital List Price....not the price it sold for. If Amazon sells King's 35 dollar book for 10 dollars, Amazon will have to pay the publisher more than 10 dollars in royalties.

This is the new publisher game, set the Digital List Price extremely high, because Amazon pays a percentage on that, not on the sale price. I have seen many books where the DLP is higher than the Print List Price. Surely if all the publisher start doing this Amazon will have to change the rules or get out of the business.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

mwvickers said:


> Does the publisher choose the price, or does Amazon? It seems as if each is blaming the other when something is not in their favor.


The publisher sets the list price. Distribution deals set the wholesale discount. Retailers set the price point at which they will sell, including Amazon.


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

mwvickers said:


> I would agree with that except for one possible issue.
> 
> Even when the books have a price before and after the $9.99 point, isn't there usually a "retail" price above it? In other words, it still appears that there is a retail price set by the publisher, with Amazon discounting it after the fact (more or less, depending on the book).
> 
> ...


Like I mentioned, it probably isn't all that black and white. I can fairly easily observe and understand the high points of what is happening, but the details are probably mired in corporate bureaucracy.

And we will likely never get a full-blown, complete official explanation from either Amazon or the publishers. Explanations will be "dumbed down" for the masses and expressed in a way that they want us to perceive them. "Same as it ever was".

JMO.


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> ...This is the new publisher game, set the Digital List Price extremely high, because Amazon pays a percentage on that, not on the sale price. I have seen many books where the DLP is higher than the Print List Price. Surely if all the publisher start doing this Amazon will have to change the rules or get out of the business.


Amazon is not without significant clout themselves. That is why I said that this is the beginning of a war and that much more is yet to come. Watch as Amazon begins to fight back via changes in contracts and pushing those books that are more favorable to the Amazon bottom line, etc.

IMHO, it is going to get very interesting over the next few months/years as this changing paradigm is fought over with the publishers trying to maintain status quo and Amazon pushing the change. Very interesting indeed.

Edit:
BTW, Amazon has long shown that they are willing to absorb a loss in order to build a client base. This business operated in the red for many, many years before they came out the other end of that loss tunnel. I see no reason to expect that Amazon would cave into publishers just because they will be losing money short term. If their goal is to drive book sales into the electronic age which will ultimately impact their bottom line in a positive fashion, they have shown that they have the foresight and the endurance to do just that. JMO.


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## redshift1 (Jun 20, 2009)

We are in a transitional period changing from hard copy books to digital books so Its only natural to expect 
unusual pricing especially when coupled with the current competition between book dealers.


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## redshift1 (Jun 20, 2009)

According to Kings message board the Kindle price will not be $35.00 I don't know how to post the Link.


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## carrie (Feb 16, 2009)

Here are copies of the two posts from the moderator at Stephen King's message boards --

First one -- posted at about 11:00a EST today:

"I should be getting a statement from Scribner soon regarding the incorrect price that was reported in the news articles yesterday. As soon as I do, I will report back with the correct amount."

Second one -- posted about an hour later:

"In the meantime, Steve asked me to put up this message:

Dear Constant Readers,

Please don't believe the press reports that the e-book reader price for Under the Dome will be $35. This was the result of confusion from a press release from the publisher, what Big Jim Rennie would call a clustermug. It is true that you cannot order the book as an e-download until December 24th but the physical book, which is a beautiful thing, you can pre-order for less than $9-so who's better than us?

Steve"

Here's a link to the page, but I'm not sure if it will work or not -- http://www.stephenking.com/forums/showthread.php?p=334761#post334761

_--- changed link_


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## chilady1 (Jun 9, 2009)

I know SK is reading these boards, gotta be. Hey Stephen King, love you and thanks for not having your new book come in at $35.00!  Us Kindlers want to read you also.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

I think the publishers are playing a bit of games...trying to keep some control over pricing (which they are losing control of) and also they want to be able to sell a lot of hardbacks through regular channels to make sure that this book (and others) makes the best sellers list for a few weeks in a row.  Release the ebook too soon and those sales happen, but they don't count towards NY Times Bestseller status.  The publishers don't like that Amazon is helping customers get used to a lower price on any book--Publishers fear being that customers will start to expect to pay less for books and they'll have to start offering them for less--otherwise customers will just gravitate towards the lower priced books.

