a bit of an eBook rant

I like eBooks. My library has eBooks & eAudiobooks (BorrowBox, cloudLibrary, Wheelers, RB Digital). Aside from the sheer convenience (yes, I'm a very impatient reader so when I want to read something I want to read it now & not have to wait for the library to open), because I borrow them from the library they're free ... like everything else I borrow from the library. That's how libraries work.

A key role that libraries play is to introduce readers to authors, to introduce readers to stories, to introduce readers to reading. Libraries pay exactly the same dollar amount to buy an ebook as they would to buy and print book. In fact libraries generally get a better deal on the print book because book suppliers provide anything from 10-30% discount depending on how much you buy. This is something ebook vendors don't do. Yes, they set up platform deals to get libraries to buy the product & the first purchase is usually discounted - because this is part of the hook. But the actual purchase price of an ebook is the same as a physical book.

So when publishers like Tor/Forge ...

Tor Books is the most successful science fiction and fantasy publisher in the world. Winner of the Locus Award for best SF publisher 20 years in a row, Tor regularly puts books like Robert Jordan’s Knife of Dreams and Terry Goodkind’s Chainfire atop national bestseller lists. Tor’s Orb imprint offers trade paperback editions of outstanding, award-winning SF and fantasy backlist titles. Additionally, the Tor Kids program includes Starscape, Tor Teen, and one of the largest classics lines in North America.

The Forge imprint publishes a wide range of fiction, including a strong line of historical novels and thrillers, plus mysteries, women’s fiction, and a variety of nonfiction titles. Tor/Forge has also become the leading modern publisher of American westerns.

Well-known authors recently published by Tor and Forge include Andrew M. Greeley, Douglas Preston, Orson Scott Card, Michael & Kathleen O’Neal Gear, Harold Robbins, Susan Kearney, Jonathan Carroll, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Andre Norton, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, former Secretary of Defense William B. Cohen, Susanna Clarke, Allan Folsom, Eric Lustbader, Elizabeth Haydon, Gene Wolfe, Morgan Llewelyn, David Lubar, David Weber, Christopher Pike, and Philip K. Dick.

... decides to put a 4 month embargo on libraries buying their ebooks I'm sitting up and taking notice.

This is the statement from Tor:

Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers and a leading global publisher of science fiction and fantasy will be changing our eBook lending model to libraries as part of a test program to determine the impact of eLending on retail sales. Our current analysis on eLending indicates it is having a direct and adverse impact on retail eBook sales.

Effective with July 2018 publications, all new titles from Tor Books will become available for library eBook distribution four months after their retail on-sale date rather than the current program which allows libraries to purchase the titles on their retail on-sale date. During the test period, we will work closely with our library vendors who service this channel to evaluate the results and develop ongoing terms that will best support Tor’s authors, their agents, and Tor’s channel partners.

In addition, Macmillan will actively participate in the recently launched “Panorama Project,” the first large-scale, data-driven research project focused on understanding the impact of library holdings on book discovery, author brand development, and retail sales (panoramaproject.org).

With data from both programs, we will be in a better position to analyze and understand the impact of eLending on our publishing program. The timing of the test period is open-ended.

Already there have been a few articles on this subject: you can read Sari Feldman and Nate Hoffelder  just for starters. Sari Feldman provides context on how the American Library Association has both dropped the ball and can pick it up again (she also refers to this earlier article from Andrew Albanese that is also worth a read), while Nate Hoffelder looks more at the impact on OverDrive users and touches on the context of publishers and ebooks in general. They give an excellent overview of the issue not to mention raising a series of questions for libraries and for readers.

