The Smart Bitches are discussing an article on the Consumerist website about ebook pricing and content. In particular, they want to know why some ebooks available for the Kindle are priced higher than the mass market paperback, and yet there’s no additional benefit to buying the ebook other than the fact that you can get it now. Quoth Sarah:
As Jane pointed out in her most excellent article about epublishing, many users, myself included, would be in favor of paying more for ebook files that came with exclusive content and additional features. If an ebook is going to [be] priced between paperback and hardback, yes, it should come with special double good bonus features, and a batch of chocolate fudge brownies besides.
Jane at Dear Author gives us a list of things we can do to improve the reading experience for you. I think we’re doing quite well at most of them. Except:
Provide Additional Content in the eBook.
I’d been thinking about this issue, so this comes at a good time for me. I don’t like advertisements in the back of my book and excerpts make me itch unless the excerpted book is next on my TBR pile, but I’ve been the poster child for atypical before. So, educate me, please? Would excerpts of other books be a bonus or a detriment to your reading enjoyment? What would you like to see in your ebook besides the story you purchased?
Loading ...Whatever your preference, I hope you’ll go read the full posts and comments at Smart Bitches and Dear Author, if you haven’t yet. I appreciate their willingness to encourage these kinds of conversations.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 10:47 pm and is filed under From the Editors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
on January 27, 2009 11:19 pm
I’m usually pretty eager to read the next thing by the author if I really enjoyed the story I just finished- so I think excerpts or synopses of their other work would be great to peak my attention.
I don’t generally mind excerpts by other authors as long as it’s in a similar genre/style as the author I just read. Otherwise, it may seem out of the blue and serve more as a nuisance.
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Deena Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 7:59 am
@Isabelle Santiago,
as long as it’s in a similar genre/style as the author I just read.
Maybe something along the lines of what the library does: “If you liked … then you might like…?”
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Isabelle Santiago Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
@Deena, exactly. I tend to respond really well to that and I’m always excited to learn about a new author who I may have overlooked.
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Deena Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
@Isabelle Santiago,
I like that idea a lot. Couching it in those terms makes it more of a service than a blatant attempt to get the reader’s money without considering their interests.
on January 27, 2009 11:49 pm
If the excerpts were of the same basic genre, sure. I’d love to see them — even more so if they were available now. I’m like you in that I wouldn’t necessarily want to see an excerpt of the next book in the series if it wasn’t something I could buy right now, though. I mean, I’d love the teaser, but then die if I couldn’t buy it.
I will admit that the last fantasy series I read (Brent Weeks, Night Angel trilogy) was so good that I stayed up super late and even read the excerpt of the next book before going to bed. I had the next book — but it wasn’t handy and I certainly wasn’t going to start it at 3 AM when I had to work the next day.
But I wanted more more more, even if it was 3 AM. I probably would have read the author’s grocery list if it’d been included.
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Deena Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 7:49 am
@joelysue,
I stayed up super late and even read the excerpt of the next book before going to bed. I had the next book…
That’s exactly the scenario I was thinking of…possibly because I’ve been known to do the same thing.
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Isabelle Santiago Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
@Deena, I have to third this. I do the same thing.
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on January 28, 2009 12:23 am
I don’t really feel like I need extra content in an ebook at all. I barely look at extra content in a paper book, much less an ebook. About the only time I’m really interested in extra content is if there’s a nice author bio… but these days I’m perfectly happy to go to an author’s website for more interesting data on that author.
Or, if there’s supplementary material to the book, that could be neat too. Naomi Novik had awesome supplementary material in His Majesty’s Dragon, for example. But that too might be something I could easily see being extras for an author’s website.
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on January 28, 2009 1:08 am
I prefer supplementary material over excerpts. Anna, above, turned me on to Naomi Novik, and I love the fake historical documents at the end of each novel. Unlike Anna, though, I wouldn’t be likely to track that stuff down at the author’s website. For me, time on the computer is too hard to come by (I’m raising a toddler who wants to play with my keyboard), so I’m picky about what I use that time for.
I like authors’ forewords and afterwords, stuff about how they came to write that particular book, how they write generally, their personal backgrounds, etc. A bio is nice, but if I’m really curious about the author, about a book’s place in the author’s life, I want something bigger than a bio, more essayistic.
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on January 28, 2009 4:30 am
I love to see a picture of the author. It makes me feel settled in my mind when reading to picture this real person laboring over the keyboard, growing through the same hell I do myself.
Hmm. A bit odd, now that I reflect on it.
I also like website/blog info, because if I really like the words, I like to see what other words this person uses and how they blog. Another oddity, but honest.
Personally, I shrink at paying more, or the same even, for an ebook as I would for real-tree-pulp-in-my-hand … I’d like to see a bit of reward for being green, even if it’s just a dollar or two. As an author, I equally have no problem with seeing a tiny bit less profit (though really, there should be no loss. Ebook = lower overhead) for a bit more oxygen to breathe.
My two cents. Interesting topic and one I’ve been thinking about quite a bit since I got my E-Reader (which I love love love, btw!).
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Deena Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 7:46 am
@Kathi430,
I have a hard time paying more too.
Thinking about this, it’s my impression that products everywhere else that are “green” cost a bit more than the ones that aren’t. Maybe it’s because the cost of creating those products is higher, but they also seem to be marketed to the people who feel good about paying a bit more for an organic or sustainable product, as if it confers some benediction, or proves they’re a better person.
