Comments on: Bundling eBooks and Digital Products http://headsubhead.com/2009/12/29/bundling-ebooks-and-digital-products/ "all things book" Birmingham, Alabama Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:57:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: shelleylieber http://headsubhead.com/2009/12/29/bundling-ebooks-and-digital-products/comment-page-1/#comment-49985 shelleylieber Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:50:14 +0000 http://headsubhead.com/?p=1140#comment-49985 I like the concept of bundling, especially for small or independent publishers/authors. I'd even add audio books to the mix. But, large houses don't sell direct to consumer. If they start, this model would eliminate bookstores, including your neighborhood indie bookstore, and I don't think consumers are ready to give that up yet. <br><br>I do think authors should take note of the vast possibilities of formats they can use to package their products. With all the ways to get a message out, there has never been a better time to be an author. I like the concept of bundling, especially for small or independent publishers/authors. I'd even add audio books to the mix. But, large houses don't sell direct to consumer. If they start, this model would eliminate bookstores, including your neighborhood indie bookstore, and I don't think consumers are ready to give that up yet.

I do think authors should take note of the vast possibilities of formats they can use to package their products. With all the ways to get a message out, there has never been a better time to be an author.

]]> By: shelleylieber http://headsubhead.com/2009/12/29/bundling-ebooks-and-digital-products/comment-page-1/#comment-49803 shelleylieber Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:50:14 +0000 http://headsubhead.com/?p=1140#comment-49803 I like the concept of bundling, especially for small or independent publishers/authors. I'd even add audio books to the mix. But, large houses don't sell direct to consumer. If they start, this model would eliminate bookstores, including your neighborhood indie bookstore, and I don't think consumers are ready to give that up yet. <br><br>I do think authors should take note of the vast possibilities of formats they can use to package their products. With all the ways to get a message out, there has never been a better time to be an author. I like the concept of bundling, especially for small or independent publishers/authors. I'd even add audio books to the mix. But, large houses don't sell direct to consumer. If they start, this model would eliminate bookstores, including your neighborhood indie bookstore, and I don't think consumers are ready to give that up yet.

I do think authors should take note of the vast possibilities of formats they can use to package their products. With all the ways to get a message out, there has never been a better time to be an author.

]]> By: Victoria Sandbrook http://headsubhead.com/2009/12/29/bundling-ebooks-and-digital-products/comment-page-1/#comment-49800 Victoria Sandbrook Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:32:43 +0000 http://headsubhead.com/?p=1140#comment-49800 Well, Travis, this certainly covers the bases I immediately had in mind when thinking about holes in your tweet earlier today. I think the most important quality of your argument is that you support *diversity* of formats and options. You consider how and when people will want to access a text--traditionally, immediately, in-depth, on-the-go. My recently completed graduate thesis focused on the arguments for an xml-based production model to make sure that these options are available to the publisher at the lowest possible cost from the very beginning of the life of the text. From there, publishers can decide what makes an effective price point for them. We already know what $9.99 looks like to most publishers, but I think that distribution models as diverse as the one you suggest will make costs of device-specific editions plummet for publishers and readers alike. I could split hairs about discounts and shipping costs and all sorts of nonsense people often throw up as roadblocks, but I'm too happy to hear strong support for bundling and packaging. Whether or not the prices and discounts you suggested will work for everyone (and it's likely they won't just because it's such a broad industry), your model is grounded in the right theories.<br><br>I think that any publisher responsibly considering digital editions should be investigating options like these, making reasonable changes to price points based on their production needs *and* market demands (just as the do for cover prices) and aggressively seeking out every possible (legitimate) platform on which they can release their content. Well, Travis, this certainly covers the bases I immediately had in mind when thinking about holes in your tweet earlier today. I think the most important quality of your argument is that you support *diversity* of formats and options. You consider how and when people will want to access a text–traditionally, immediately, in-depth, on-the-go. My recently completed graduate thesis focused on the arguments for an xml-based production model to make sure that these options are available to the publisher at the lowest possible cost from the very beginning of the life of the text. From there, publishers can decide what makes an effective price point for them. We already know what $9.99 looks like to most publishers, but I think that distribution models as diverse as the one you suggest will make costs of device-specific editions plummet for publishers and readers alike. I could split hairs about discounts and shipping costs and all sorts of nonsense people often throw up as roadblocks, but I'm too happy to hear strong support for bundling and packaging. Whether or not the prices and discounts you suggested will work for everyone (and it's likely they won't just because it's such a broad industry), your model is grounded in the right theories.

I think that any publisher responsibly considering digital editions should be investigating options like these, making reasonable changes to price points based on their production needs *and* market demands (just as the do for cover prices) and aggressively seeking out every possible (legitimate) platform on which they can release their content.

]]>