Ebook release delayed until Nov 2011 at Harriet's request.

[yoniy0]

I have a feeling that Brandon received so many emails/Tweets about this in the last 24 hours that he'll be returning to us with a clear answer regarding why it's done this way. Mind you, I know that the decision has nothing to do with him, but I won't deny I'm pleased he chose to advocate his readers' wishes in this regard.

The weird thing is that he speculates this might be caused by a contractual constraint. I know Harriet has RJ's fandom's interests at heart, and so I'm sure - if it's indeed her reservations that are behind this - that she has a good reason for it. I just can't imagine what that might be.

Here's to hoping we get a good explanation for this. I have to admit, this whole thing spoils my excitement about ToM.

[Owayn The Traveller]

Ah nuts!

[HighLordXanthus]

That is rather disappointing, as I was planning to order if for my nook.

[nophone]

bam AUDIO BOOK baby!

[EdwardShumpert]

I have a feeling that Brandon received so many emails/Tweets about this in the last 24 hours that he'll be returning to us with a clear answer regarding why it's done this way. Mind you, I know that the decision has nothing to do with him, but I won't deny I'm pleased he chose to advocate his readers' wishes in this regard.

The weird thing is that he speculates this might be caused by a contractual constraint. I know Harriet has RJ's fandom's interests at heart, and so I'm sure - if it's indeed her reservations that are behind this - that she has a good reason for it. I just can't imagine what that might be.

Here's to hoping we get a good explanation for this. I have to admit, this whole thing spoils my excitement about ToM.

 

Brandon tweeted the evening of the email that he would ask Tor and Harriet about it.

He said [direct quote from @BrandonSandrson "It's not my call on this book. It could be Harriet's choice, could be Tor's. I'll see what I can unearth. Maybe I can get it out sooner."

[yoniy0]

Brandon tweeted the evening of the email that he would ask Tor and Harriet about it.

Hence my former post. He replied to similar questions before, but never did he express an intention to pass them along (surely not to speed the process).

 

 

@Kara, did you rename this thread?

[JenniferL]

I merged two threads together. There is no reason to be discussing the same thing on multiple boards.

[rdmaxwell]

I like reading on it also but the selection of certain books is lacking, I'm thinking of older fantasy books. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams isnt there either.

 

Actually most of Tad Williams's books are on Kindle right now.

[rdmaxwell]

Brandon tweeted to me that:

 

"It might be in their contract. I honestly don't have anything to do with it--that's between Harriet and Tor."

 

"I'll pass on your dissatisfaction, though. I really wonder if this is Harriet, though. She has been hesitant about digital."

 

"Remember, Tor released WAY OF KINGS in digital around the same time as the hardcover. They're behind digital."

[Owayn The Traveller]

I like reading on it also but the selection of certain books is lacking, I'm thinking of older fantasy books. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams isnt there either.

 

Actually most of Tad Williams's books are on Kindle right now.

Not if your Irish bub.

[Guest christophalies]

So yeah, I have had my Kindle version of Towers of Midnight pre-ordered for months already and I just received an email saying that the release date for the kindle has been pushed back until November 1, 2011. Anyone else have anything like this happen to them yet?

[Greeny]

OK, I have been looking everywhere for information about this. The publisher just confirmed that the delay is at the request of the Author's estate. I'm taking that to mean Harriet McDougal. If that is incorrect, then I apologize and withdraw the following.

 

I do not want to wait a year. I do not want to buy ANOTHER hardcover. I just don't like them. I don't like to carry them around, I don't like to hold them when I'm reading, and I don't like to store them forever.

 

Is there an e-mail or other contact information for Harriet, where I can send her a note to ask her to reconsider this decision?

 

If someone does provide contact information, if anyone else feels like I do, please contact Harriet to respectfully request an earlier e-book release.

 

Harriet, if you are worried about pirating, don't you realize the audio version will be shared too?

[sdelu]

Harriet, if you are worried about pirating, don't you realize the audio version will be shared too?

 

I think there's a big difference between the amount of pirated audio books and the amount of pirated ebooks.

 

I am of the opinion that if you want to buy a book you should buy... a book. Silly as it sounds, reading something on a computer screen or an e-reader doesn't feel the same to me. For some reason I don't feel as if I'm reading a book, and it feels less... literary? I'm not sure.

 

Also, for the above poster who said they were "okay with MacMillan charging more than $9.99 for an ebook" or whatever the exact wording was, I should hope that you're okay with that. Even $10 for a book like ToM is a slap in the face to the author (and a place like Amazon or Walmart would sell it at an even lower price if they could). Books are already dirt cheap for the amount of entertainment they provide, and they don't need to be cheaper just because people don't like carrying them around.

