Jun 16 2009
In my continuing series about ebooks and epublishers, I want to know what are the things that are keeping people from buying an epublished book. You can check as many items as are true for you.
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Jun 16, 2009 @ 15:35:27
I prefer to read print books because of my eyes. One day there will be an e-reader on the market that will be easy on my eyes, but print is it.
Besides, I love to read in bed and when I fall asleep and my phone bonks me in the head, it HURTS. ;-)
Jun 16, 2009 @ 15:39:20
I’d say it’s a (qualified) combo of the following three:
Not interested in “those” sexy books (not all that taken with anal sex, men with multiple cocks, and “fated mates”)
Perceivedquality is lowerThere is nothing that epublishers offer (that I want) that I can’t get (better) from NY
That said, I do continue to try ePublished books in the hope that I’ll prove myself wrong . . .
Jun 16, 2009 @ 15:39:22
What’s holding me back from purchasing ebooks is the fact there are no affordable quality e-readers. The readers I would feel confident in purchasing (such as a Kindle or Sony e-reader) are out of my budget and don’t have the options I’d really like. I’d like an e-reader that I could read manga and books with decent quality, I don’t even care if it had a color display.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 15:45:33
Besides not having a reader and not wanting to read on my laptop (though I did it for Butterfly Tattoo), I don’t have internet at home.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 16:01:23
I don’t have a dedicated ereader, and have had very bad luck with reading on my smart phone (a Treo). It actually works fine – when the software works. But so far, several of the “compatible” formats/books I downloaded turned out not to be, and of the ones that *were* compatible, a significant number became corrupted (making them unfinishable) halfway through, and I had to switch to reading on my laptop, which I loathe.
I contacted the software mfr, who said it was a problem with the ebooks themselves (all from eHarlequin), yada, yada. It was taking so much effort to fix the problem that I gave up, and haven’t tried an ebook on my PDA since. I also have not finished reading the other books on my laptop because, as I said, that’s not enjoyable for me.
I would love an ereader, but the price is prohibitive. And actually – I would *prefer* to read on my Treo, as it’s a multi-function device that I take everywhere with me. But the experience soured me so much, I don’t want to risk the disappointment again. Maybe some day when I upgrade my phone, I’ll try the software again, and see if I can get it to work.
Or if ereader prices come down, and formats are cross-compatible, and….
A gal can dream, right?? :)
Jun 16, 2009 @ 16:23:20
The main thing that prevents me from buying epublished books are how few are available in un-DRM’d ePub. Any that are and interest me, I’ll buy.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 16:51:01
I checked “don’t have an e-reader” (can’t afford one), “not interested in those sexy books” (because I prefer to read sweet or just-barely-open door), and “Other.” I checked “other” instead of “perceived quality is lower”… because, for me, it’s not perceived. At least… let me explain. I’ve only read a few ebooks, but I’m not basing that opinion on them. Neither am I basing it on what others say.
So why do I think the quality is lower? Well…when the blurb on the website has multiple grammar issues and sentence structure problems and word choices that doesn’t make as much sense as it could, I can’t help thinking that the quality of editing in the book isn’t any better. Granted, I’m not too far from being a grammar nerd and I’m a Word formatting guru… and I know that not all others notice the things that I can’t help noticing. I’m glad that other readers can see past all that to an engaging story. But for me, when the spacing isn’t consistent, and the margins shift and the page numbers don’t line up, and sentence structure doesn’t make sense, and affect is used instead of effect, and word choice is confusing…those things distract me so badly that I can’t get past them into the story. So when I see signs of those in a website blurb, it severely dampens my desire to try the story out.
