2020 titles announced

[F. King Daniel]

In any case, I have no idea what "STR" stands for. Entirely possible it's just "STaR Trek." At least they didn't go for the always-confusing nickname that Tumblr seems to have settled on for the Kelvin Timeline, "AOS" (Alternate Original Series).

Could be Star Trek Reboot.

 

[JWolf]

Sorry, but that’s not representative of the market. I just checked “Captain Marvel” on iTunes Canada and it is $24.99 to own ($5.99 to rent). On Amazon.ca the same movie on Blu-Ray with Digital Code is $24.96. While it may seem that digital files should be cheaper they are not. Even audio albums I tend to buy on CD more than digital as the CD is usually cheaper. You have to remember that with mass market titles like Star Trek and Captain Marvel, the publishers are making thousands of copies and they usually get a discount on orders (in terms of CD/DVD/Blu-Ray probably also applies to book publishing as well) of more than 5000 copies. Whereas when you are talking about low runs of say 1 or 2 copies (like when I convert someone’s parent’s wedding video from Betamax to Digital or DVD) then you are able to see a little savings with file only (of course I always have the option of just charging the one price for both just digital and just DVD).

On Amazon.com, Captain Marvel (in HD) is $19.99 for the digital version and $24.99 for the Blu-Ray version. That is a $5 savings. In the UK, it's £17.99 (4K) or £13.99 HD from Rakuten.tv. On disc in HD it's £14.99 and 4k is £24.99. So overall, digital films are cheaper then on disc. How much cheaper varies. This is what I'm trying to say about the eBook. It should also be cheaper then the TBP version.

As for the price issue, you'd have to ask someone more aware of the business details. But I assume it has to do with what people said above, that the difference in production cost between print and electronic books is minimal. The reasons for setting TPB prices higher than MMPB prices would apply just as much to the e-book releases of books that were created to be TPBs. Trades are generally longer, bigger books. They're more prominently marketed, more of a prestige item. There are fewer of them per year. I'd assume that all factors in to determining their market value.

Take movies. I just showed that overall, films in digital are cheaper then films on disc. So why is it not the same for eBooks? Up until the point where the book or movie has to be put into a specific format, the costs are identical. Once the eBook/film is done, you don't have the costs of the the print run or the materials used.

Again, though, it's not a one-to-one comparison. MMPBs are on the shelves for a short time before having to be sent back, while TPBs stick around longer and thus can build sales more gradually. Also, once again, there are fewer of them per year. If they cost, say, 1.5 times as much but come out only 2/3 as often, then that cancels out and the cost for a year's worth of them is the same.

I'm talking the eBook at the new price vs the eBook at the old price. You know a TPB is going to be more expensive then a MMPB. But the eBook is the same. And it's already known that digital films are overall cheaper then on disc. So why not the same for eBooks? I do think if S&S charged $7.99 for the eBooks, then they would sell a lot more eBooks and any readers who left because of the price rise may very well come back.

Again, you're confusing Trek books with the entire industry. If you look outside of Trek, e-books are generally priced lower than trades. For instance, the e-book edition of my original novel Only Superhuman is priced at $7.99, the price of its MMPB release, even though it was barely out in MMPB for a few months before they remaindered them all. And you can find plenty of other novels at discounted prices on Kindle or Nook or whatever. For instance, the first book in The Expanse series is currently on Kindle for $9.99 marked down from the print list price of $17, and you can find other novels for 2-3 bucks. If Gallery/S&S won't discount Trek e-books, that's specific to them, and it's a separate issue from the industry-wide reasons why MMPBs are a dying format.

The big 5 have taken the stand that eBooks should be priced the same as the retail price of the current print version and they do not allow discounts or sales by the stores. Amazon & B&N can discount the hardcopy, they cannot discount the eBook. This makes the eBook more expensive for a product that costs less.

 

[JWolf]

One other thing I like about them I don't see mentioned a lot is that the devices you read them on are a lot easier to handle than books tend to be. I had some issues with my hands for a while, and it's a lot easier to hold an e-read or tablet one handed, or even propped up so you don't need any hands than a book is.

For some Readers, you can get an Origami cover that converts into a stand. I know you can get such for Kobo and Amazon.

 

[JD]

I've got the cover that flips back into a stand for my Samsung Galaxy Tab.

 

[thribs]

We might get some news on the novels at Birmingham this weekend. I doubt it though.

 

[Masiral]

On Amazon.com, Captain Marvel (in HD) is $19.99 for the digital version and $24.99 for the Blu-Ray version. That is a $5 savings. In the UK, it's £17.99 (4K) or £13.99 HD from Rakuten.tv. On disc in HD it's £14.99 and 4k is £24.99. So overall, digital films are cheaper then on disc. How much cheaper varies. This is what I'm trying to say about the eBook. It should also be cheaper then the TBP version.



Take movies. I just showed that overall, films in digital are cheaper then films on disc. So why is it not the same for eBooks? Up until the point where the book or movie has to be put into a specific format, the costs are identical. Once the eBook/film is done, you don't have the costs of the the print run or the materials used.



