Thursday News: Macmillan plays chicken with DOJ; Project Gutenberg adds dropbox; a neat London iOS App
Publishing NewsAgency pricing / DOJ / genre critique / historical romance / lawsuits5 Comments
A Message from John Sargent – I hardly know what to say in response to John Sargent’s letter to authors, agents, and retailers. I feel that I am being gaslighted. That rational behavior has been supplanted by a made up morality issue. Sargent writes that he intends to press on and litigate against the DOJ for the following reasons:
1) Macmillan did nothing wrong.
2) Macmillan did this to protect retailers against across the board discounts that Amazon would undertake even though there is no evidence that Amazon is doing that now. “There is some discounting, but because it is not across the board the impact appears to be limited.”
3) Macmillan has already canceled its contracts and renegotiated new ones without MFN clauses and no price restraints except for books priced above $13.99 which are limited to a 10% discount.
4) Because it is in compliance with the DOJ’s desires, the lawsuit is now “pointless and destructive.”
5) Oh, by the way, we settled with the EU because “because of many differences in their system and because the discounting change will not materially affect the market there for us.”
Let’s recap this. Macmillan has complied with the DOJ, there has been no adverse affect in the market to the removal of agency, and Macmillan has settled in the EU but because of both business reasons and based on the principle of the matter, Macmillan will continue to expend “50 Shades” like money to defend a suit that it deems “pointless and destructive.”
If this was a publicly traded company, stock would be plummeting and shareholders would be filing lawsuits.
He ends with “Our e-book business has been softer of late, particularly for the last few weeks, even as the number of reading devices continues to grow. Interesting.” Hmm, what things have been occurring in the past few weeks?
Oh yes, I know. HarperCollins and Hachette have been discounting the shit out of top titles for gifting and personal reading and other retailers have been offering discounts as well. Maybe Macmillan’s sales have been soft because readers are finding adequate substitutes outside of the Macmillan catalog.
I’m flummoxed. Truly. Happy Holidays. Tor.com
Project Gutenberg adds Dropbox integration – Project Gutenberg now speaks with your Dropbox account. By giving PG permission to access your Dropbox, it can create a folder and direct all future downloads to that new folder in your Dropbox account. Sweet. Ebook Friendly
Essay: Bobbi Dumas, In Defense Of Romance – Bobbi Dumas writes a full throated endorsement of romance novels at NPR.
I’ve decided to stop apologizing, though, and I’m no longer ashamed. And women, even if you don’t read romances, there’s a lot to be proud of in a successful industry that is so dominated and influenced by women. In romance, we are the creators, the intended audience and the receptive consumer, showing our appreciation through astronomical sales. Female writers writing for female readers about traditionally female interests. NPR
London, A City Through Time App – If you are writing a period book set in London, maybe pick up the App “London, A City Through Time”. There are maps, photographs, names of notable individuals, and over 6,000 articles on London’s landmark institutions. It’s expensive for an App at $13.99, but the wealth of resources in photographs and maps alone would likely be worth it. Available via ITunes. iPadInsight
When he says things like this it always makes me feel like he doesn’t see me, an ebook reader, as a “Real” customer. Since the books I buy aren’t “Real” and all. They may not have a physical component, but they sure as hell cost me “Real” money and have the same contents as a paper book.
But yet instead of settling and having things done with they continue to add to the “legal bills look like the unit sales numbers for 50 Shades of Grey”.
…consumers continue to value and buy real books
Why does Macmillan publish “fake” books? I see their ebooks all the time.
Another great app for both travelers and writers is Streetmuseum, from the Museum of London, which ties paintings and photographs from the museum’s collection to their actual locations for real or virtual walkabouts. More info at:
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Resources/app/you-are-here-app/noflash/no-flash.html
Re John Sargent and MacMillan – way to bankrupt your company and alienate your potential readers all at the same time. If I was a MacMillan author, I might consider shopping around for a new publisher since I suspect that if Sargent is actually serious about pursuing the litigation, the company will be bankrupt by this time next year.
Thanks for sharing those London Apps.
@Lisa Hendrix:
Ooh, thanks for this link.