Kindle - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T08:32:41Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:127847?id=537324%3ATopic%3A127847&feed=yes&xn_auth=noHaving worked many years in l…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-28:537324:Comment:1339822008-03-28T16:03:32.286ZSue Dawsonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/SueDawson
Having worked many years in libraries, I was a member of the desk circulation<br />
staff that often cleared the bookdrop in the morning before opening. "Old volumes," those with tied pages (My terminiology might be incorrect.), held together well on descent while the modern glued bindings were often damaged in the short fall to the floor. The Beaverton Library where I worked for many years often had three feet of items, i. e., boooks, cassettes, videos, magazines (in short ,the whole gamut--and…
Having worked many years in libraries, I was a member of the desk circulation<br />
staff that often cleared the bookdrop in the morning before opening. "Old volumes," those with tied pages (My terminiology might be incorrect.), held together well on descent while the modern glued bindings were often damaged in the short fall to the floor. The Beaverton Library where I worked for many years often had three feet of items, i. e., boooks, cassettes, videos, magazines (in short ,the whole gamut--and sometimes "gifts" from nasty patrons). Many library patrons have little idea of the work that goes on behind library doors before and after closing. The job is much more than just checking books out and in.<br />
<br />
Nothing pleases me more than to wander through a musty (well, not too musty)<br />
bookstore. I can spend hours at no cost just looking at the shelves. When an old classic is found, I cannot resist perusing its pages and on occasion buying a volume or two.<br />
<br />
I favor quality in all areas whether it be furniture making, book printing.<br />
or my favorite world of education. I think the whole mess stems…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280912008-03-03T19:11:45.960ZPepper Smithhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Reefrunner
I think the whole mess stems from the Great Depression. Bookstores couldn't afford to buy books that they then might not be able to sell, so publishers started offering to send them the books and let them pay once the books sold. Once the depression was over, the system was firmly entrenched and remained in place. Considering how much publishers need distributors to get their books out to the bookstores, I imagine distributors have tweaked things to their greatest benefit. They're not going to…
I think the whole mess stems from the Great Depression. Bookstores couldn't afford to buy books that they then might not be able to sell, so publishers started offering to send them the books and let them pay once the books sold. Once the depression was over, the system was firmly entrenched and remained in place. Considering how much publishers need distributors to get their books out to the bookstores, I imagine distributors have tweaked things to their greatest benefit. They're not going to want to let go of that advantage. Some other system needs to come along that works fairly for all parties involved before things will change. The quality of POD is not qui…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280802008-03-03T18:31:28.547ZJohn Dishonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
The quality of POD is not quite as good as offset presses, not yet. POD uses a toner process instead of ink, so illustrations and photographs are still not as good as offset presses. And POD doesn't do color as well either.<br />
<br />
This is still true for desktop printers. Laserjets, which use toner, don't have as good image quality as inkkets, which use ink. Even the new color laserjets aren't as a good as inkjets for photographs and illustrations.<br />
<br />
But for monochrome text, yeah, POD is right there…
The quality of POD is not quite as good as offset presses, not yet. POD uses a toner process instead of ink, so illustrations and photographs are still not as good as offset presses. And POD doesn't do color as well either.<br />
<br />
This is still true for desktop printers. Laserjets, which use toner, don't have as good image quality as inkkets, which use ink. Even the new color laserjets aren't as a good as inkjets for photographs and illustrations.<br />
<br />
But for monochrome text, yeah, POD is right there with offset presses. Walmart needs the customer's…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280782008-03-03T18:17:32.318ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Walmart needs the customer's good will and can recoup the loss from the lawnmower's manufacturer. Perhaps that's the reasoning behind the generous buy-back policies of publishers. But consider that publishers don't really need book stores. The mark-ups on books come from the middlemen. Many publishing houses already sell direct via mailorder. I know Penguin does. I suspect that anything short of best sellers will eventually go to mailorder, and only the best sellers will be sold by grocery…
Walmart needs the customer's good will and can recoup the loss from the lawnmower's manufacturer. Perhaps that's the reasoning behind the generous buy-back policies of publishers. But consider that publishers don't really need book stores. The mark-ups on books come from the middlemen. Many publishing houses already sell direct via mailorder. I know Penguin does. I suspect that anything short of best sellers will eventually go to mailorder, and only the best sellers will be sold by grocery stores and the big box stores. This, of course, will mean that publishers will have to spend more on national advertising for their other books. Or perhaps there will be no other books. I think there is a trend amon…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280742008-03-03T17:58:26.257ZDorien Greyhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DorienGrey