I'm talking the eBook at the new price vs the eBook at the old price. You know a TPB is going to be more expensive then a MMPB. But the eBook is the same. And it's already known that digital films are overall cheaper then on disc. So why not the same for eBooks? I do think if S&S charged $7.99 for the eBooks, then they would sell a lot more eBooks and any readers who left because of the price rise may very well come back.

You did not prove that "digital films are overall cheaper than on disc". You proved that a single film (Captain Marvel) is cheaper as a digital copy than on disc. One film is nowhere near a large enough sample size.

Also, you're comparing apples to oranges. Films are an entirely different medium than books. They have entirely different chains of production, with different contracts outlining what profits go where. DVD and BluRays take up less physical space than MMPBs or TPBs. And the costs are in no way identical - how often do you see TV commercials on the major networks for new books? To continue the apples to oranges metaphor - just because Gala apples are cheaper than Honeycrisp apples, doesn't mean that Cara Cara oranges should be cheaper than navel oranges. They are different products and are treated differently, as they should be.

 

[GaryH]

I genuinely like the new size. Feels more substantial and more like a “proper” book like everything else i read.

 

[Reanok]

I like the larger size books the print is so much easier to read.Than the small print in mmpb books.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I like the larger size books the print is so much easier to read.Than the small print in mmpb books.

My collection got put into storage for interior house painting in 2014 and I haven't been able to get them back upstairs. Need new bookshelves and a free weekend. But I am considering that maybe only the trades and previous hardcovers will be coming back, to join the Trek books I have purchased since (and now way too many on the to-read pile(s)? Maybe just a few absolute favourite MMPBs will join them?

 

[Kilana2]

This is my book collection.....

 

[DarkHorizon]

Bunch of new announcements:

https://twitter.com/TrekCore/status/1188073487312871426

April 28, 2020: The Art of Star Trek: Discovery by Paula Block and Terry Erdmann
July 14, 2020: The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway by Una McCormack
September 1, 2020: The Artistry of Dan Curry by Dan and Ben Robinson

Covers at the link. Guessing these are all from Titan, since that's who's doing most of the non-fiction stuff these days, plus the Autobiography series. Going to be preordering all of those!

 

[JWolf]

You did not prove that "digital films are overall cheaper than on disc". You proved that a single film (Captain Marvel) is cheaper as a digital copy than on disc. One film is nowhere near a large enough sample size.

Also, you're comparing apples to oranges. Films are an entirely different medium than books. They have entirely different chains of production, with different contracts outlining what profits go where. DVD and BluRays take up less physical space than MMPBs or TPBs. And the costs are in no way identical - how often do you see TV commercials on the major networks for new books? To continue the apples to oranges metaphor - just because Gala apples are cheaper than Honeycrisp apples, doesn't mean that Cara Cara oranges should be cheaper than navel oranges. They are different products and are treated differently, as they should be.

I gave a typical example. I'm not about to give every example possible.

I'm comparing a digital version to a physical version for both films and eBooks. And overall, the digital version has lower costs associated with it. The MPAA get it and allow digital films to be pried lower then discs. Why can't the book industry get it and make the big 5 do it?

 

[Christopher]

Why can't the book industry get it and make the big 5 do it?

As already mentioned, there are a number of cases where e-books are priced significantly lower than print books. Just because Star Trek doesn't do it, that doesn't mean it isn't done at all. And there are regular sales on Trek e-books, as someone also pointed out above.

 

[USS Firefly]

Bunch of new announcements:

https://twitter.com/TrekCore/status/1188073487312871426

April 28, 2020: The Art of Star Trek: Discovery by Paula Block and Terry Erdmann
July 14, 2020: The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway by Una McCormack
September 1, 2020: The Artistry of Dan Curry by Dan and Ben Robinson

Covers at the link. Guessing these are all from Titan, since that's who's doing most of the non-fiction stuff these days, plus the Autobiography series. Going to be preordering all of those!

I am going to skip all those novels

 

[flandry84]

Only one is a novel but yes...seconded.

 

[JD]

No novel announcements, other than the Janeway book?

 

[Christopher]

No novel announcements, other than the Janeway book?

The announcements are from Titan, not Pocket. And whether a fictional autobiography even qualifies as a novel is debatable.

 

[The Wormhole]

These were announced at the Birmingham convention, right? In which case, IIRC, there's novel-related panels all weekend, so there might still yet be something announced from Pocket. Not saying there will, but I wouldn't toss in the towel on the matter yet either.

 

[Stevil2001]

The announcements are from Titan, not Pocket. And whether a fictional autobiography even qualifies as a novel is debatable.

The book commonly seen as the first novel in English was a fictional autobiography, so I hope it qualifies!

 

[tomswift2002]

I gave a typical example. I'm not about to give every example possible.

I'm comparing a digital version to a physical version for both films and eBooks. And overall, the digital version has lower costs associated with it. The MPAA get it and allow digital films to be pried lower then discs. Why can't the book industry get it and make the big 5 do it?

Also, in the example of “Captain Marvel”, the DVD on Amazon.com is priced at the same price point as the digital edition, while it is the superior quality versions on Blu and 4K Blu that are higher.