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Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

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Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#131

Post by VLM »

JunkDNA wrote: post #51

Lots of people in this thread are talking about this being scary for authors. When I was a kid, I got to read a ton of books any time I wanted. I got them at this place called a "library" where they let people come in and take books home with them to read for free . People have always had the option to read books without buying them. In those days, going to the library was effectively the same effort as going to a bo…

"Local libraries already lend ebooks as well."

Have you ever tried that? Limited selection and weird rules like only certain devices and complicated account creation and then you only get to "keep" the ebook for 2 weeks or whatever.

I can get "free" audiobooks the same way. Its sadly easier to borrow the physical CDs and rip them.

Authors can make money by people who get gifts, and are in a hurry, or want reference tomes. I can read Stross's new novel after waiting in line just four or so months from now for free at my local library... Ah, who cares, its like an expensive lunch to just buy the ebook so I'll do that instead and downloaded it on release date. Another method is gifts. Nobody I know goes to bookstores anymore other than to buy gifts. We don't buy books for ourselves; we do buy gifts which happen to be books. Like the hallmark holiday card business, I don't buy myself Christmas cards, and thats OK, buy some and send them to other people.

If you're not in the "gift" "reference" or "trendy in a hurry" markets, you're in big trouble.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#132

Post by steffan »

bitJericho wrote: post #89
chubot wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a regular user of the local library, but I notice that most people in my "class" (i.e. tech people earning a lot) don't go there. It's easier to buy it on your Kindle for $10-$15 than to make a trip to the library. I'm gonna be a jerk and say that most people also like to hang out in expensive coffee shops with other members of their class, and not in the library where there are lots of poor people. It's a little…

Wow... I don't know what libraries you go to but libraries are generally not full of poor people...

In San Francisco, Portland, and certain places in Los Angeles, there is a significant number of homeless people who make use of the library. I don't begrudge them the access to books, internet, learning, and a quiet place, but there is a small contingent who are mentally ill and/or disruptive and cause problems for other patrons. Cf. “Why we can't have nice things”

This is most likely true of any large city, but I don't have any first-hand experience beyond those three cities.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#133

Post by anigbrowl »

jonnathanson wrote: post #22
frio wrote: post #6

Interesting. I wonder what this implies for authors. Amazon might take a cut currently, but the lion's share ends up with the author -- a royalty based scheme significantly changes the playing field, and I worry that it could be for the worse ( http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-25217353 ). EDIT -- and what it implies for publishers.

It'll definitely be interesting to watch. The article you linked talks about the effects of Spotify on making a living as a musician. Spotify economics are, as you've pointed out, much tougher for authors than for songwriters. Books take a lot longer to create than songs. Also, people listen to the same songs hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of times before getting sick of them. People generally read books once. M…

If this model takes hold, the thing that may need to change is the book itself. The economics of subscription suggest a shift in incentives away from the years-long creation of 300+ page tomes, and toward serialization or shorter forms. It behooves me, as an author, to have 10 or 20 "books" (or serialized installments) floating around the system each year, casting a wider net, than to bet the farm on one book a year.

This is a prime example of how this development could end up hurting consumers. For those of us that strongly prefer 'deep' books rather than ones released in chunks, the economic disincentives facing authors of such works suggest that there will be fewer options available in the future.

Of course, this isn't unprecedented. Dickens used to publish serially (partly because publishing and copyright enforcement was a bit of a free-for-all back then), and even the book-length versions of the novels had to be subsidized with advertising to offset the piracy losses. I have a copy of Great Expectations with advertisements for laundry soap and brass polish, which were aimed at the servants who were the target audience for the book.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#134

Post by mseebach »

chubot wrote: post #78
JunkDNA wrote: post #51

Lots of people in this thread are talking about this being scary for authors. When I was a kid, I got to read a ton of books any time I wanted. I got them at this place called a "library" where they let people come in and take books home with them to read for free . People have always had the option to read books without buying them. In those days, going to the library was effectively the same effort as going to a bo…

I'm a regular user of the local library, but I notice that most people in my "class" (i.e. tech people earning a lot) don't go there. It's easier to buy it on your Kindle for $10-$15 than to make a trip to the library. I'm gonna be a jerk and say that most people also like to hang out in expensive coffee shops with other members of their class, and not in the library where there are lots of poor people. It's a little…

I don't think any of these things have anything to do with "hanging out" and "class". When you get a book on your Kindle, you're not hanging out with anyone, you're just getting a book. Also, anecdotes and data notwithstanding, the times I've seen people "hanging out" with people they didn't arrive with at a grocery store in my life can probably be counted on one hand.

When your (cash-rich, time-poor) friends buy books on their Kindles instead of going to the library, it's most likely because they value the convenience of (a) not having to go to the library to get the book (b) not having to consider whether the book is stocked (c) not having to got to the library to return it (d) not having to keep track of when the book must be returned (e) not having to actually carry a physical book around -- more then they value their $10-15.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#136

Post by blhack »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #113
dublinben wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need a national scale project. You can start with your own, local library. Help make it into the best library around, and others will follow.

Half agree. Use a local library as the prototype, document how you did it and the results, and then scale up with that experience.

Seriously, libraries seem to all recognize the need for hackerspaces, but they don't have hackers to staff them.

They have budgets for things, and space, and a desire, they just need help figuring out where/how to spend things and how to then use the things they've gotten.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#137

Post by debt »

WalterBright wrote: post #118
tekalon wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Happy medium. I use the library for my 'summer reading books', the books you read once, enjoy and never thing about again. I use Kindle for books I really enjoy and want to read again (or for free/cheap summer books that the library doesn't have). I buy physical books for reference or if the library/kindle/nook/ebook provider does not have it available.

I buy physical books because they're cheaper than ebooks. I'll usually pay about $.50 to a buck for them. Sometimes my friends just give me a box of books they're done with. The local thrift store often has bestsellers for a buck. The usual price for a used book on Amazon is $.01, which with shipping comes out to still far less than the ebook.

This is a good point. You could get the best of both worlds and just buy books on eBay for cheap. It's cheap and you end up with a physical copy.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#138

Post by jonknee »

bitJericho wrote: post #89
chubot wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a regular user of the local library, but I notice that most people in my "class" (i.e. tech people earning a lot) don't go there. It's easier to buy it on your Kindle for $10-$15 than to make a trip to the library. I'm gonna be a jerk and say that most people also like to hang out in expensive coffee shops with other members of their class, and not in the library where there are lots of poor people. It's a little…

Wow... I don't know what libraries you go to but libraries are generally not full of poor people...

Except for universities and affluent suburbs I would have to agree with the assessment. Why not? It's warm in the winter, cool in the summer, you won't be hassled to buy something and there is free internet access.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#139

Post by richdougherty »

MadManE wrote: post #119
bitJericho wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow... I don't know what libraries you go to but libraries are generally not full of poor people...

As much as we would like it to not be true, in the real world free services attract the lowest financial class of people. Libraries are awesome, and I spent a significant portion of my life in them, but as soon as I could afford to not use them, I quit going to them.

The libraries in my city just reflect the people in the community around them. In poorer areas, they are mostly poorer people, in the city centre there are mostly students and workers, in richer areas there are lots of middle class families and older folks.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#140

Post by r00fus »

ctdonath wrote: post #127
r00fus wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't imagine this is new territory in terms of licensing for music, but may be for books. Look at iTunes Match - you pay a monthly fee, what Apple does on the backend is likely royalty payments per song (there may be negotiation with labels as to iTunes match rates).

iBooks Match would be wonderful.

Does iBooks do audiobooks? I'd love an alternative to Audible.
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