Personally, I wish they'd just release the ebook at the same time.  These old models need to be updated so that ebooks count and ebooks are the same or lower price than regular books.  But that's just me...


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Thanks, carrie. I updated the original post and thread topic.


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## travelgirl (Sep 22, 2009)

(((((((((Stephen King))))))))))))))


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

well will wait for the ebook - I find DTB's to be rather unwieldy now


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

rho said:


> well will wait for the ebook - I find DTB's to be rather unwieldy now


Especially one that is 1088 pages long!


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

I was going to order it in hardcover and still think about it a little because the price is really good; however, doesn't it sound nice to have that large book on Kindle?  So, I am going to wait.  In the meantime I signed up on the waiting list for it at the library.  So, they may have lost a sale all together from me if it is available at the library before December 24.  We will see!


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## PinkKindle (Sep 10, 2009)

jaspertyler said:


> I was going to order it in hardcover and still think about it a little because the price is really good; however, doesn't it sound nice to have that large book on Kindle?


I'll admit it -- I preordered my $9 hardcover. I know, I'm sorry -- I really was going to try not do it, as I'd much rather read it on my Kindle! But, I'm not waiting for Christmas to do so. I might have managed to wait if the DTB was $18 or so -- but it's $9! And I have EVERY other Stephen King book in DTB (most in HC) . . . I know, there's no excuse, I'm being duped into doing just what the publisher wants me to do, but I'll have my new HC for $9! Honestly, if the ebook had come out at the same time, I would definitely have bought it and read it on my Kindle, but I was still going to be really tempted to buy the HC at $9 for my collection too -- so if they released the ebook on time they probably would have had 2 initial sales from me!

And I had to order the new Robert Jordan in HC too, since its ebook won't be out for a year -- it's going to be really painful to get through 2 big HCs after being so spoiled by my Kindle!


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## carrie (Feb 16, 2009)

Here's the latest message posted by the Stephen King message boards moderator regarding the pricing for UTD (posted about 2 hours ago):

"From Scribner:

ABOUT THAT UNDER THE DOME eBOOK!

We want to clear up a misconception that has made its way into news stories regarding the eBook of UNDER THE DOME: the ultimate price paid by a customer for a book -- whether in print or digital form -- is actually (and has always been) set by retailers. While publishers can *suggest* a list price, retailers frequently discount from that, and neither the author nor the publisher has any say over the final cost to the consumer. [Bottom line: any news story or internet chat that emphasizes the eBook list price of UTD overlooks the likely reality that it will be sold at retail for much less]."

And here's a link to the page: http://www.stephenking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15328

It looks like it will be up to Amazon to decide how high (or low) to price the ebook version. Hopefully, the book will still be considered a "bestseller" and be priced no higher than $9.99 (although a price matching the lowest cost of the DTB would be nice!).

Although I hope that the pricing for the ebook is low, I, for one, will wait for a Kindle version regardless of price, although for me it is not just convenience but for a more physical reason -- I simply cannot hold an 1100 page book due to arthritis in my hands, which is part of the reason why I bought a Kindle. To me, the delay itself is discriminatory to those who utilize a Kindle (or other ebook formats) because of differing abilities. Forcing those of us with different physical or visual abilities to wait for a much anticipated book (and King has been my favorite author since I was a child) is simply another example of mean-spirited, profit-driven, inconsiderate capitalistic maneuvering. It would be nice to see the ACLU enforce the "equal access" provision of the ADA over this (although, of course, there are larger issues that the ACLU deals with than a 6-week delay on a version of a book). Of course, this is just my opinion -- I am sure there are those who don't agree with me!


