Re: AKICIF: The Shape of Asterix

In <vc4mqg$pfu$1@reader1.panix.com> "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl@KeithLynch.net> writes:

Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote:

And then we have book sizes which were all functions of the original
folio size but with the coming of rotary presses are all different
now...

I keep waiting for new SF to come out in mass market paperback.  And
it never does.

And you are likely to have a long wait.

Mass market paperback seems to be a relatively dying packaging form.  Most
originals come out as hardcover or possibly trade paperback (and the
reprint might well be trade paperback if it was originally a hardcover,
since the page layout is similar).  Sometimes you get two reprints
(trade paperback and mass market).  And indy/small press originals seem to
be mostly trade paperback, since that's relatively cheap to print, and can
command a better price.

It's nard to make money on a mass market paperback original.  By the time
the publisher pays the author from the net, there's not a lot of money
left to cover the fixed costs, considering how much fewer copies are sold,
compared with what mass market used to sell decades ago.

But there's a lot more new SF being published than there used to be, and
that's great.  As is expected, some of it isn't good -- but there are
so many more good stories being published, in so many ways.  I know I'm
always finding more new SF than I have time to read (and it would be worse
if I wasn't quick to decide that I don't like a story, and can put it down
without taking the time to finish it).

I am *not* going to buy any e-books for which the fine print says I
don't own it, but just have a temporary license to read it, which
may be revoked at any time.  And which "phones home" to tell the
publisher, advertisers, and the government exactly what I read
and when.

While most of the Big 5 originals price their ebooks fairly high (note
that Baen is not a Big 5 and has a different ebook pricing policy), the
indy/small press market mostly prices their ebooks at a significant
discount from the paper (likely TP) version.  Mostly, it looks like their
$5.99 or under price point seems to be the sweet spot.  There are
exceptions -- presses that are doing premium price physical books will
have their ebook versions priced higher.

For me, the convenience and pricing for ebooks have made them my primary
format for new SF.  Everybody needs to make their own choices, and weigh
the advantages and disadvantages of any format.

--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.

Ben
--
Ben Yalow                      ybmcu@panix.com
Not speaking for anybody