In today’s digital world, one question keeps resurfacing in publishing circles: if eBooks are being sold at a hugely discounted price, are the sellers contributing to the devaluing of an author’s work?
One of Britain’s prized claims to fame is the work of novelist Alan Hollinghurst. His recent work The Stranger’s Child was reviewed as no less than “masterly”. So why was this 564-page masterpiece of literary fiction being sold on Amazon for a mere 20p? That roughly converts to 15 cents in American coinage. How can anyone honestly think an author is making any kind of a living off of wages like that? How is Amazon clearing any sort of profit at that rate?
Oh, sure, there’s the thrill of snatching up a super bargain. But what is the actual price of that cheap thrill? The publishing industry – inclusive of the eBook niche – has had it rough of late, and pricing an author’s work so cheaply that it rivals the price of a potato is only contributing to the demise of the industry. That great bargain you found on Amazon may be something to brag about temporarily, but if you listen closely, you can hear the death knell of bookshops and publishers sounding all around you.
Why do online book retailers allow eBooks to be sold so cheaply?
One could always chalk it up to a gremlin in the algorithm that posts the online price. Or perhaps it is just a reflection of forces at work behind the scenes.
McMillian Publishing, the publisher responsible for putting out Hollinghurst’s work, is currently locked in a legal disagreement with the U.S. Justice Department over their ruling that it is the publisher, not the retailer, which has ultimate control over the price of the product. Was this bargain basement selling of Hollinghurst’s work just an “I’ll show you!” moment on Amazon’s part?
As is too common in today’s world, the truth to the matter is far more complicated. It seems that Sony is making a challenge to Amazon’s top status in the bargain basement eBook market by offering up a whole slew of books in its new Reader Store for a few measly pennies. Needless to say, sales numbers are skyrocketing.
In the wake of this, Sony has persuaded three publishers to take part, and can you guess who one of those publisher is? You got it: McMillan. Turns out that all Amazon is doing is practicing the common tactic of price matching.
Publishers are willing to take a chance on changing the way things are done, choosing to overlook the traditional practice of price reflecting the effort that goes into producing a product. They may be enjoying fantastic sales numbers now, but in the long run, they are virtually biting the hand that is feeding them.
By selling an author’s work so cheaply, they devalue the work and the author himself. John Sargent, CEO of McMillian, likened the publisher vs retailer struggle over who sets a price as a digital war in which the finished product – the books themselves – may actually become the equivalent of digital road kill. If that is the case, it will ultimately be difficult to tell which side actually ran them over.