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## lostknitter (Feb 5, 2009)

Here, Here! I totally agree with you! I am now, will be and always have been a Stephen King fan. I have purchased every book he has written since I was in my teens on the publication date, and was excited to be able to curl up in my favorite chair and spend the time reading. I am far past my teens now, and purchased my Kindle first because my eyes wouldn't let me read a DTB anymore, and second for the convenience. I don't for the life of me understand the game the publishers are playing. Things change, mediums change, publishers need to think like every other successful business-how to give the consumer what they want while still earning a profit and growing the business. Was it this bad when music went from CDs to downloadable MP3's?? Did the record companies delay on line sales to keep sales of CDs up? I don't understand their thinking.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

carrie said:


> Although I hope that the pricing for the ebook is low, I, for one, will wait for a Kindle version regardless of price, although for me it is not just convenience but for a more physical reason -- I simply cannot hold an 1100 page book due to arthritis in my hands, which is part of the reason why I bought a Kindle. To me, the delay itself is discriminatory to those who utilize a Kindle (or other ebook formats) because of differing abilities. Forcing those of us with different physical or visual abilities to wait for a much anticipated book (and King has been my favorite author since I was a child) is simply another example of mean-spirited, profit-driven, inconsiderate capitalistic maneuvering. It would be nice to see the ACLU enforce the "equal access" provision of the ADA over this (although, of course, there are larger issues that the ACLU deals with than a 6-week delay on a version of a book). Of course, this is just my opinion -- I am sure there are those who don't agree with me!


EXCELLENT post, Carrie. I agree completely.

But this shoots down my theory that you were really Stephen King posting here under the name of his most famous book/movie.


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## carrie (Feb 16, 2009)

Actually, that movie scared the daylights out of me -- my friends and I snuck into the theater when we were 8 years old to see the film and I had nightmares for weeks.  My first introduction to Stephen King, and what hooked me on his books because I figured if I read the book in the daylight I would get over the bad dreams!


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

I have to say that I was tempted to pre-order Under the Dome because of it's low price point (for a newly released Hardback any way, damn near the top of what I will pay for e-books), but when you consider that I'd prefer having it in e-book form, that the price I will eventually pay will be, at most, $9.99, that I want to read the sample before I even decide whether I should buy it. I just didn't see any point in giving out an automatic sale (there was a time where I would have given Stephen King an automatic sale but that time is long gone).

Now, The Gathering Storm was an entirely different matter 'cause out of all of the books that I might have bought blindly, this is the one that I was dead sure I'd snap up, even if I had to settle for a DTB. But I won't. I will not read a new book from the Wheel of Time series until I'm more familiar with Brandon Sanderson. If he can win my trust, which he hasn't done yet, then I will take a look at what he's done (i.e. read the sample). If he doesn't win my trust, then, as much as it pains me, I'll have to turn my back on the series.


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## tamborine (May 16, 2009)

Well, I broke down and pre-ordered the DTB for $9, and I KNOW my hands and wrists are going to be cursing me! But I just can't wait until 12/24. Then again, I also ordered the DTB of The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, the last one in Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy, from Amazon UK a few weeks ago....it's been sitting on my coffee table unread because it's so huge I can't bring myself to pick it up! By the time I read it, it'll be released in the US.   Meanwhile, I'm reading The Scarpetta Factor on my Kindle. The Kindle has spoiled me, but I still need to possess books as soon as they come out, for some reason.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

If a delay in the ebook release is what appeases publishers for their big showy hardback releases, so be it. King is in that rare stratosphere of authors where this could be a real issue.  I'm sure most publishers would be happy for any book sale, regardless of source. I do hope the bestseller lists track ebook sales, they are probably more significant anyway, as they represent end consumer sales and can't be resold, so they represent a true number of readers, rather than folding in books sold to retailers only and not counting used book sales at all. Heck, in time maybe the e-book will even come out FIRST, since they don't have to wait for printing, binding, and shipping! No broken street dates either.

