The Question of Value · 8:13pm Mar 23rd, 2016
There’s an interesting thought I’ve had bouncing around my head for over a month now, and all the more lately as a result of several other articles and blogs I’ve read that unknowingly touched on the topic in a way, but … how do we value an e-book?
I find that it’s an interesting question with a lot of variety in what I would suppose would be answers … though technically, these are supposed based on what other people online have stated and said about ebooks. But I still find it an interesting thought: what value are we placing on our ebooks?
I ask because as a whole, it appears that to most, the answer is “little.” Most commentary I’ve seen from online, or been the recipient of, is that an ebook is inherently of little value by nature of being an ebook. While a hardcover or a paperback copy of something such as The Wheel of Time is generally seen as holding an intrinsic value, the ebook of the same will often be derided as “overpriced” or “too expensive,” even though the ebook is already slightly cheaper.
Now, I’m not going to get into the whole debate of “But an ebook should be so much cheaper because it’s not physical” because that particular point has been trounced so thoroughly by authors and industry professionals much better than I that it’s no longer a dead horse, but rather a meaty, ground-up paste that was once a dead horse on the floor. There’s no point in discussing that. The majority cost of the physical aspect of a book has not been the actual tangible costs in a long time. It’s time, editing, marketing, etc, just like a restaurant is not so much the cost of the ingredients as it is the time and preparation skill. So, if you were already planning a comment discussing that, don’t. You might as well be arguing that jet fuel can’t melt steel beams.
You can read the rest of this post at Unusual Things.
Well there is one thing I can say about physical books that doesn't go at all for e-books.
A couple really, both related to the physical longevity and tangibility of the asset.
Physical books have a permanence that ebooks don't. If I download an ebook, it might vanish in a flash when the device I'm reading it with breaks or when I forget the password to some account or other. It will almost certainly evaporate when the technology I'm currently using becomes obsolete, just like that old copy of Microsoft Word 6.0 or my Myspace account. The ebook seems temporary in nature, especially compared to some of the books on my shelf, which are up to 50 or even 100 years old. Where will your ebook be in 50 years? 100? Unless you're taking great care to preserve it, it's going to be digital dust lost to the ether. Now, physical books can be lost or damaged, too, and they have a limited life span if read often ... but if I want my physical book to last for 50 years, all I have to do is set it on a shelf for that long, and maybe throw a few mothballs at it every decade or so.
There's also the transferability of it. A physical book, I can legally loan to a friend or resell after I'm done with it. I can donate it to a library when I'm tired of storing it. And that very much ties into the value of the book. An ebook might have some value to you when you buy it ... but that's not a value you can then transfer or redeem. Nobody will be collecting valuable first editions of ebooks (digitally?) signed by the author.
When you're buying an ebook, it's almost more like you're buying a software license; you're buying permission to read it, not buying an actual thing that has value. You're paying admission to get into the circus tent, but you don't get to take anything home with you when the show is over.
Now, that doesn't entirely explain the difference between ebook and MP3 download, but I think these are aspects of it you didn't consider.
Kudos on your article.
I'm glad those entitled readers don't own mechanical
typewriters and kidnap writers.
I'm many years away from even considering publishing anything for money.
It seems pretty bleak out there.
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I think you're looking at the negatives.
A book is just as likely to run afoul of similar problems as an ebook. You can store both on a shelf—one simply sits in a reader, the other in cardboard. Both can be damaged or broken by similar elements (water, for example). With modern storage, if I stick my e-reader on a shelf for 50 or 100 years under the same conditions as a book, I can confidently say it will be there 100 years later. In fact, in some environments (like Hawaii), the book will actually be less durable during everyday elements—an ebook reader handles humidity far, far better than an ordinary book does. And this is with no special treatment, I can simply set my ebook reader wherever I want it. And even if I do lose it? Surprise! My purchase is backed up on the cloud, account paid for. If you lose a physical book, you have to buy a new copy. If I lose any of my ebooks, I simply redownload them at no cost. If a publisher stops publishing a book three years later, you really can't get another copy. But as electronic places such as Steam have proven, even if a publisher stops selling a book, I can redownload my lost copy, because I purchased a license to own that, and can therefore access a book that could not be accessed any other way.
