I’m hoping it doesn’t ‘take off” too well.

If Amazon doesn’t keep up Kindle production, I just don’t see how it can. They have a finite customer base at the moment that will stay at that number until they can get more units in stock.

But I agree with you that it’s largely a piracy fear. Downplay ebooks as not a viable sales channel to explain why you aren’t digitizing very much. Then when it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, pat yourself on the back for it.

Notice how so many of them have JUMPED on the Kindle. Cause that’s all DRM’d and it’s proprietary TO the Kindle. They feel safer. Of course hopefully, the DRM thing is what will bite Kindle in the butt. I’m hoping it doesn’t ‘take off” too well.

You bought a Betamax? You bought an HD-DVD player? Too bad. All that matters in the end are the specs for the readers. This is why an off-the-shelf DVD player will have a spec list like: CD CD-R CD-RW CD-Video DVD DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW.

I think right now the big difference is that publishers aren’t exactly champing at the bit to get their libraries digitized because of fear of piracy.

Harlequin is, but they’re NOT on board with EPUB.

Other publishers who also digitize offer inconsistent formats. The book I wanted in 4 formats that are useless to me offers its prequel in 5 formats, one of which is very useful to me. Same author, same series, same publisher–inconsistent output.

It’d be one thing if you could count on X publisher putting out their digital offerings in A, B, C, and D formats always and consistently, then weaning toward whichever evolves as the industry standard. But you can’t even do that.

There is no MP3 (with or without DRM) for ebooks and that’s what EPUB wants–NEEDS–to grow up to be. But the content producers seem to be digitizing with a gun at their back–as slowly and as inconveniently as possible to stem the tide. Until they get with it, nobody else can really make any claims toward progress.

You bought a Betamax? You bought an HD-DVD player? Too bad. All that matters in the end are the specs for the readers. This is why an off-the-shelf DVD player will have a spec list like: CD CD-R CD-RW CD-Video DVD DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW.

Once a standard is established, especially when it comes to the compiled XHTML formats (most of them), software products like Mobipocket Creator and ReaderWorks should be able to tweak their code to crank out whatever format you want. The same way Open Office will read and write Word and a dozen other text formats.

And DRM. We can all rejoice the day that is done away with!

I’m surprised larger publishers haven’t started bitching about it. I was listening to the dragon pages podcast the other night with Michael Stackpole, and they were talking about how Random House is lowering their ebook royalties for their authors from 50% to 25%.

So maybe that’s how they’re dealing with the kindle issue. Just take some more out of the author’s pocket. Lovely.

Exactly what is Amazon doing here that is WORTH 65% of my sale price?

Exposing you to a different audience, mostly neophyte, IMO, but exposure is good. I look at being on Amazon as a business expense, not a revenue stream.

Meanwhile the rest of the publishers are freaking out over what Borders will buy. Who cares? The fight just moved to the internet. Catch up.

*chuckle*

Exactly what is Amazon doing here that is WORTH 65% of my sale price?

Meanwhile Google is making their weird play for power in publishing with Google Book search. And I don’t care what the lawsuit says, that has “shifty” written all over it.

Meanwhile the rest of the publishers are freaking out over what Borders will buy. Who cares? The fight just moved to the internet. Catch up.

People are funny. Either you have to drag them into the future or they want to get there before it exists.