07-26-2012, 08:06 PM | #91 | ||||
Grand Sorcerer
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07-26-2012, 09:03 PM | #92 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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With research-based non-fiction, though, even a polymath author won't do -- it takes a team. If you look at the kind of projects Mike Shatzkin was involved in before becoming a consultant, you might get a better idea where he is coming from. I put disintermediation of publishers in the same category as replacement of newspapers by bloggers. The best blogger is indeed better than than the worst professional print journalist. But more opinion slingers does not make up for fewer professionals monitoring city hall -- or Afghanistan. There is nothing stopping Amazon from giving a top journalist the kind of advance needed to go to Afghanistan. But it just doesn't seem in their DNA to do that. |
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07-26-2012, 10:39 PM | #93 | |
TuxSlash
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And that one musician is a huge counterpoint to your "not materialized". Good talent can go it alone without the big names much easier than at any time in the past. Crappy talent still has a hard time breaking in. It's easier to get work when you have a huge <insert field> firm doing everything not <insert field> related. But you can still be a successful <insert field> consultant all by your lonesome, doing everything yourself. |
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07-26-2012, 11:07 PM | #94 | |
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"How I Grew Up Disadvantaged But Got Better" takes no more skill or research than genre fiction. Neither does "Let Me Tell You About The Awesomest Thing I Ever Did." But "How Public Trends Changed From X to Y" can take serious research (which costs at least time, and possibly money); "What Those People Over There Are Doing About Z" also takes time/money. And I think that big publishers having to drop prices of mainstream fiction to compete with indies is going to make that more obvious. It may mean less substantial nonfic gets written. It may mean that such books get kickstarted as much as they get optioned by a publisher. It may mean that books with a smaller niche don't get written at all--and yes, that'd be a shame. However, I don't agree that it's enough of a shame that we should all be paying $10 or $14 for novels no better written than $4 indie novels. |
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07-27-2012, 12:25 AM | #95 |
Grand Master of Flowers
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I'm skeptical that he could make a living solely as a writer; not that he isn't talented, but he hasn't been very productive historically (in terms of producing books, I mean).
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07-27-2012, 12:55 AM | #96 | |
Addict
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There are also the business endeavors that pop up due to your popularity (i.e. speaking engagements, movie deals, etc.), but I don't know if you count that. Here's an estimate breakdown of Doctorow's income a few years back: http://blog.fawny.org/2009/07/29/doctorow-income/ |
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07-27-2012, 07:13 AM | #97 | |
Literacy = Understanding
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I can also tell you from personal experience that Amazon gave small publishers a take-it-or-leave-it contract that was so tilted toward Amazon that it was a bad deal for small publishers who had no choice but to accept it or be cut out of a large part of the market. One small publisher tried to negotiate with Amazon several of the terms and was simply told to either sign as is or not have its ebooks listed. I know this because I was involved in the negotiations. I recall several authors complaining about Amazon trying to force them into exclusive arrangements. And let's not forget when Amazon unilaterally pulled the buy buttons on Macmillan when they had their pricing spat. There are lots of comments here on MR saying the producers should have the right to set their own prices, but then make the exception for the BPHs when Amazon wants to discount those prices. Abuse is in the eye of the abused. |
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07-27-2012, 07:18 AM | #98 | |
Literacy = Understanding
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Exactly what innovations should Amazon be lauded for? |
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07-27-2012, 07:28 AM | #99 | |
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As regards your point about editorial services, I think your argument is a bit offmark. Yes, authors can hire these services independently, but few do and those that do often do not hire professional editors or know that they are not getting professional services. Traditional publishers have the capability and knowledge to select competent professional editors the vast majority of the time, which it appears that many self-publishing authors do not. Unlike the self-publishing author who thinks that a 250-page novel can be well-edited for $200 or less, traditional publishers know that it costs much more for that edit and spend it. The question is really less one of can the self-publishing author hire these same services independently, but more whether they will reach into their own pocket and spend the money necessary for these services. Traditional publishers gamble with their own money; most self-publishing authors are unwilling to gamble with their own money. |
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07-27-2012, 07:30 AM | #100 |
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07-27-2012, 07:36 AM | #101 | |
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Similarly, publishers have ads for books in magazines like Smithsonian, The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Arts section, Atlantic, American Heritage, and the list goes on. And these are only the magazines and newspapers to which I subscribe; it is fair to say that they advertise in other newspapers and magazines, too. |
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07-27-2012, 09:05 AM | #102 | |
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I'm critical of Amazon and they have a lot to be criticized for but I have to admit that they did more then any other company to show the true potential for electronic books. This despite the shackles and chains that the BPH had created. I don't believe any other company could have done it. Sony couldn't. Apple didn't have the negotiating power of the existing paper books sales. B&N and Borders had no desire to. |
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08-17-2012, 12:58 PM | #103 | ||
The Dank Side of the Moon
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And now Apple reaches a new level of whining about how Amazon is behind the whole thing.....
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and besides they continue whining, the settlement is just not fair! Quote:
Last edited by kennyc; 08-17-2012 at 01:01 PM. |
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08-17-2012, 01:57 PM | #104 | |
Omnivorous
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08-17-2012, 02:02 PM | #105 |
Grand Sorcerer
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Good for Amazon. They saw the law being broken, and they said something about it.
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