Slap me, I must be dreaming 

Anyway, my mom will get this day one and loan it to me, so I guess I'll be lugging around that beast of a DTB on my x-mas holiday (lots of flight time fortunately, so I should be able to power through it in a few days, King has always been a fast read).

I thought "The Duma Key" was an awesome return to form for King, and the set-up for this one is interesting.


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## louiseb (Mar 2, 2009)

tamborine, I've gotta say, (off topic) your Avatar is one the cutest dogs I've seen. Would love to see more pix of him/her, this is a thread with lots of pet pix that has my pack of 7 buried in it somewhere. 

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,8372.0.html


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

jason10mm said:


> I thought "The Duma Key" was an awesome return to form for King, and the set-up for this one is interesting.


I loved Duma Key for the most part, but I thought it deteriorated into a little too much


Spoiler



abstract craziness


 by the end of it.


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## Tabby (Oct 7, 2009)

I don't like having to wait, but I will. I just pre-ordered the Kindle edition for $9.


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

I also preordered the Kindle version last night   I'm looking forward to it!


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

Out of curiosity, WHY are you guys pre-ordering an infinite supply side object? It's not like they will sell out of an e-book 

Just enthusiasm?

I pre-order digital distribution games because they pre-load, saving me the wait of doing it when the game is "released". I pre-order physical things if I think they might be scarse at release. But why pre-order an e-book? Especially this far in advance. That is money you could have invested or something, why give it to the publisher now?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, you have a point I guess.  But some people just like to be sure they have a thing as early as they can.

And no money has been given to anybody yet. . . .you're not billed for a Kindle book until it actually 'ships' to your Kindle.


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## Dave Dykema (May 18, 2009)

I have a question: aside from one person, none of you seem to have ever waited for paperbacks.

That's all I ever bought. My wife and I have bought maybe 4 hardcovers in our lives, and that's because they were at book signings or something. Come to think of it, we _did_ buy the Harry Potters in hardcover.

I'm not a fan of it, but I can see why a publisher might try and treat an ebook like a paperback by delaying its release a little bit, especially since it's cheaper. A month or six weeks isn't that long to wait. For most paperbacks, it's a year.


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## Tabby (Oct 7, 2009)

For me it is mostly about getting Mr. King's newest book as soon as it is available for the Kindle, and like Ann stated...no money is exchanged until the book is available. The Kindle makes it way too easy to buy books.


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

I've always waited for paperbacks too.

I preordered because it is cool to just have that one day, like a surprise (even though I will expect it).  I am a bit weird hehe.


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

I ended up pre-ordering the Kindle version today 'cause after taking a look at the info Amazon had on it, and seeing that the pre-order price for the Kindle version was $9 (I thought that price was only going to apply to the DTB), I found myself unable to resist. I hope that I enjoy it.



jason10mm said:


> Out of curiosity, WHY are you guys pre-ordering an infinite supply side object? It's not like they will sell out of an e-book
> 
> Just enthusiasm?
> 
> I pre-order digital distribution games because they pre-load, saving me the wait of doing it when the game is "released". I pre-order physical things if I think they might be scarse at release. But why pre-order an e-book? Especially this far in advance. That is money you could have invested or something, why give it to the publisher now?


The normal advantage of pre-ordering from Amazon is the price guarantee, that doesn't apply to pre-orders for Kindle books, but considering how the prices fluctuate with Kindle books it is an effective way of locking in a price. If the price goes down you can always cancel and re-pre-order, effectively locking in the new price point. I want to make sure that I'm not paying any more than $9.

Also, while Amazon doesn't charge until they ship, I always deduct for pre-orders when I make them, that way when the item ships, or in this case, is sent wirelessly to my Kindle, I won't have to worry about whether I have any money left for entertainment purchases at the time as I've already accounted for the expense. I like that.


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## meljackson (Nov 19, 2008)

This is 7.20 pre-order right now.

Melissa


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

I pre-ordered it at that price


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

meljackson said:


> This is 7.20 pre-order right now.


Ooh, now that's tempting.


