A Memory of Light ebook to be delayed for 3 months

Zapp Brannigan

Pretty ridiculous to be honest.

Normally I'd have no problem buying the hardback but I'll be away travelling so I was planning on having the ebook to read.

Congrats TOR, forcing people to pirate it.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

they're not forcing anyone to do anything, you're choosing to pirate it because you can't be bothered to wait

Zapp Brannigan

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

they're not forcing anyone to do anything, you're choosing to pirate it because you can't be bothered to wait

Why should I have to though? Even Sanderson said he wanted to have the ebook come out along side the print, but it seems Harriet is completely stuck in the past. It's a shame.

ixoy

Pretty ridiculous. I imagine they could make even more profit on the e-book version so I don't get the logic of this at all. Nowadays it's common for the e-book and hardback version to be released simultaneously. Bad form.

pljudge321

Pretty ridiculous.

I'll be buying the hardcopy either way, I have the other thirteen on my bookshelf so I'd like to complete the set.

Antar Bolaeisk

That is completely and utterly ridiculous. I would be buying the hard back regardless due to owning the other 14 in that format but to withhold the ebook is insane!

There's also no way I could go back to lugging around a door stopper like that either now that I've gotten so used to my Kindle.

mcgovern

I wonder how long until it shows up online? Publishing industry seems as bad as Film/TV/Music/Game industry, not realizing that the only people they are hurting are themselves, and the customers who will buy regardless.

Trojan

Reminds me of this.

AnCapaillMor

Uuggh found reading the towers hardback a pain in the ass to read, too bloody clunky.

ixoy

There was a delay with "The Towers of Midnight" too but since then e-book usage has shot up significantly and I'd hazard a guess that there's even a bigger percentage of users amongst sci-fi/fantasy readers who are tired of lugging around huge books.

"A Dance With Dragons" was released in e-book format on the same day as the dead tree version so if a similarly major fantasy release can do it, why not this book? George R.R. Martin is in the "million" club (number of e-books sold) so clearly there's a willing audience out there. Engage them - don't alienate them.

Temptamperu

Serves you all right for not reading your books correctly.

Tenger

ixoy wrote: »

Pretty ridiculous. I imagine they could make even more profit on the e-book version so I don't get the logic of this at all. Nowadays it's common for the e-book and hardback version to be released simultaneously. Bad form.

Absolutely, the ebook is essentially free money for the publishers, little if any transport, storage or production costs.

I'm annoyed because this adds another 3 months to the almost 20 years I have been waiting for this to finish...........I think I will manage personally.

mcgovern

Tenger wrote: »

Absolutely, the ebook is essentially free money for the publishers, little if any transport, storage or production costs.

I'm annoyed because this adds another 3 months to the almost 20 years I have been waiting for this to finish...........I think I will manage personally.

I know the common thinking is that that is the case, but the few authors who have talked about it, say that an e-book still has most of the costs of a physical book i.e. transport, storage and production costs are only a small part of the overall cost.

ixoy

mcgovern wrote: »

I know the common thinking is that that is the case, but the few authors who have talked about it, say that an e-book still has most of the costs of a physical book i.e. transport, storage and production costs are only a small part of the overall cost.

I still don't entirely buy it. I think it's about $1 or so to print a book but there's shipping costs then and then the shop's own profit margin. It doesn't quite add up really at times.

OwaynOTT

http://www.dragonmount.com/Books/Memory_of_Light/prologue.php

A snippet of the prologue here and it's very promising.

Antar Bolaeisk

ixoy wrote: »

I still don't entirely buy it. I think it's about $1 or so to print a book but there's shipping costs then and then the shop's own profit margin. It doesn't quite add up really at times.

It's not just the print though, it's the proof readers, the editors, the type setters, the publisher's fees, the artist, the advertisements and anything else that goes into producing a book as well as a percentage profit for the seller. Oh and of course the writer has to get some money as well, but only a small fraction.

I'm not sure if they have to pay any royalties for use of the different formats or not.

This is just a case of a publisher trying to protect itself. They know the future is bright and sunny but there's no place for them as they currently exist.

ixoy

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

It's not just the print though, it's the proof readers, the editors, the type setters, the publisher's fees, the artist, the advertisements and anything else that goes into producing a book as well as a percentage profit for the seller. Oh and of course the writer has to get some money as well, but only a small fraction.

I'm not asking for them to be $1. I'm wondering why the price differential between printed and electronic isn't a bit greater more often when, in addition to the costs above, the "dead tree" version can have the additional overhead of a print run, shipping, shops own fees, etc. Hosting a .epub/.azw file on a server would be considerably cheaper.

Now though that the Big 6's publishing cartel model has been broken we might see e-books come down in price, much in the manner that Amazon can discount printed books.