Now, your point about floppies also doesn't hold up, because that argument was made before people began caring about making sure we held on to things. Back in the day? Sure, your 5.25 inch floppy is now obsolete. But now? A lot of companies and creators show vested interest in making sure you always have access to older products in some form or another. It's why places like GoG exist, and they work hard to make sure that nothing is out of date.
Ebook formats are new enough I cannot think of a single case of an "old format" invalidating someone's book.
Also, you're not correct about transferability. I can pass my reader to a friend (done that). I can also loan them a digital copy for a few weeks to read, similar to how libraries allow people to check out ebooks. You are right that you can't give one to a library, but that's not a very large concern for many, especially when the "tired of storing it" isn't an issue with something digital.
Now, the software license thing? Again, you're not entirely correct. There are some big publishers who, yes, like Apple, only rent you the book. But there are plenty more ebooks, far more in fact, where you're buying the ebook. That file is digitally yours. You can't copy it and resell it (no more than you could copy to sell a regular book), but that file is legally your copy to read and enjoy.
As far as signatures go, of course not. That would hold no more value than the limited editions with printed signatures from authors that get sold in bookstores ... hmmm ... But the argument isn't that ebooks are to totally replace the book, rather than people are arguing they're far less worthwhile despite being the same book. The number of people who actually care to have an author's signature are far, far lower than those who just want to read a book. That's comparing a luxury item to a non-luxury item.
Perhaps then, part of the problem is that most people are clinging to outdated ideals of what ebooks are, and misconceptions of how they work.
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Not entirely sure about the whole e-book thing, as most of my stuff is physical. But what happens should a company rescind a publication due to some chucklehead causing an outrage over something that they deem too racist / sexist / whateveroffendsme? Or even the possibility of one day having stories that you own be subtly edited? Sure it is just a word or two, one might say, but then what happens then? With a physical copy I can guarantee that no one can mess with the text like that, but what about e-books?
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It entirely seems to depend on what kind of marketing they can put behind said new author and what they want. In other words, it seems to vary. I've seen new authors at high prices with quotes from other big authors on the cover, and new authors at normal prices just waiting for a reader.
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From what I've seen, it very much depends on the license of each book, which in turn is heavily influenced by the publisher themselves. Some publishers (like Hachette or Apple) want and push licenses that are long-term rentals rather than ownership, like iTunes already does (you don't own any music purchased from iTunes, and Apple can reclaim it any time they want). Others are pushing for something more like Steam, where you one the license to that book, and even if the publisher stops selling it, you still have access to your digital copy and can redownload it at your leisure because you paid for it, and therefore they can't take that away.
A lot of the response I've been getting to this piece seems to focus on topics that fall into two areas: First, a lack of full understanding about the way ebooks operate (some comments have discussed "problems" that haven't been since 2009) and, Second, a very valid point that the storefronts available are ill-managed, ill-operated, and not user friendly at all. In other words, there's nothing at all like "Steam" in terms of service (as an author, I agree and also find this baffling), and that in turn feeds back into the first problem. There will be more on that topic in the future. I promise.
Now, as far as messing with the text, sure the author and publisher can update it ... but why would that be a bad thing? While there may be ill-placed fears that someone would erase a book ... such fears are as valid as a fear that X game developer is going to nix their game. Instead, you get patches, and the fact that I can do this for an ebook thrills me to no end. With a physical book, if there's an error, misprint, or other problem, that's it. You have to buy a new copy to get it fixed.
With a digital book, I can make changed, upload them, and within 24 hours, the updated version ready to be sent out to any readers with the book next time they connect. Now that's sweet. I could add a whole new short story into a prior book, and everyone would have it within 24 hours.
Bit late to the party, but here's my thought's.
I actually use both, and have a reasonably large collection. Though admittedly, fanfiction takes up far more of the digital side. Go figure.
I place the value per work evenly on both. It's not the medium you're paying for, it's the knowledge and experience you're paying for. Digital, physical, the words are still the same.
Digital however still has more avenues for sabotage, be it willful or through negligence. Elevating it over physical however, because theft and damage apply to both, is the 'all the eggs in one basket' issue. It's harder to steal or 'delete' or edit an entire book collection than it is to mess with a single computer. And let's be honest here, with the general competence of public tech companies and businesses these days, it's not a matter of 'if' but 'when'. I will of course say that in the grand scheme of things however, ebook's are lower down on that list than, say, hospitals and banks.
Not likely, but not impossible either. Books are simply mitigating that one small side of things.