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## LibraryGirl (Dec 16, 2008)

I cancelled my $9 pre-order and re-pre-ordered for $7.20.  Nice!!


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

meljackson said:


> This is 7.20 pre-order right now.


I've been disappointed with his novels since the early 90s and completely gave up after the Dark Tower books, but at this price, I'm going to give King another shot. Let's see if he can bring back some of that old greatness.


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## Dave Dykema (May 18, 2009)

That price is tempting, but I have all of King in paperback and will continue to do so.

I also have to read Duma Key and Just After Sunset yet, so I'm in no hurry.


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## RangerXenos (Mar 18, 2009)

Damn, at $7.20 I've got to bite!


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

I've never read a King novel, but this one sounds good and at this price it's a good place to start. Nice Christmas Eve gift to myself.


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## Tabby (Oct 7, 2009)

LibraryGirl said:


> I cancelled my $9 pre-order and re-pre-ordered for $7.20. Nice!!


Same here!


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

I went ahead and pre-ordered both this one and Crichton's _Pirate Latitudes_.

I'm still crawling my way through _The Stand_, so I don't know when I'll get to either of these, but oh well.

LOL


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

I just cancelled the $9.00 pre-order in favor of the $7.20 pre-order.. getting better and better..

Pre-ordered the Crichton as well.

And Barbara Kingsolver's first novel in years.. very well reviewed..


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## PinkKindle (Sep 10, 2009)

So now I've got BOTH the hardcover and the Kindle version on preorder -- and I've still only spent $16.20 (about what I would have expected to spend just on the hardcover or even a little less).  So that's not bad, right?   LOL I'm still trying to justify it to myself. 

At that price, I had to get the HC to add to my collection, but I'm going to try really hard to hold out and wait to read it on the Kindle -- not sure if that's possible though!


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, I was the #1 position on the reserve list at the library for Under the Dome.  But, since I live a long way from our library.... I can either spend money on gas.... plus my time.... or I can pre-order this book and have it to read on my Kindle whenever I want.  No contest.... I just pre-ordered.... what a great price!!!!!!  Thanks so much for the updated info on the price reduction!  Sorry, family.... I won't have time to cook Christmas dinner this year.... my book comes out on the 24th......


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## danfan (Apr 17, 2009)

PinkKindle said:


> I'll admit it -- I preordered my $9 hardcover. I know, I'm sorry -- I really was going to try not do it, as I'd much rather read it on my Kindle! But, I'm not waiting for Christmas to do so. I might have managed to wait if the DTB was $18 or so -- but it's $9! And I have EVERY other Stephen King book in DTB (most in HC) . . . I know, there's no excuse, I'm being duped into doing just what the publisher wants me to do, but I'll have my new HC for $9! Honestly, if the ebook had come out at the same time, I would definitely have bought it and read it on my Kindle, but I was still going to be really tempted to buy the HC at $9 for my collection too -- so if they released the ebook on time they probably would have had 2 initial sales from me!
> 
> And I had to order the new Robert Jordan in HC too, since its ebook won't be out for a year -- it's going to be really painful to get through 2 big HCs after being so spoiled by my Kindle!


I might end up with the HC & e-book. I've waited all year for this book & I just doubt I'll be able to resist it once it's available somewhere to read.

Personally -with the waiting game for e-books.... I see it as no different as those times when I waited for a paperback because I wouldn't pay for HC. Releasing a cheaper pb later to maximize profits is an acceptable strategy so I don;t see how e-books are different. As with DTB, if I was really desperate I'd find the best deal & just buy it. I did it recently with Suzanne Collin's sequel to _The Hunger Games_.


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## danfan (Apr 17, 2009)

meljackson said:


> This is 7.20 pre-order right now.
> 
> Melissa


dang, I see it at 9.00

Does the lowest price guarantee apply to ebooks too? If we order at 9.00 & it comes down & up again etc, we get it at the lowest price or ..... ?