I also think about the fact that most small presses charge much more for a book than a big publisher charges, and with good reason–it costs them more to make the book and they’re moving fewer copies. I’m quite sure none of them are getting rich off of the deal. I think, though, that the good ones give the buyer a sense of having something special, being a collector, perhaps, or being in the know about where the good things are.
I’m not saying ebooks should cost more than paper at all, but if they really are the future and we’re the early adopters, maybe they should come with something special, something equivalent to getting a collector’s edition.
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on January 28, 2009 7:00 am
I think we haven’t heard the end of this topic. I’d like ebook content to be taken beyond excerpts and synopses, although they’re good marketing from an author’s perspective. What I think would be cool is to have the files as executables (which I know is an issue for the various ereaders) or, with webenabled ereaders, provide links to supplementary content (video, audio, fake websites, etc.). Eventually I believe this is what a book will grow into but that’s a whole different post.
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Deena Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 7:31 am
@Mike Stewart,
The books on the iphone from one of the content providers are executables and, from what I understand, Apple’s not happy about that. I don’t know if it’s a security issue or a file size issue or both. I do love the idea of all the extras you’ve mentioned. Those things are fun.
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on January 28, 2009 7:32 am
As a huge reader who loves books on her shelves, I would choose a Print book over an ebook. If a Kindle book is as much as Print, what is the draw? Placing supplementary material, excerpts, and pictures certainly would sway my decision.
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on January 28, 2009 3:29 pm
Where do I start with all the new multimedia, interactive, and intertextual potential now available? Here are some ideas to include in the e-book or associated with its download, in no particular order:
1. high-res video promo
2. audio excerpt or audio passages or the whole book “on tape”.
3. interactive Flash-type game based on book
4. high res illustrations in glorious color so you can print your own at any size you want
5. video interview with author or editor
6. reader’s automatic inclusion in author’s newsletter
7. interactive versions of the book, alternate endings
8. opportunity for readers to add their scenes to a story — “fan fiction” without the liability
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Deena Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
@Teresa Wymore,
A lot of that would be difficult to provide as additional content on the book, depending on the software used to read it, but it could be added to the website when it’s not feasible to include it in the book.
2. We have a partnership agreement with Action Audio to provide our books for sale through Audible, so that’s not an option for us right now, but might be in the future.
I love 3 and 4, but 4 is difficult because size is a problem. People don’t want to download massive files or save them on their limited (even with the larger sizes now available) handheld. A zipped file could be provided for download to their computers.
5, 7, and 8 are interesting ideas that deserve some exploration.
6, were I the reader, would annoy me a lot.
I like the way your mind works. It’s good to come at it from the direction of what’s possible, instead of just trying to do better than what’s been done before.
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Christina Whitcher Replied:
January 29th, 2009 at 5:58 am
@Teresa Wymore,
Wow! These are great ideas. I like them VERY much. I’d choose the Kindle book over the Print if it came with at least half of what you suggest.
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on January 28, 2009 6:02 pm
I like illustrations; they always seem to add a nice touch. Author bios. are informative, and an excerpt is a good idea, especially as a teaser to other works in a series.
Gary
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Deena Replied:
January 28th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
@Gary Inbinder,
I love, love, love illustrations, but they make the file size pretty huge too.
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on January 31, 2009 11:07 pm
I much prefer paper books for various reasons, but I don’t see why ebooks shouldn’t include the same type of things that those do: author bio, thanks, references if they were required, maybe a chapter of some other book said author has coming out or has already published… It would make ebooks easier for me to handle (*G*at the moment, I’m just an elf-friend when it comes to computers; I use them because I must).
Jess
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on March 8, 2009 12:07 am
Interesting questions, should some of the additional information be in print books too. What do people want to read other than the story.
I tend to not like the excerpts one or more chapters because too many times I stand in the bookstore or sit at the computer looking at the screen or at a book thinking, gee this sounds familiar, do I already have it.
I guess I read too much and write books too. They all tend to blend together after a while.
A nice addition to the E-book might be a section of short ideas an author has to extend the book into a series with a website for comments.
Maybe a list of websites (e-books should in theory be easier to keep up to date) that point you to more of the information. I personally would not mind a section of adds at the end of the story as long as they weren’t disguised as being a part of the book.
I am an author of fantasy and science fiction books in the little spare time I have from being a farmer.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a big glass of purple grape juice on a page saying something about buy Welch’s Juice and support this authors farming habit.
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Deena Replied:
March 8th, 2009 at 3:22 am
Hey Larry, thanks for joining in!
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Deena Replied:
March 8th, 2009 at 3:26 am
Hmm, hit the wrong button at the wrong time. Thanks, and those ideas are interesting. I don’t mind ads either, as long as they’re separate from the text. I don’t like being distracted from the story.
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on March 15, 2009 12:59 pm
I voted for Nothing Else. All the other options are not really adding anything to my reading experience. If anything they will be cluttering the ebook I purchased. If I want bio or synopsis or excerpts of other books I can get them online.
When I thing about additional content/material I think more like – having an interview with the author about the book. Or some short stories around the book – either focusing on less important characters of the plot, or giving some background information around the plot. Maybe some links throughout the book similar to the director’s comments on DVDs.
I hope this makes sense. Good poll.
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Deena Replied:
March 15th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Thanks for responding! I’m with you. I just want to read the book. Extra stories would be nice. I’m less interested in how the author came to write the book.
Now we just have to figure out how to make the most people happy while annoying the least.
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