 

Bah. Ebooks may be the "way of the future," but with the prices Amazon wants to charge and the massive amount of pirating that could potentially occur, they'll also be the death of the smaller niche genres.

[Greeny]

Feels less literary? That's a good one. You get used to it faster than you would think. And my kids can no longer yank out my bookmarks...the Kindle remembers what page I was on!

 

I don't mind holding a paperback...the carpel tunnel syndrome that comes with a hardcover is what I take issue with.

 

I'd pay more for an ebook...if only it was AVAILABLE.

 

Delaying the ebook release will not prevent (or even delay) piracy. Riftwar saga books are not released as e-books, but they can be downloaded...hmm, how did that happen?

 

What percentage of pirated downloaded e-books are downloaded by people that actually would have PAID for the paperback if that was the only alternative? Same with music downloads...how many would actually buy it, or would they just do without? I would estimate 10% or less would pay for it. Give me a reliable study and I might change my mind.

 

As it stands, the pirated e-book will be available before it is actually released. I would say within weeks.

 

SO...by delaying the release, are you really protecting sales or are you just upsetting paying customers? Driving them into the arms of a handsome pirate?

[Blademaster56]

The last Harry Potter book was scanned and put online before the release day. E-books don't necessarily make pirating easier.

[sdelu]

What percentage of pirated downloaded e-books are downloaded by people that actually would have PAID for the paperback if that was the only alternative? Same with music downloads...how many would actually buy it, or would they just do without? I would estimate 10% or less would pay for it. Give me a reliable study and I might change my mind.

 

Okay, sure, you can stand by your completely arbitrary percentage until someone comes up with a reliable study to change your mind. That makes a lot of sense. :P

 

I'm not saying eBooks are "bad." I just don't like them, and I think they diminish the quality of a book. That's not really something that can be argued because it's my personal feeling. And yes, it DOES feel less literary to me, somehow. Maybe I'm crazy, but part of the pleasure of reading a new book is that new book smell... ahhh....

 

Seriously, though, I've read some ebooks before and they just don't feel the same. =/

 

SO...by delaying the release, are you really protecting sales or are you just upsetting paying customers? Driving them into the arms of a handsome pirate?

 

Who can say? But if people are going to go and download illegal copies of the book (and really poor quality copies, for that matter) because an eBook isn't available, I don't see why you would assume they'd pay for it when it IS available.

 

In any event, I wasn't trying to imply that pirating is a big issue here (but I think it WILL become a much bigger issue than it now is when the publishing world starts going fully digital). I just think ebooks are bad for the writing world. No, they don't cost a heck of a lot to make, and no, they don't cost much to distribute, but that might not be a good thing in the end. We'll see, I guess.

 

The issue I have is with the general trend toward books becoming cheaper and cheaper(and I think the people who champion this desire are, eh, non-nice individuals. Selfish? Perhaps. I don't know). Consider the fact that a movie ticket is 10 bucks for an hour of entertainment; a video game is 60 for ~10 hours usually (there are exceptions, of course). What about a book? 10-20 bucks usually, 10-20 hours if it's a good length and reading ability... and books make you think, and feel, in ways that other entertainment can't. As ebooks become readily available, and become less expensive, they're diminishing the value of the written word even further than it has already been devalued.

 

You stated you would willingly pay more for an ebook, but how many people do you believe would agree with you? Most people want their pleasures as cheap as they can get them, and those are the customers that will be catered to as the switch occurs. If they DO manage to keep the prices the same over the years, then perhaps I will be proven wrong, but I just don't see it happening.

[EdwardShumpert]

[This argument is complete and utter bullox.

I am a reader. I always have been.

I have a Kindle and before that I had a sony ebook reader.

I have bought more books since I got a ebook reader than I ever did back when I only bought paperbacks and hardcovers.

And I bought a LOT of traditional books including duplicate copies when my paperbacks were destroyed from use.

 

This decision simply comes down to total revenue per book.

By forcing hardcore fans of the series to buy the hardcover they can double dip.

They not only get the hardcover sales but they also get next year another spike in revenue when the ebook releases.

 

Saying an ebook release will increase piracy is a complete fallacy.

I'm willing to bet within 24-48hrs of the book releasing on hardcover there WILL be a downloadable copy on the net in multiple forms.

The demand for an ebook is too large for the pirates to ignore.

So by not releasing the ebook version they penalize us (the fans and readers willing to pay for an ebook) and they do not stop the pirates one bit.

 

The arguments and "solutions" provided so far to combat piracy have done nothing to stop it and has done everything to penalize the customer that actually pays for the content.

I for one am getting tired of getting a "give me your money and I'll give you the least I can" method of content delivery we have been under in the last 10-12 years.