Disclaimer: I know Ellora’s Cave and Loose-ID are the biggest and most successful e-pubs, so I must say that I’ve never gone to their sites (note my too-sexy vote, above), and I assume that this might not apply to them. In fact, I trust it doesn’t. But I believe I HAVE checked out blurbs on 3/4 of the other e-pubs out there and I’ve found these complaints in blurbs on all of them.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 17:09:45
Other than not wanting to spend hundreds of $$$ on e-reader technology that’s sure to change and leave me behind (technologically) at some point, I don’t like the idea of not being able to give the books away. My greatest pleasures are reading library books (and if enough were digital – would be an excellent reason to buy an e-reader), and giving purchased books to friends. I don’t want to own hundreds of digital books. What would be the point. But every print book I finish, I can pass on to a friend who would enjoy it. I received one in the mail just today, and will likely send out a few myself this week. And realistically, for those of us who read two or three books a week, the prices are outrageous.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 17:13:13
Too many of them are in DRMed format that I can’t read on my Rocket ebooks. (Which still work fine, six years after being totally orphaned by Gemstar. Grrr.)
I do buy Multiformat books from Fictionwise, books from Baen Webscriptions, but the rest of what I read is from the public domain.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 17:44:48
I can’t flip through enough of the book to determine if I want to read it or not.
I also no longer have a book reader (mine died), but that doesn’t affect it so much as feeling like I’m buying a pig in a poke to some degree.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 17:50:15
There are actually several reasons why I haven’t bought an e-book. One, I’m not a gadget fiend — don’t even have a cell phone, since I’m rarely out of the house. Don’t rush to get the newest whatever-it-is. Two, quality issues aside, I’m really more of a mainstream kinda gal, and the vast majority of e-offerings really are geared to people looking for out-of-the-box kinda stuff. Three, it does sound crazy-making, what with trying to match up reader to format. And four, I’m not buying enough books right now to justify buying something to read them on, as well.
It’s not that I don’t get, and sympathize with, the environmental issues involved with switching to ebooks. And I’ll all for any format that gets books into readers’ hands. I’m not anti-e-book anymore than a person who doesn’t drive is necessarily anti-car. ;-) But the vast majority of reasons for people loving e-books — instant gratification, lack of storage space, the sorts of editorial not available so much in print — simply don’t apply to me. IOW, nothing so far has convinced me that e-books are a better alternative than print for *me.*
Not saying “never,” just saying “not yet.” :)
Jun 16, 2009 @ 17:52:41
DRM. I am at the point where I do not want to continue buying paper books because of space issues. However, I want DRM-free files that I can transfer from computer to ebook reader to iPod, etc.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 18:23:29
I know your post was about buying ebooks vs. print in general but in my case, someone who reads mostly ebooks, I don’t buy particular ebooks because of DRM.
There are lots of books I’d love to read in ebook but they aren’t sold in a format that I can read on my eBookwise.
Another reason; the book isn’t in ebook format.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 19:24:57
It’s not buying ebooks that’s my problem, it’s buying ebooks that are DRM protected, have printing rights blocked or similar restrictions. The biggest issue beyond that is buying a dedicated ebook reader. I really don’t want to add yet another electronic device to the pile. I might break down and buy a Sony, but don’t hold your breath. Meanwhile, I’ll read ebooks on my laptop and when I can, I’ll buy my favorites in print!
Jun 16, 2009 @ 19:29:52
Jane, I think you’re getting two different answers in this thread. One from people who don’t buy ebooks and one who don’t buy epublished books. I’m presuming that you were looking for answers on epublished books and not ebooks in general from the way you framed the question/answers?
For those who answered DRM as the answer, no epublisher uses DRM, though some retailers who distribute the books do add it. But all epublished books can be acquired DRM-free and have always been offered DRM-free.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 19:49:51
I have two issues. One is that the different formats are very confusing. I have a 9 year old Palm Pilot (it’s old but it still works), and I managed to get it to work with eReader at Fictionwise. But then I wanted to buy Butterfly Tattoo, and as far as I can tell, you can’t buy this book in eReader format. So I have to find some other application to read it. I’m pretty computer savvy, but I can’t figure out what format I need, and what application I have to use that will be compatible with my old PDA, and I don’t want to buy a book and just “hope” it will work. I want to spend my time reading, not searching the internet for advice on how to open up my eBooks.
The other issue is that 90% of eBooks are unappealing to me. I’m not a fan of erotica or paranormals, and that covers the vast majority of e-published books right now. There are some exceptions, but how much time and effort do I want to spend on figuring out formats, when there might only be a handful of eBooks that I want to read?
