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megwritesArnaud Nourry, chief executive for Hatchette/Livre explains why e-books are the e-Apocalypse for publishing - or, for us here on planet Earth, explains why he really doesn't get it.
Most notably:
Wow, way to have economics and business fail.
Okay, let's dissect the problem bit by bit.
1. The fact that Nourry, and maybe other publishers, were apparently expecting Amazon.com to consult with them about Amazon.com's pricing strategy so that it wouldn't be to the publisher's detriment. Okay, I get that Amazon and publishing companies need to have a working relationship, but in business, expecting a separate, independent commercial entity to make your life more comfortable is a good way to not be in business for long.
Of course Amazon.com didn't consult them. It's not their job to. They have to make money for themselves, and if that means screwing the publishers a little, well, they've got a big frosty mug of Not My Problem sitting right there.
Seriously? Your response is "Waaaah! Amazon didn't ask us first!"
2. The fact that Nourry seems to believe that if older, copyright-free books are free and e-Books are $9.99 that physical books must follow suit without giving any thought to how many people actually have Kindles or suitable e-Book readers. Yes, the number is rising, but it's still not a reality for a lot of people.
3. The fact that Nourry is apparently hitching his company to the Hardback Wagon. Publishing has to break out of this idea that the binding of a book should be a factor in it's success. I say we do away with all hardbacks and work on going as paper-free as we can. As a reader and consumer, I know that if I buy a hardback, I'm paying for glue and boards, not a better story. Unless I am in such love with an author that I must have their work the moment it is on the shelf, I wait for paperback.
4. The fact that Nourry doesn't discuss any of the stupidities that publishers themselves are perpetrating or what publishers could be doing to fight back, to become more competitive.
5. Mostly, the fact that Nourry gets angry and scared instead of saying, "Okay, we're going to become more clever, more in tune with readers, and more competitive." I'm telling you, if someone would just say, "Oh, hey there Apple or Microsoft or Whatever Electronics Company You Want, let's make a completely universal, inexpensive ebook reader and make sure every book our company has is available in an easy to browse place and together we can rule the world! Bwahaha!"
I understand this about business. It basically works like evolution. You have a bunch of creatures that come into being. The ones who are good at what they do prosper for a while - but then there's a meteor strike or a climate change or a new predator introduced to the environment.
And the ones that survive in the long term? Are the ones who adapt, change, grow. The ones who can find new food sources, who can make the environment work in their favor.
It's what people are, scientifically speaking, good at.
So, the question becomes, which companies and publishers are going to evolve and which are going to die off? Because the climate is changing rapidly - in both a literal and metaphorical sense - and the winners are going to rule the world. The losers? Are going to be extinct and fossilized before the next decade is out.
Most notably:
He said publishers were "very hostile" to Amazon's pricing strategy – over which the online retailer failed to consult publishers – to charge $9.99 (€7) for all its e-books in the US. He also pointed to plans by Google to put millions of out-of-copyright books online for public use in a digital library.
"On the one hand, you have millions of books for free where there is no longer an author to pay and, on the other hand, there are very recent books, bestsellers at $9.99, which means that all the rest will have to be sold at between zero and $9.99," Mr Nourry said.
Wow, way to have economics and business fail.
Okay, let's dissect the problem bit by bit.
1. The fact that Nourry, and maybe other publishers, were apparently expecting Amazon.com to consult with them about Amazon.com's pricing strategy so that it wouldn't be to the publisher's detriment. Okay, I get that Amazon and publishing companies need to have a working relationship, but in business, expecting a separate, independent commercial entity to make your life more comfortable is a good way to not be in business for long.
Of course Amazon.com didn't consult them. It's not their job to. They have to make money for themselves, and if that means screwing the publishers a little, well, they've got a big frosty mug of Not My Problem sitting right there.
Seriously? Your response is "Waaaah! Amazon didn't ask us first!"
2. The fact that Nourry seems to believe that if older, copyright-free books are free and e-Books are $9.99 that physical books must follow suit without giving any thought to how many people actually have Kindles or suitable e-Book readers. Yes, the number is rising, but it's still not a reality for a lot of people.
3. The fact that Nourry is apparently hitching his company to the Hardback Wagon. Publishing has to break out of this idea that the binding of a book should be a factor in it's success. I say we do away with all hardbacks and work on going as paper-free as we can. As a reader and consumer, I know that if I buy a hardback, I'm paying for glue and boards, not a better story. Unless I am in such love with an author that I must have their work the moment it is on the shelf, I wait for paperback.
4. The fact that Nourry doesn't discuss any of the stupidities that publishers themselves are perpetrating or what publishers could be doing to fight back, to become more competitive.
5. Mostly, the fact that Nourry gets angry and scared instead of saying, "Okay, we're going to become more clever, more in tune with readers, and more competitive." I'm telling you, if someone would just say, "Oh, hey there Apple or Microsoft or Whatever Electronics Company You Want, let's make a completely universal, inexpensive ebook reader and make sure every book our company has is available in an easy to browse place and together we can rule the world! Bwahaha!"
I understand this about business. It basically works like evolution. You have a bunch of creatures that come into being. The ones who are good at what they do prosper for a while - but then there's a meteor strike or a climate change or a new predator introduced to the environment.
And the ones that survive in the long term? Are the ones who adapt, change, grow. The ones who can find new food sources, who can make the environment work in their favor.
It's what people are, scientifically speaking, good at.
So, the question becomes, which companies and publishers are going to evolve and which are going to die off? Because the climate is changing rapidly - in both a literal and metaphorical sense - and the winners are going to rule the world. The losers? Are going to be extinct and fossilized before the next decade is out.