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

I missed it too but I went ahead and pre-ordered Pirate Latitudes. I don't think that I've ever read anything by Michael Crichton but I simply couldn't resist the price.



danfan said:


> dang, I see it at 9.00
> 
> Does the lowest price guarantee apply to ebooks too? If we order at 9.00 & it comes down & up again etc, we get it at the lowest price or ..... ?


This is mostly from what I posted in another thread.

Here's a quote from Amazon's Pre-order price guarantee.

"Pre-order Price Guarantee applies only to qualifying items displaying the offer message on their product detail pages. Items that do not display the offer message do not qualify, regardless of the nature of the items."

This is what is shown for the pre-order for the Blu-ray version of Monsters, Inc.

List Price: $40.99
Price: $26.99 & eligible for free shipping with Amazon Prime
You Save: $14.00 (34%)
Pre-order Price Guarantee.

If you don't see the "Pre-order Price Guarantee." where it's shown in the example then there is no price adjustment. You have to cancel and re-pre-order to get a lower price, unless you miss it.

I would have liked to have been able to get Under The Dome for $7.20 but I'm still happy with the $9 I have it locked in at.


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

Keep checking; it could fluctuate between now and Christmas Eve.


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

I have three pre-orders, Witch and Wizard, Under the Dome, and Pirate Latitudes. I've bookmarked each item page so I can easily check to see if the price has changed.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Wow, the Stephen King price sure changed quickly. Glad I got in at the $7.50 price, but $9 is still a far better deal than $35.


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## Jenjen (Dec 26, 2008)

[Although I hope that the pricing for the ebook is low, I, for one, will wait for a Kindle version regardless of price, although for me it is not just convenience but for a more physical reason -- I simply cannot hold an 1100 page book due to arthritis in my hands, which is part of the reason why I bought a Kindle. To me, the delay itself is discriminatory to those who utilize a Kindle (or other ebook formats) because of differing abilities. Forcing those of us with different physical or visual abilities to wait for a much anticipated book (and King has been my favorite author since I was a child) is simply another example of mean-spirited, profit-driven, inconsiderate capitalistic maneuvering. It would be nice to see the ACLU enforce the "equal access" provision of the ADA over this (although, of course, there are larger issues that the ACLU deals with than a 6-week delay on a version of a book). Of course, this is just my opinion -- I am sure there are those who don't agree with me!  
[/quote]

I AM MORE THAN A LITTLE MIFFED ABOUT THE DELAY IN THE RELEASE OF THE E-VERSION! I choose to buy a Kindle so that I could "RELAX" while reading my bestsellers in bed, not holding some heavy, bulky book where my arms fall asleep before the rest of me. I think it is just plain RUDE to exclude some readers. What are the E-Readers a lesser breed of fans to Stephen King? My husband prefers buying and collecting hardcovers and we were very excited for the release of this book to read it together. So much for that idea as my dear husband did not choose to wait for me (LOL)


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## Patricia (Dec 30, 2008)

I'm a little unhappy that the price seems to have gone down, then back up.  I missed that and didn't know I was supposed to be watching for it.  I guess I'll pay more attention in the future.


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## Jason in MA (Apr 28, 2009)

Well I couldn't resist. I purchased the HC today at a local bookstore. I was able to get them down to $16, but still the $9 would've been nicer. This was just one book I really couldn't wait until December to read.


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## sixnsolid (Mar 13, 2009)

I'm still pretty bummed over the e-book release delay. This thread on SK's forum annoyed me even more http://www.stephenking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15493


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

As of today, the Kindle price for the Under the Dome pre-order is $9.99 on Amazon..... so, the price is still bouncing around. I'd obviously love to be reading it now.... but it really sounds like this book will be worth a little wait. We used to have to wait a year after the HB came out before the paperback would be released... so a little over a month doesn't seem all that horrible. Heaven knows I have more than enough books on my TBR list to read in the meantime.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Stephen King was on The View this morning and everyone in the audience got a copy of the new book. That thing is HUGE... looked to be about 4 inches thick! Sure makes me glad to have a Kindle to download it to... that is if it is ever released!!


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