As Publishers
delay ebook release dates, raise prices, cripple eReader features, slap on DRM of all sorts, and in general mistreat customers it might behoove them to take a minute and think --
We've had Hachette and Simon & Schuster and a few more of the big Publishers
delay ebook releases by 1 - 4 months.
Are you getting tired of HarperCollins
delaying eBook releases?
Publishers
delaying eBook release dates.
For popular books,
delaying ebook release dates leads to a significant substitution toward print books.
On the other hand, all those other books out there with either
delayed ebook releases or, more importantly, no ebook releases, are leaving money on the table.
Not exact matches
If you do want to wait until you have a polished version, this may involve
delaying the
release date of the regular
ebook.
By
delaying the Overdrive Kindle
release still further but not that to Amazon, publishers sell more
ebooks on Amazon and recoup some of the added costs that Amazon has forced on them.
Unfortunately, the fall
release of those
ebooks was
delayed as Pottermore focused its efforts on making the interactive reader website as top - notch as it could be.
Regarding the
release of HP in
ebook format: I doubt very much if anyone cares about any financial implications from
delaying the
release.
Today, Pottermore sent out a reading survey to its beta testers looking for feedback on the books themselves, a sign that the
ebook release is at least still on some kind of a schedule, albeit a
delayed one.
And
ebooks, like movies, will see that the longer the
delay in international
releases, the more you encourage piracy.
He also revealed that the entire
ebook release delay initiative was simply a way for Publishers to help readers appreciate the value of books --
If you have fans who'll buy your
ebook as soon as it comes out,
delay the
release through Amazon and sell first at the retailers who pay better royalties.
The best idea he can come up with is to deliberately cripple
ebooks by raising their prices and
delaying their
release for 18 - 24 months so they don't compete with printed copies.
I am, however,
delaying the
release of the non-Kindle
ebooks so that I can take advantage of Amazon's Kindle Select programme (which requires exclusivity for at least three months).
It's just overwhelmingly irrational that Penguin are doing everything possible to attack and hurt their real customers — raise
ebook prices,
delay releases, keep
ebook quality low — and at the same time are trying to reach people who don't read by
releasing apps and games.
Maloney points out that the pilot program — at New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library — «will
delay the
release of
ebooks to the libraries for six months after the titles on on sale in stores and online.»
In 2010, Hachette
delayed the
release of Douglas's
ebooks in order to protect their print sales, which angered his readers.
In contrast, for niche books, that do not have strong brand awareness among consumers, we find an insignificant substitution toward print books when
ebook release dates are
delayed.
Back in 2010 there was some debate about whether a publisher could maximize revenue by
delaying the
release of an
ebook.
Thanks to a unique opportunity to work with a publisher who stopped
releasing new
ebooks for two months in 2010 the authors were able to analyze the sales impact of
delayed ebook availability.
But I never realized that they
delayed the
release of new
ebooks!
If the publishers want friction why not just
delay the
release of
ebooks to libraries.