Is this an issue just for OverDrive libraries? I am yet to have seen any impact of this on purchasing titles through my library's current platforms (none of which are OverDrive), but then we generally buy quarterly depending on available funds so it may be that our buying pattern isn't affected by this quite so much. We're certainly cognisant of the typical publisher constraints on number of loans / 2 year period of purchase before we have to re-buy a book (for whatever reason publishers simply do not accept that libraries could possibly have books on their shelves for more than 2 years without the need to replace them, trust me there re books on my shelves that have been there for 10 years and continue to be used). The problem with this is that every purchase needs to be valid - if we buy a print book and it doesn't get loaned in 2 years we might move it to another branch before we consider removing it altogether. If an eBook doesn't get borrowed in 2 years I'm not replacing it so the publisher has already lost out on that 2nd potential purchase. And yes, if any title (physical / digital) is heavily used (ie, in ebook parlance exceeds 26 loans within that 2 year period)  the library will most likely replace it - funds allowing.

What is it about ebooks and libraries that scares publishers so much? How are ebooks any different to print books? Publishers want people to buy their books and libraries are pretty much a captive sale in that regard, often buying multiple copies of a title that we know will be popular. We expose our members to authors and titles and series and genres that they may have never read before and often hook them in - to the point where that reader will go out and buy their own physical copy. So libraries help publishers by providing the opportunity for readers to decide to buy for themselves. Without libraries publishers would not make as many sales as they do. I'd be wary of biting the hand that feeds you.

Back in 2012 Tor made a big statement ensuring their ebook titles be DRM-free. Followed up two years later by this presentation from Tom Doherty at the Book Expo of America on the impact this move had on sales (hint: none, if anything sales had improved). In 2012 Tor also announced they had set up an ebook store to sell the full range of Tor ebook titles DRM-free. A key aspect of this ebook store was to also provide access to free ebooks. The underlying reason behind this was to tease readers by giving them free access to an early publication from an author which would then hook them into buying the rest of the series. It exposed authors to readers who might never have read them otherwise (kind of what libraries do). Tor.com (a site dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, and all aspects of SF/F fandom; [publishing] original fiction and art as well as reviews and commentary on books, stories, movies, comics, and related topics. Tor.com is publisher neutral, and we operate in our own special corner of Macmillan, the publishing company that also encompasses Tor Books) continues to provide access to 'Free eBooks'.

What about the readers? When all is said and done and the dust settles none of this is possible without authors and readers. Authors obviously want to write and to keep on writing. Publishers help them get their writing out there. But it is the readers who are the market. Readers are the ones who need to be enticed to part with hard-earned cash to buy a thing - whether it's print or digital. Interestingly enough, in Australia the bulk of the ebook platforms that public libraries can provide their members with access to do not include platforms suitable for kindle users. Sure, if you've got a kindle fire you'll be right. But in basic terms less Australian libraries have OverDrive than the other platforms. So if any of our library members want to use their kindle they must use Amazon. With the emergence of these alternative platforms (BorrowBox, cloudLibrary, Wheelers, RB Digital) there is less reliance on dedicated ebook readers and more development of apps for phones and tablets. I don't need a kindle to read an ebook or listen to an eAudiobook, I can use my phone. And I do.

Readers influence their library's purchasing habits. Libraries constantly accept suggestions from their members to buy a particular title and this goes as much for ebooks as for print. Indeed one of the neatest features of an eBook app is the facility to be able to suggest that my library buys titles that are in the list of available titles but not actually purchased by my library. This can often influence libraries further to buy physical copies as well. It is due to this feature that my library now has an expanded eBook collection of Jack Campbell's excellent Sci-Fi series. As a reader I stumbled across an author in a genre I read occasionally and liked it so much I suggested my library go out and buy another 10 books just so I could finish reading The Lost Fleet and The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier series. I don't usually go in for big space battles described with naval precision but these I enjoyed immensely. But I never would have discovered them if my library did not first tease me with an ebook. If I, as a reader recently enamored of a new author, suggest a title to my library to add to their ebook collection but because it's a newly published Tor/Forge title and under a 4 month embargo because it's a library that wants to buy it then I am hampered, as a reader, by the very publisher of the author I want to read. I fail to see how this helps me as a reader, helps the author as the writer, helps the publisher at all.