Jun 16, 2009 @ 19:55:29
I picked two for this one – I don’t have an ereader and it’s too confusing. From a lot of what I’ve read until the different ereaders can hold the different kinds of systems and formats, I find it confusing as to which one to choose. I’d like to get one – there are more and more ebooks I’d love to buy, but at the moment I don’t even know where to begin.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 20:44:22
I’ve selected others along with other choices.
I find ebooks to be overpriced these days. Not all of them, but many are as expensive as or more than NY pubbed books.
Some epub short / novellas (I’m talking stuff that’s only about 20k words long) are priced as high as or higher than H/S category romance novels. For that much money, I expect something as good as OR BETTER than NY produced books in terms of cover art, editing, story concept & execution.
Also DRM sucks a lot, esp. when it prevents me from backing up or reading what I’ve already paid for on multiple HWs that I own.
Finally — this is a biggie — Proof read your website!!!!!!!!!! If you make typos or whatever when writing casual blog or forum posts / comments, fine. I’m not going to hold that against you because I make those errors too. But if your website is FULL of typos and other basic mechanical errors, there’s NO way you can make me buy your books. Get your CPs to proofread your website — main index page, bio, book info, excerpts, etc. (I’ve seen more of this w/ epub author / pub websites than NY. BTW — having a beautifully edited & done website may convince me to buy…)
Jun 16, 2009 @ 21:18:59
Maybe DRM. It’s the only thing slowing me down. It would have been nice to have an answer of “nothing” though…
Jun 16, 2009 @ 21:45:32
Any one of four things:
1. If any given blurb has errors, grammatical/spelling/homonym.
2. If it’s paranormal.
3. If there is DRM that I can’t crack.
4. If it doesn’t come in a format I can access.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 00:14:51
Checked I don’t have an ereader. Every time I think of one I think well for £200+ just to buy that never mind the books, I could buy 20 or 30 books, epublished or not. I’m also a bit confused by the formats and DRMs.
They just seem so inflexible and not user friendly to me, in comparison to a paperback. I know all the arguments in favour, and I agree with them. But somehow, I haven’t been convinced yet. I might end up buying some to read on my PC. But I don’t see me doing a lot of that.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 01:04:19
I’ve read several e-books – a couple of them were recommended as good reads – and didn’t enjoy them at all. The quality WAS lower than NY published books, not just perceived lower. And it wasn’t the actual writing that was bad; it was the story. The character’s actions didn’t make sense and there was a whole lot of telling, not showing going on.
Because I’ve yet to read a e-story I’ve enjoyed, I’ve given up on them.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 03:24:58
Checked not interested in those sexy books. I don’t actively seek to read erotic romance, but an overwhelming majority of e-published books are erotic romance and erotica. E-publishing has yet to be the new frontier for historical romance set outside of Regency England (for that fact, most e-published historicals are set in the Regency era, so I should have checked “no different from NY” as well. :/ )
Jun 17, 2009 @ 06:53:05
I don’t have an e-reader and don’t have any plans to get one. How about all of the above, except for the sexy one, I don’t mind erotica to a degree. I like holding books, so for now that is where I am standing pat.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 06:53:31
How about all of the above?
At this point, the emphasis in e-publishing seems to be on erotica and pushing-the-box books, and I’m simply not interested. In addition, to judge from the websites and blurbs, many of these books end up being e-published because they just weren’t good enough for a conventional publisher to take them on. (And given the deplorable quality of many conventional books, that’s not setting the bar very high.)
For many people, not just for me, cost is a major issue. If e-publishers really want their books to take off, why not give the e-readers away the way no-frills cell phones are given away by service providers? “Sign up for a book a month and get this e-reader free” or something of the sort.
Most of all, e-books would have to be widely available from the public library. Many people read far more books than they buy and prefer to try new authors cost-free.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 08:47:01
It’s strictly my budget. My books come mostly from the library, paperbackswap, and, used booksellers. The few new books I do buy, I often turn around sell on half.com when I’m through with them.
When I win the lottery, pay for kids’ college education, bills are all paid off – then I’ll be all over e-books.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 09:22:28
“Other”. Technically I’ve bought ebooks, many years ago, and that’s why I’m leery of buying them now — I no longer have access to the stories I bought back then.
