Going through the news from around the publishing industry this week has made me wonder if the Grinch hasn't paid an early call this year. To say the week has been interesting is too mild. For one, I'm positive it wasn't interesting in the standard Webster's Dictionary sort of way. Oh no, it was most definitely interesting in the old Chinese proverb sort of way and that always has me looking over my shoulder to see what is about to happen next. So, let's get started and see what you think.Jenny Rappaport announced the closing of her agency, The Rappaport Agency, LLC., on her blog on the 9th. For more information, check out her blog, Lit Soup. I haven't dealt with Ms. Rappaport personally, but have heard enough about her to know she will be missed. Good luck in all your future endeavors, Ms. Rappaport.
In other agency news, Rachelle Gardner announced that her agency, WordServe Literary, is closed to queries until January 14, 2010. With the holidays coming up, a number of agencies will be taking a vacation. Others will close to queries until after the New Year. Be sure to check their websites before submitting for any updates.
Wednesday of this week, Simon & Schuster and Hatchette Books announced that they will delay e-book releases of certain best sellers and high print run books by four months after the release of the hard cover version. "The right place for the e-book is after the hardcover but before the paperback," said Carolyn Reidy, CEO of Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS Corp. "We believe some people will be disappointed. But with new [electronic] readers coming and sales booming, we need to do this now, before the installed base of e-book reading devices gets to a size where doing it would be impossible." David Young, the CEO for Hatchette, said they will delay the "vast majority" of e-books by 3 to 4 months. His explanation, "I can't sit back and watch years of building authors sold off at bargain-basement prices. It's about the future of the business." Add to this the announcement by Harper-Collins the following day that they, too, would delay certain e-books and you can see the line in the sand. Their delays will range from 4 weeks to 6 months. According to Brian Murray, CEO of H-C, the continued sales of hard cover books at $9.99 will eventually lead to fewer literary choices for readers because publishers can't won't be able to risk so many new authors. "We're going to experiment with this," Mr. Murray said. "Each new e-book represents a potential new marketing opportunity at a time when we need every possible hook to get consumer attention."
What does all this mean? My take on it is that the publishers are worried that Amazon, Walmart and the like will soon insist on lower costs to them, the stores, for the best seller hard covers. Right now, they are buying these books at the price dictated by the publishers and selling them for a loss. The publishers aren't losing anything, but they are scared that things will change. So, what do they do when they're scared, they lash out at what they don't understand and, in this case, it's e-books and those who read them. The publishers think that by delaying e-book versions of their best selling books, they will sell more hard covers of those same books. Wrong. Especially if the prices of hard covers go back up to the $25 - $30 range. Worse, by delaying the release of the e-book version, there will be no push and there will be lost sales there. For example, you have a new book by best-selling author X. It's his first book in three years or more and the publisher gives it a lot of push to increase pre-order sales, etc. It hits the NYT best sellers list. Then the hard cover comes out and the reviews are awful. Worse, blogs and word of mouth trash the book. Sales of the hard cover decrease and, guess what, when the e-book version comes out at more than $10 -- something else the publishers want. They want e-book prices to be closer to HC prices than PB -- no one buys the e-book. Publishers will say, "See! We knew this e-book thing was just a fad." And they will loose sales and the publishing industry will continue its downward spiral.
Except there are those publishers who do realize e-books are now a part of the industry that must be addressed and business practices must be adapted. According to WSJ-Online, Albert Greco, a professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Business who studies the book industry, estimates that e-book retail sales could hit $201 million in 2010, still a fraction of the physical book market but up from an estimated $150 million this year. That is nothing to sneeze at, especially not when publishers are hurting for sales.
I'm going to close this by borrowing from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. SB Sarah sums up my feelings about this mess and I just have to share. Please feel free to add your comments.
Withhold My E-book! No, no, no!
Do you like this hardcover book?
You should buy it! Look look look!
I do not like a hardback book
I will not read it, not that book.
I want to read it, yes, I do,
but not that hardback, no, thank you.
Will you buy it here, or there?
You can buy it anywhere!
This hardback book is just for you.
The only kind we offer you.
I will not buy it, here or there.
I will not buy it anywhere.
I do not want a hardback book.
I want to buy a digital book.
Would you buy it in a store?
If you buy one, will you buy more?
You can buy it here, or there.
You can buy it anywhere!
We only have this hardback book.
There are no others, if you look.
This hardback paper is for you,
and if you buy one, you can buy two!
I will not buy it in a store.
I will not buy one, two, or more.
I will not buy it here, or there.
I will not buy it anywhere.
I will not buy a single one.
Our transaction might be done.
I do not want your hardback book.
I want to read my digi-book.
We do not sell digital books.
We only sell the hardback books.
If you want e, you have to wait.
Until the hardback sales abate.
This digital is just a fad,
and in our viewpoint, very bad.
The only books are ones like these:
Buy in hardback, won’t you please?
I will not buy them, don’t you know?
This is why your profits blow!
I want to read your books, right now!
I want to read them anyhow!
I want to put them on a Kindle,
or Nook or Sony, and not be swindled.
I will not buy a hardback book,
not now, not later, you backwards crook.
Your clueless thinking blows my mind.
E-sales are climbing! Are you blind?!
See this finger, nice and high?
You can kiss my sale goodbye.
I’ll go online and find my book,
scanned page by page by pirate crook,
and you have lost all sales from me,
both now and in the future. See,
I do not want your hardback book.
I want to read my digital book.
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