It will be interesting to see how the ALA steps up to this challenge from Tor and Macmillan. It will be interesting to see how and when ALIA steps into the ring here in Australia. ALIA certainly regards libraries as part of the book industry and it's way beyond time that publishers took that on board. Libraries are not the enemy. It will be interesting to read the outcome of Macmillan's "Panorama Project".

thoughts on self-publishing

image taken from this Salon article

This rather interesting article by Hugh Howey swept past my brain late last night so this morning I trolled back through my FB feed to where I first spotted it and read it thoroughly. It really is worth a read.

It's an interesting point of view on self-publishing and I find its implications for library collection development to be quite intriguing.

Hugh Howey writes books, he self-publishes those books, he maintains complete 100% ownership of his books, they are available digitally and as such this means they will always be available (no out-of-print options here), he also now makes a substantial monthly income from this.

One of the chief challenges I face in my role developing my library's collection is how I treat self-published material. I have to admit that the majority of self-published print material that comes across my desk is appalling in content, style, presentation, and quality. There's one particular picture book featuring a crocodile (or was it an alligator?) that still gives me shudders (*shudders just thinking about it*). These authors are often local people who are so very proud of their work that it is challenging to try to explain that what they are giving me is of extremely poor quality. There has been little or no editorial process and so the concepts of writing to your audience or suiting book content to your audience hasn't been that well balanced. Many of these titles end up in our Local Studies collection simply to satisfy the author and to collect material written by local people.

That said, Christopher Paolini's "Eragon" originally started life as a 'self-published' title printed by his family's printing company. And I have had a couple of beautifully illustrated and written picture books come across my desk which have been gorgeous. But it's not been the norm.

The rise of eBooks has meant that self-publishing has taken on a whole new form. Authors can publish prolifically in eBook format and reach a growing audience of people who do and do not use libraries. Hugh Howey points out that the popularity (or not) of his work is always determined by the readers so making your work broadly accessible raises the chances of success (from an author making money point of view). This is typically the case when you consider the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey (by E. L. James) which started life as a Twilight fan-fiction piece. It only existed as an eBook, you could only get it online, but the popularity there gave it the strength to be physically published as a print book where its increased popularity (and that particular genre) then grew exponentially. (It's a crazy world)

So how do I develop my library's collection when more and more asked-for titles and authors are only available as an eBook? How do I make them accessible to my library customers? How do I catalogue that item? How do I acquisition it? How do I lend it?

We have a series of lending eReaders with preloaded genre titles on them. One of the eReaders features a couple of titles by Lee Child which are only available as eBooks, you can't get them in print. Here's a hugely popular commercially published author whose books walk off the shelves in droves and yet he too has followed the eBook path for some of his work. 

This is not to say that all eBooks have been self-published. Most publishers have jumped on the bandwagon to also sell eBook versions of printed titles, but they generally do so at a hugely marked-up price which compares directly to the cost of the printed item. Self-published authors will undoubtedly sell their eBook titles for $0.99 or so, certainly under the $10.00 mark. This pricing makes more of the books accessible and turns eBooks into impulse buys which more and more people then buy more of - it becomes a lovely cycle of income production for the author. I like this idea.

Self-publishing is a bit like a Kickstarter project but where the thing is available before the money comes in. Self-publishing allows writers to hone their skills and grow and develop in an arena which provides constant feedback and criticism (hopefully mostly constructive). Self-publishing also allows writers to afford to keep writing. It is changing the nature of publishing itself and challenging traditional publishing houses to adapt.

It kind of reminds me of the teen flick "Stick It" featuring a group of rebellious gymnasts who defy the traditional rules to do the routines they want to do, to show the full extent of their skills and abilities, and to choose the winners themselves regardless of what the judging 'rules' determine. Self-publishing allows authors to retain full ownership of their work, to defy the traditional rules of publishing, to defy the standard expectations of success, and to allow their readers to choose the best-sellers based on what they like to read, not what has had the most money spent on a media campaign and groovy cover.

Food for thought.

Libraries of the Future

The following visualization was adapted from PewInternet.com, of a keynote address for the 2012 State University of New York Librarians Association Annual Conference.

Source:LibraryScienceList.com