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I know I should stay clear of Amazonfail, but I just want to say that a publisher which can't make a profit selling $9 etexts (or $5, or $2) deserves to go bankrupt. If amortized editing and design costs are really the lion's share of a physical book, the system is deeply, deeply broken.
(Even applying design costs to the etext version is largely ridiculous. How much design work does an etext need? I'd prefer it as a raw text file anyway, but a LaTeX-generated PDF would also be just fine as well. The only reason for fancy design in the first place is to catch people's attention in a store. Etext selection and browsing is nothing like that, so why bother with it in the first place? Tradition? Snob factor? Anything that can't be seen in the scaled down image of the book cover in an Amazon listing is a complete waste of money.)
I remain unconvinced of the long-term viability of selling data as a business model. But if you want to find a way for authors to make money, don't make it even harder by trying to defend these dinosaurs at the same time.
(Even applying design costs to the etext version is largely ridiculous. How much design work does an etext need? I'd prefer it as a raw text file anyway, but a LaTeX-generated PDF would also be just fine as well. The only reason for fancy design in the first place is to catch people's attention in a store. Etext selection and browsing is nothing like that, so why bother with it in the first place? Tradition? Snob factor? Anything that can't be seen in the scaled down image of the book cover in an Amazon listing is a complete waste of money.)
I remain unconvinced of the long-term viability of selling data as a business model. But if you want to find a way for authors to make money, don't make it even harder by trying to defend these dinosaurs at the same time.
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I don't think I understand the point in that. It'd be like having a book with one of those greeting-card chips in it so it sings while you're reading.
(for reference, this (http://www.pjrc.com/mp3/) is my mp3 player, which has been running a 120 gig hard drive for ten years now.)
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Yes, as you no doubt know, but sure, I'll play along. Particularly in those players used to manage material carried about on smaller, more portable devices.
I don't think I understand the point in that. It'd be like having a book with one of those greeting-card chips in it so it sings while you're reading.
Many of us find the visual art useful for organisational purposes. Some of us are more visually-oriented than you. Learn it, live it, love it: "Everyone is not the same as me."
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