I think there is a trend among smaller houses, like my publisher, Zumaya, to avoid many of the very real pitfalls mentioned above by going to a no-inventory system. The biggest drawback here is the old POD bugaboo which assumes poor quality and conjures up images of somebody sitting there cranking out one book at a time as orders come in. That may have been somewhat true years ago, but with today's digital printing capabilities, the end result can be and is of as good a quality as…
I think there is a trend among smaller houses, like my publisher, Zumaya, to avoid many of the very real pitfalls mentioned above by going to a no-inventory system. The biggest drawback here is the old POD bugaboo which assumes poor quality and conjures up images of somebody sitting there cranking out one book at a time as orders come in. That may have been somewhat true years ago, but with today's digital printing capabilities, the end result can be and is of as good a quality as large-print-run houses. And the matter of "no returns" can be avoided by the simple common sense option of the bookstore not ordering more books than it thinks it can sell. Two copies, three copies is no problem, and reorder takes only a matter of days. Plus the book in effect never goes out of print or winds up on the "remainders" table.<br />
<br />
Old ideas, prejudices, and habits die hard, but they do, eventually, die. Digital printing is, especially for smaller houses and I would strongly suspect, eventurally for the entire industry, the "wave of the future."<br />
<br />
Dorien It's different for different…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280722008-03-03T17:49:48.972ZJohn Dishonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
It's different for different kinds of books, I guess. I know from firsthand experience that textbooks are marked up 300%. I know we're talking about fiction here, though. But I agree the system sucks. But then again, you can return anything to Wal-Mart and get your money back, even a lawn mower you used for one season and then returned it with gas still in it (true story).
It's different for different kinds of books, I guess. I know from firsthand experience that textbooks are marked up 300%. I know we're talking about fiction here, though. But I agree the system sucks. But then again, you can return anything to Wal-Mart and get your money back, even a lawn mower you used for one season and then returned it with gas still in it (true story). Yeah, but as everyone likes t…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280702008-03-03T17:44:39.215ZJohn Dishonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
Yeah, but as everyone likes to point out to me, amazon is only a small portion of the overall market. I can only speak for myself, but I would buy more books if they were cheaper. But for it to work, the price drop would have to be across the board, not just for new releases.
Yeah, but as everyone likes to point out to me, amazon is only a small portion of the overall market. I can only speak for myself, but I would buy more books if they were cheaper. But for it to work, the price drop would have to be across the board, not just for new releases. It's a matter of economics. T…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280642008-03-03T17:06:35.502ZPepper Smithhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Reefrunner
It's a matter of economics. The bigger guys can afford the large print runs to get the lower price per book. The smaller ones have to charge more because they can't do the big print runs. Then you have to factor in distributors and booksellers that take sizable chunks of the cover price as their share. To cover costs, the prices end up pretty high.<br />
<br />
The whole system needs revamping. Any system that allows the customer (the distributors and bookstores) to order product at a discount and return…
It's a matter of economics. The bigger guys can afford the large print runs to get the lower price per book. The smaller ones have to charge more because they can't do the big print runs. Then you have to factor in distributors and booksellers that take sizable chunks of the cover price as their share. To cover costs, the prices end up pretty high.<br />
<br />
The whole system needs revamping. Any system that allows the customer (the distributors and bookstores) to order product at a discount and return unsold units at full price is seriously a problem. Small publishers go under because of this sort of thing. They end up owing the distributors money on unsold books, and the distributors will often hold unsold books in storage until the publisher requests payment on sold books, and then return the unsold books instead of making the payment. This is also why some publishers will hold a certain amount of royalties back against returns.<br />
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What other business in the world would run like this? "Bookster" exists already, th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280572008-03-03T16:55:04.067ZPepper Smithhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Reefrunner
"Bookster" exists already, though not under than name and in myriad forms. Ebooks haven't hit the mainstream yet, but it doesn't mean there's not already a thriving community of pirates and those who share ebooks out there. Just browse through Yahoo Groups some day. You'd be surprised.
"Bookster" exists already, though not under than name and in myriad forms. Ebooks haven't hit the mainstream yet, but it doesn't mean there's not already a thriving community of pirates and those who share ebooks out there. Just browse through Yahoo Groups some day. You'd be surprised. Unless that will mean more sa…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-03:537324:Comment:1280422008-03-03T14:29:43.048ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Unless that will mean more sales (and I have my doubts that price affects sales for new books), the author's percentage will shrink even further. Besides, amazon already offers severely discounted hardcovers (at 15 to 17 dollars).
Unless that will mean more sales (and I have my doubts that price affects sales for new books), the author's percentage will shrink even further. Besides, amazon already offers severely discounted hardcovers (at 15 to 17 dollars).