These days I check out most of my books from the library and only buy my own copy if I like it enough that I want to reread it — and if I want to reread it, I want to be sure I’ll be able to reread it no matter what device I happen to own.
I *have* tossed around the idea of buying e-versions of books I especially love (for example, Randall Garrett’s LORD DARCY collection and anything by Bujold), and I’ll probably do that in the not-too-distant future. But I doubt I’m ever going to visit a random publisher’s site or ebookstore and buy ebooks from unfamiliar authors.
(And I do read a lot of etexts on my Palm — but they’re Project Gutenberg texts and fanfiction that I’ve formatted for eReader. I spent time on them, but not money.)
Jun 17, 2009 @ 11:02:37
I checked a few of the options, but in the end, I don’t like reading on computers/electronic devices. I can’t see that changing for me. I saw someone somewhere remark on the irony that, as eReader technology advances, the goal is for it to become more paper-like. Hmm…
For me, the environmental concerns of heavy metals in production and waste disposal of electronic devices far outweigh concerns about print.
But I think, if I were in the market for e-available books (a slightly different point from your question, Jane), one obstacle would be cost. Why are they so expensive? I read an article that tried to explain it, but I was unconvinced. I just don’t get it. There’s no paper/ink/related production costs, no transportation costs, no cut to a bookseller (for those sold at through publishers website), no warehousing, no inventory. Why does an ebook cost so much? I’m truly curious.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 11:24:44
The first stumbling block: not having an ereader. I have several e books sitting on my desk top, but the hours of reading black text on a backlit computer screen put me off. Reading eARCs for books I’m dying for is as far as I’ve gone in months.
Second: the cost of getting said ereader. Every time I look into them, I convert the prize into dead tree books, and whaddayanno, the books win, hands down.
Third: I keep reading about the DRM issues, the geographic restrictions, the incompatible formats, etc etc etc, and I despair (what with being techno-impaired and all that)
Jun 17, 2009 @ 12:02:48
For me, it’s mostly the ownership vs leasing issue. I’ve bought ebooks in the past and when my computer blue-screened on me, I lost them. I can never get them back even though I paid for them. It’s a bit of a bummer for me, as there are authors that get really good reviews (i.e Josh Lanyon) and I’m heavy into the erotica and erotic romance, and I would love to read them. With that said, I want a guarentee that I own the book I buy, not leasing a version.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 12:04:55
I didn’t vote because it’s only the time restraints of my Real Life right now which prevents me from buying eBooks at the moment.
This is a great learning tool for all those associated with ePublishing.
One thing I really appreciate with some ePublishers is they have a seperate, though linked, website for Erotica. I don’t read Erotica or Erotic Romance and neither do the majority of my Blog Buddies.
I love variety and I’m told over and over which ePubs have a variety of stories I might love, but when I get to the website it screams Erotica even when it comes to the books which supposedly are not. Makes it very difficult to find the books I’m looking for.
In my opinion, it’s worth the investment to create a seperate website for Erotica and Erotic Romance. I realize those are the top sellers, but part of the reason why may be that readers can’t find an ePub’s other books. A reader can’t buy your books if she can’t find them.
;)
Jun 17, 2009 @ 13:31:29
@Kerry, I have a treo as well. I don’t know which one you have, but I have no problems reading with my 750. It took me some time to figure out, but I’ve found MobiPocket to be the best software to use. I can buy direct from them, or I can use the amber LIT converter (or even calibre I think) to convert any lit file I have bought to a palm document on my desktop and then transfer. The second does have an extra step in it, but it’s a five minute drill and its worth it to keep my bag free of heavy books and just one device :).
I think for Harlequin, I buy in e-reader format and use the free e-reader software for Palm to read on my phone.
E-mail me if you have any questions, I made it my quest to read e-books on this phone.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 14:31:36
I do buy a lot of e-books, but I won’t buy a DRMed e-book, period. If it’s not actually mine to read, to copy (for myself), to back-up, to reside on my desktop and my laptop and my Palm and anywhere else I want to put it, forever, without having to find a hacked work-around or check in with some server on the internet to get permission, then I won’t buy it at all.
