Talli Ruksas
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I own most of your books in ebook and eaudio format but get most of the rest of my e-reading/listening from the library. Did you know publishers charge libraries crazy amounts for their ebooks? The example of a current popular book my library gave was $55 for a $15 ebook and $95 for a $40 audio. Then they have to rebuy in either 2 years or a certain number of checkouts. I realize publishers are in it for money but..
Lois McMaster Bujold
Authors are in it for the money, too, or else they have to stop writing and get another job. Or become destitute in their old age, not uncommon, or medically destitute at any time. (Not me -- I've planned ahead, and also been very, very lucky.)
The thing about e-books is that they don't wear out, so placing one in a library without restrictions is tantamount to giving it away for free forever. The money has to come from somewhere, or everyone goes out of business. In the US, libraries are supported by property taxes in their respective communities, and you know how much everyone loves to pay taxes.
I personally would be in favor of a charge-per-e-checkout model, but the complexities of getting such in place are large, especially in the US with its diverse and independent libraries and publishers.
Ta, L.
(If you do the arithmetic in your example, $55 barely replaces 4 lost e-book sales. A popular title may have dozens or even hundreds of checkouts. How does this compare with libraries buying 4 paper copies of a hot title, and then discarding 3 of them when the demand wears off or the books wear out? These problems are more complex than they appear at first glance.)
Authors are in it for the money, too, or else they have to stop writing and get another job. Or become destitute in their old age, not uncommon, or medically destitute at any time. (Not me -- I've planned ahead, and also been very, very lucky.)
The thing about e-books is that they don't wear out, so placing one in a library without restrictions is tantamount to giving it away for free forever. The money has to come from somewhere, or everyone goes out of business. In the US, libraries are supported by property taxes in their respective communities, and you know how much everyone loves to pay taxes.
I personally would be in favor of a charge-per-e-checkout model, but the complexities of getting such in place are large, especially in the US with its diverse and independent libraries and publishers.
Ta, L.
(If you do the arithmetic in your example, $55 barely replaces 4 lost e-book sales. A popular title may have dozens or even hundreds of checkouts. How does this compare with libraries buying 4 paper copies of a hot title, and then discarding 3 of them when the demand wears off or the books wear out? These problems are more complex than they appear at first glance.)
More Answered Questions
Alanajames
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Thank you for all the laughs and tears from your many books. I see from this thread that nothing new will be added to the Vorkosigan universe, so I look forward to your new directions. Can you tell us about your systems as an author - what is your work life like and how do you create your new contexts? One of the aspects I love to you as a writer is your variety and depth - any secrets to share as a writer?
Tom Telford
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I mostly read your books on Audible. I've read all of Vorkosigan and the three main Five Gods books and want to start Penric but its hard to justify using a years worth of credits for short stories. Do you have any plans to release the collections as audiobooks to help solve this sort of issue? Side question: When the Audible Plus program was first introduced why were only some seemly random books available through?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more