I'm starting to feel like a sucker for spending all this money.

[Greeny]

Well heck, I said it was an estimate. But it wasn't completely arbitrary. (Just almost completely) Based on the stuff I've downloaded ahem, the discussions I've had with other people, it is easy to click on the download button for 10 things, when you would have only purchased one. And you only end up reading one. Same with music...Person A downloads a whole album of 10 songs, when they would have just purchased from itunes the one song from this week's top 40. And while they were at it, they clicked to download another album someone made a funny comment about...again..they would not have purchased it. You can call it arbitrary if you want, but it is really my very own and extremely valuable (if only to myself) well considered opinion from my own personal experience, knowledge and values.

 

Don't get me wrong...I've spent a ton of money buying books, for me and for my kids. But I have no more room.

 

I don't think books should be cheaper...and I wish more people felt that way. For me, it is extremely valuable entertainment.

 

I think we are on the same page...just not about the new book smell. I really don't want these industries to suffer. But delaying this release isn't going to solve anything and IMO, it is going to hurt their sales.

[firstfishman]

Im fairly certain Tor never told Amazon that the ebook was going to be available on October 26th. Id be willing to venture a guess that Amazon screwed up and posted the wrong year, its the only explanation. I was so stoked when I saw it was going to be available before the November 2nd release date, but apparantly everyone in the entire world knew it wouldnt be released on October 26tth except for the people at Amazon. I cancelled my pre-order, and my kindle is for sale on ebay. Why bother with a kindle if you have to buy the real thing in order to read it within the first year of release?

[EdwardShumpert]

On the subject of ebooks being bad for the writing industry I whole heartedly disagree!

What the rise of ebooks is bad for is the traditional publishing house business.

Do you realize much like the transformation happening in the music industry the balance of power is shifting from the publishing houses to the writers/creators?

Writers make a MUCH higher profit per book when they self publish their books via Amazon, etc.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if one day the only thing writers will go to a publishing house for will be the promotion of their product.

Traditional methods of distributing entertainment will eventually go completely digital.

Every industry will fight it tooth and nail (in the courts and in the marketplace) but a large percentage of the consumer public wants it.

The rise of netflix streaming and the death of Blockbuster is a perfect example of this.

[sdelu]

I can certainly see both sides of the argument, but I think the publishing industry plays a vital role. I can't imagine the amount of pure crap novels that will be self-published and sold to unwitting consumers. Heck, half the stuff that is published now is terrible already!

 

Of course, there's always the opportunity for true star writers who could not get published to flourish, and that is a good thing. Still, I'm rather pessimistic and I think the bad will far outweigh the good.

 

I also think there are other functions publishing houses provide that are very important to a writer.

 

I for one think that everything going digital is a terrible idea, but maybe I just grew up watching too many science fiction movies.

 

And greeny I can't tell if I offended you or not, but I meant no harm--just poking fun!

[Bob T Dwarf]

A large part of what you're paying for in any hardcopy work is a competent editor. Somebody to keep the story on track and chugging along to its conclusion.

 

Self-publishing deprives both the author and the reader of the benefit that a good editor provides. That alone makes least cost/ least price electronic publishing bad for the entire literary world.

 

As jobs continue to disappear and incomes continue to decline for "average folks", price pressure will force more and more of all forms of publishing to be digital, and quality of product will decline accordingly.

[Greeny]

I could tell you weren't trying to offend by the tongue sticking out emoticon.

 

But hey, you call me arbitrary, I defend. I was not offended.

[EdwardShumpert]

Maybe editors will become a private contractor? I will admit that you can usually tell the difference between a self published book and a properly edited one.

But with the push towards self published I wouldn't be surprised to see editor services becoming available as well for the authors.

[aginor37]

I am fairly certain that Harriet knows the pros and cons of a digital release, and at the end of the day her preferences are really all that matter. After her husband died, she wasn't obligated to give us the rest of the series in a format that is convenient, or comfortable... Or at all, really. Sure, an E-book release near or on the 2nd would probably make her more money, but obviously she feels that what she is comfortable with is more important to her than that.

 

That said, getting an E-book copy isn't going to be difficult. Even if one ignores the almost immediate availability of it on torrents, just making one is simple enough these days. Even freeware and open source speech dictation software has advanced to the point where a single pass of basic editing can convert an audiobook to reasonable quality text. While obviously I can't advocate doing that due to the questionable legality of it (I am not sure if Fair Use would apply to a non-distributed, personal use version of a book you legally own), personally if a person chose to buy both a text and audio copy of a book, I wouldn't morally look down on them for doing so.

 

So yeah, financially this decision might be a case of shooting one's self in the foot, but nobody ever said that it wasn't okay to do so if one chooses.