I also won’t buy an e-book which only comes in a proprietary format. (Nor will I buy a reader which only reads the manufacturer’s proprietary or specially DRMed format.)
If I can’t get an e-book in plain, unsecured PDF, I don’t buy it.
Angie
Jun 17, 2009 @ 17:52:27
I don’t consider many books keepers and get rid of 95% of the books I read. I either donate to the library (tax write-off) or sell to a used bookstore. IOW, I get money back. I can’t do that with ebooks, which I resent, especially since most are *not* cheaper than paper books.
Also I despise DRM.
So ebooks have a long ways to go before I’ll buy an ebook reader and dip my toes into ebook reading.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 20:52:55
By reading the comments, there seems to be a lot of misconception that e-books are books only available from Ellora’s Cave or a similar e-publisher.
Before dismissing all e-books as being erotic or poor quality, visit Fictionwise.com and type in the name of your favorite author and I will bet she has her books available as an e-book.
I just bought an iPod Touch and am estatic to be able to read e-books on the iPod. I now have a reader for the e-books, the reason why I have not bought an e-book before.
I did not want to buy a gadget that only read books, like the Kindle or Sony E-reader. I am happy to have the iPod which can read e-books as well as play music, videos, surf the internet, etc. I can buy Kindle formatted books which are just about ALL mainstream books, as well as those from Fictionwise.
Jun 18, 2009 @ 13:19:16
Ebook prices need to come down–but not too much (hey, I’m e-published and still need to feed cats and kids, LOL!) I think ebook prices will come down a little when there are more adoptions. Right now, the only legacy model to set pricing has been to approximate a print book’s price with similar word count and market.
Granted, ebooks don’t carry the printing and warehousing costs print books do, but they do carry costs – there are editors and cover artists to be paid (and yes, the better/older epublishing houses do have editors and most of them do their best to put out a quality product), as well as fees for hosting and processing payments. One place where costs have been carried over that don’t need to be carried over is distributor discounts–a B&M store typically gets books at 45-60% discount, via distributors who get books at another discount, the discounts being in place presumably to offset the real estate costs of housing and shipping physical product in addition to making profit. But with ebooks, there’s no physical product, and yet distributors still want the discounts associated with offsetting physical inventory. This won’t work forever–it’ll just needlessly jack up the price of a product and make people less inclined to purchase it.
But the box walls are high–it’ll take some time for the brains to all jump up and out of it. :)
For me, it’s the economy. I just don’t have the book budget I used to. I’m using the library more and reacquainting myself with public domain and classics I promised myself I’d read or re-read “someday” when I no longer had to. :)
Jun 18, 2009 @ 19:35:30
@Olivia Charles: I’m basing my opinion on straight e-published books, not e-book versions of NY-pubbed books. You have to admit that the majority of e-publishers focus on erotic romance, with a small (albeit growing) percentage of historical romance and contemporary romance existing in their catalogs. And as kimber an says, everything looks like erotic romance on e-publisher websites, so during a quick scan-through it’s difficult for me to tell a contemporary ER from a romantic comedy when both covers are pretty sexy.
Jun 19, 2009 @ 19:06:07
I was surprised to see the first choice regarding “those sexy books.” I guess I didn’t immediately understand that the question was not referring to all ebooks. Instead, it seems that you are discussing e-published only and even then, you are not looking at a broad range of epublishers.
I can’t say I should even be commenting, because nothing stops me from buying ebooks. I have an account and “bookshelf” at Fictionwise, where I can find 13 different formats (yeah, yeah, DRM, etc.) and my format of choice is MS Reader (*.lit) which I read on my PDA and my laptop if I so desire. I’ve never had trouble with either. I buy books by Dan Brown and Nora Roberts, and also by mystery authors Jeff Sherratt and Evelyn David, both pubbed by a small press. I see no difference in quality, editing, etc. Sweeping this industry format with a broad brush, IMO, is unfortunate. I would not say that “the majority of epublishers focus on erotic romance.”
Great discussion. I do hope that ereaders become more affordable. Paper books will never go away, but for those who like the convenience, eco-friendliness and variety of digital books, the future is just around the corner.
