The Good Stuff http://stuffyoushouldread.posterous.com We've searched, read, linked and described The Good Stuff so you don't have to. We're interested in science, beauty, art, literature, language, gender, history, food, wine, music, the Web, the Mac, and travel. posterous.com Fri, 06 May 2011 11:58:00 -0700 Why Do eBooks Cost so Much? http://stuffyoushouldread.posterous.com/why-do-ebooks-cost-so-much http://stuffyoushouldread.posterous.com/why-do-ebooks-cost-so-much

Michael Hyatt, the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers on ebook production costs:

Second, physical manufacturing and distribution expenses cost less than you think. Some people assume that these two items represent the bulk of a book’s costs. They don’t. Together, they account for about 12% of a physical book’s retail price. So eliminating these costs doesn’t do much to reduce the overall cost structure.

Publishers still have to pay for acquisitions, royalties, editorial development, copyediting, cover and interior design, page composition, cataloging, sales, marketing, publicity, merchandising (yes, even in a digital world), credit, collections, accounting, legal, tax, and the all the usual costs associated with running a publishing house.

More here.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1059760/small_girl_with_pearl_earbuds.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKypWO4y2OpA Medievalist Medievalist Medievalist
Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:31:00 -0800 What it costs for a best-selling e-book: $12.99 http://stuffyoushouldread.posterous.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/05/AR2011020504712.html http://stuffyoushouldread.posterous.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/05/AR2011020504712.html

Contrary to popular belief, the costs of creating an e-book and a hardcover edition are similar. About 10 percent of hardcover costs go to printing, binding and shipping. Publishers set a retail price for an e-book, and selling agents such as Amazon.com and Apple receive a flat percentage of that retail price. These estimates are based on sales of 75,000. Expenses for a book include one-time costs such as editing and marketing. Many e-books lose money for publishers; e-books that sell millions of copies offset losses from less popular books. - Andrew Schneider

 

COST TO PUBLISHER $9.09

Author royalties $2.27

Editing/digitizing 0.28

Marketing1.00

Overhead 3.18

Operating profit 2.36

COST TO RETAILER $3.90

Overhead .50

Digital rights management .10

Pre-tax operating profit 3.30

Price to consumer $12.99

 

Washington Post Saturday, February 5, 2011

From here.

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1059760/small_girl_with_pearl_earbuds.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKypWO4y2OpA Medievalist Medievalist Medievalist