tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post3768162683876670280..comments2024-03-28T01:06:38.596-07:00Comments on Maya Reynolds: Response to a CommentMaya Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791278987339976101noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-583552737295166352009-02-15T17:30:00.000-08:002009-02-15T17:30:00.000-08:00SVD: It's good to see you again.Thanks!SVD: It's good to see you again.<BR/><BR/>Thanks!Maya Reynoldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12791278987339976101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-66351286862994533572009-02-15T17:29:00.001-08:002009-02-15T17:29:00.001-08:00Stephen: As always, thanks so much for stopping b...Stephen: As always, thanks so much for stopping by.Maya Reynoldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12791278987339976101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-80257820215184175322009-02-15T17:29:00.000-08:002009-02-15T17:29:00.000-08:00Nathan: Thanks for your response. I guess we wil...Nathan: Thanks for your response. <BR/><BR/>I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this matter. <BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/><BR/>MayaMaya Reynoldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12791278987339976101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-62254841940315615022009-02-15T17:13:00.000-08:002009-02-15T17:13:00.000-08:00OOPs. I meant NOT being an insider LOLOOPs. I meant NOT being an insider LOLAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09271864194625919704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-91085728086392784902009-02-15T16:19:00.000-08:002009-02-15T16:19:00.000-08:00I adore both of your blogs and being an insider I ...I adore both of your blogs and being an insider I don't have much to add, but I do think it's interesting to see how the trend in downloading ebooks on mobiles devices will shake out. It seems the people I know who own Iphones claim to prefer reading ebooks or articles on them, especially men.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09271864194625919704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-66127800935246575872009-02-15T14:37:00.000-08:002009-02-15T14:37:00.000-08:00Well, I kind of feel like a lot of this misses the...Well, I kind of feel like a lot of this misses the forest from the trees. Just a few things I'll address:<BR/><BR/>- eBooks. I love eBooks. You love eBooks. I think they're the future. You think they're the future. Lots of people in publishing think they're the future. But you know? Not many people want them yet. The devices aren't there yet. We can talk about what the publishing industry should do about them until we're blue in the face, but until the public comes around to them they're a tiny, tiny sphere. Look at the polls on my blog: even book lovers don't really want them yet.<BR/><BR/>- My statement about eBooks only being incrementally cheaper, 2hidh you've labeled a "crock." You can debate the cost of shipping and warehousing with Bob as long as you want, but the fact is that PP&B and warehousing is not that significant when you spread it out over millions of books -- if it were it wouldn't be possible to publish a $6.99 mass marketing profitably at all. If we're going to maintain the level of quality in book publishing, that takes staff. It takes editors, copyeditors, marketing staff, sales staff.... all of that goes into the cost of a book. And you say they should do it cheaper? What do you want to cut out? And meanwhile you're simultaneously listing a ton of new initiatives the publishing industry should embark upon to boost sales. Cut costs and drastically expand your efforts at the same time? Kind of tough to do.<BR/><BR/>- You mention the turnover at the top, and yeah, obviously the corporations are holding people accountable. You know what's kind of amazing though? The new CEOs aren't drastically changing the way anyone does business. They're reorganizing and consolidating, which has been happening since the big imprint mergers of the 80s and 90s, but they're not really drastically changing things. You can call this a failure of imagination or a recognition that there's not a gain in drastically altering course. I'll leave that up to you.<BR/><BR/><BR/>I don't think we're really that much in disagreement, and you bring up some good ideas for things that publishers can do to connect with readers and things they can do better. I'm always open to new ideas.<BR/><BR/>But what I'm trying to say is that there are huge and strong forces at play in our times that are outside of anyone's reasonable control. Bookstores aren't doing well. The retail climate is horrendous. There is competition from other media. The Internet is rendering whole categories of books like trade reference obsolete. To ignore these forces and ascribe too much blame to the industry itself misses the mark.<BR/><BR/>On the macro-level, the industry is making very rational choices to confront this new era. They're embarking on eBook sales. They're paring back their lists to only the books they can publish well and count on a good return. They're embracing POD. They're consolidating as a recognition of the fact that there's fewer shelf space for books, and thus only a few are going to break out. <BR/><BR/>So I guess my ultimate point is that yeah, we can all think of ways for the publishing industry to be better and improve. But to blame it for its own problems entirely or to claim that the industry is blind to the future ignores the huge forces at play that are impacting the industry in huge, groundbreaking ways.Nathan Bransfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938449789819847825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-18038430173455153262009-02-15T13:57:00.000-08:002009-02-15T13:57:00.000-08:00You earned your blog pay today. I hope Nathan res...You earned your blog pay today. I hope Nathan responds because this discussion (debate?) is timely and crucial.Stephen Parrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16883165490847664389noreply@blogger.com