Jun 19, 2009 @ 19:11:55
@Pam We are big digi pub supporters here but I am trying to get a sense of what are some things digital publishers have to overcome to gain a broader audience. I appreciate your comments.
Jun 19, 2009 @ 19:23:10
What Lena said at #3. This hasn’t kept me from buying e-books, but I sure don’t read as many as I’d like to.
Jun 19, 2009 @ 20:25:20
Unfortunately, the survey is biased and incomplete–probably not deliberately. It would be helpful if those who buy ebooks could so indicate. It would also help if we could segregate the responses by five or six age groups.
Still, I get a couple of firm indicators. There is a perception of lower quality based largely on the poor quality of the websites offering ebooks. I certainly agree. Most ebook websites desperately need editing.
Second, the business models using DRM and unfounded high pricing structure are seriously off-putting.
Third, the epub community is seriously deficient in its public education functions.
where are the epublishers in all this? They seem to be missing in action.
Jun 20, 2009 @ 09:57:07
Okay, full disclosure here. I am a published author, both in paper and in eBooks. I am a publisher of both paper and eBook. I am a former bookseller both my own store and for a major chain, who shall remain nameless.
One of the biggest things for me to overcome was the price of the eBooks. I find it incredibly shocking that some of the large houses still feel the need to charge as much for their eBooks as they do for their hardbacks. This is crazy and it does prevent me from buying their books in both paper and in eBook.
I also had a hard time with the cost of the readers. As a publisher, it is nothing for me to read on my laptop, as that is how I work. But I was thrilled to find that I could read just as effectively on my iPod Touch. The cost was high, but it isn’t a dedicated reader, so I also use it for my audios, my e-mails when I travel. It is my organizer, which allows me to use less paper as I now keep all my dates and notes in the iPod, so I like to think of myself as helping the environment a ittle bit.
As far as falling asleep in bed with my iPod while reading. I put a rubber bumper pads on it and it does not hurt near as much as a hardback or a paperback falling on my face. Just bounces right off. LOL
http://klsyed.com
Jun 21, 2009 @ 06:03:53
I’ll tackle this in two parts.
Ebooks get to go first.
I don’t buy them because of the cost. Plain and simple. I am not willing to pay the same price (or one dollar less) as a trade or hardback. Will not do it. If I was a foot stomper kind of girl- I would be stomping right now. I don’t own them because of DRM, I can’t sell them or loan them or look at them funny.
Why would I pay ten bucks to ‘borrow’ what is essentially a formatted text file?
Epublished books up to bat-
I’ve found most of them to be erotica or romantica (erotimance?) and it’s not my cup of tea. The erotica I have read felt more like a play-by-play of a porn, rather than something truly crafted to make me ‘feel’.
I don’t want to read a story shorter than a mass market pb. I don’t want to pay five dollars to read a ten thousand word story and the websites I’ve been to don’t make it very easy for me to tell (usually it’s a tiny banner I can’t see in the icon of the book cover) what length it is.
My Mom always says you’re either part of the problem, or part of the solution. So here’s what I would change from the standpoint of a customer/reader.
- Put a color shadow behind the icon of the book cover so I can easily tell the length of a story before I even click on it.
-Price ebooks cheaper- half off the mass market would be good. NO hardback prices plese!
-Kill DRM or at least settle on one industry standard. Pull it out of a hat- I don’t care, we just need some uniformity otherwise ebooks aren’t going to get anywhere.
That’s all I have, for now. * cue ominous music * Time for coffe.
Jun 22, 2009 @ 03:58:04
I voted other.
Money is really tight. Paying for something that I may not like (and I am really picky) makes no sense when I live in a city with a really good library system. It’s been years since I’ve bought a print book that I haven’t already read. I’m sure epresses are putting out great books, but I can’t afford to pay for something that I’m not going to really really like.
If finances improve, I doubt I’ll start buying ebooks. With no standard format and reading on the computer so uncomfortable, I’d likely end up buying an ereader that’s obsolete in a couple years. I worry a lot about the eco-unfriendliness of obsolete electronics. Until it’s settled which is the beta/hd dvd format and which is vhs/bluray, I’m not going to start buying ebooks. Then there’s drm, ugh.