*Mere Anarchy* at Shore Leave

[garamet]

The con committee has several copies of the *Mere Anarchy* dead-tree version containing the entire series:

This one.

I can't be at Shore Leave this year, but I've signed these, and since most if not all of the other contributors will be there, it's a rare chance to collect all of the autographs.

Not sure if these will be available for sale or auction, but the proceeds will go to charity.

 

[William Leisner]

The con committee has several copies of the *Mere Anarchy* dead-tree version containing the entire series:

This one.

I can't be at Shore Leave this year, but I've signed these, and since most if not all of the other contributors will be there, it's a rare chance to collect all of the autographs.

Not sure if these will be available for sale or auction, but the proceeds will go to charity.

For the record, yes, all the rest of the contributors (Barr, Bennett, Dilmore, Galanter, Ward & Weinstein, plus editor DeCandido) are scheduled to be there.

 

[JWolf]

It is not a nice thing that S&S has decided to print the Mere Anarchy series. I was hoping it would stay eBook only.

 

[Christopher]

It is not a nice thing that S&S has decided to print the Mere Anarchy series. I was hoping it would stay eBook only.

That's a very selfish attitude. You can read it in whatever format you want; why should others be deprived of the same freedom just because they disagree with you?

 

[JD]

I don't really see where it's any different than reprinting Hardcovers in Paperback.

 

[Greg Cox]

I don't really see where it's any different than reprinting Hardcovers in Paperback.

Or the trade paperback edition, or the Book Club edition, or the omnibus volume, or the leatherbound collector's edition, or the Large Print edition, or the library edition, or the audiobook, or the foreign translations . . . .

Most books go through multiple formats over the course of their life. That's just how it works.

It's the content that matters, not the format.

 

[Reanok]

I'm glad Mere Anarchy came out as a trade paperback. I thought the stories were well written and I hope that in the future the Tng and Ds9 crossover series Slings and arrows will be releaed someday as a paperback book.

 

[JWolf]

Because it was nice to see a series in eBook format only.

I'm thinking maybe SCE/CoE may have sold better as eBooks if they were never to have been printed since eBooks would have been the only way to get them and maybe the series would still be ongoing. I feel the paper editions helped kill the series.

 

[Reanok]

Because it was nice to see a series in eBook format only.

I'm thinking maybe SCE/CoE may have sold better as eBooks if they were never to have been printed since eBooks would have been the only way to get them and maybe the series would still be ongoing. I feel the paper editions helped kill the series.

I have to agree to disagree I think other fans should have a chance to get the stories in paperback. Everyone should get a chance to read the authors work.

 

[Christopher]

I'm thinking maybe SCE/CoE may have sold better as eBooks if they were never to have been printed since eBooks would have been the only way to get them and maybe the series would still be ongoing.

That makes no sense whatsoever and demonstrates a staggering misunderstanding of how marketing works. If eBooks had been the only way to get them, then most people wouldn't have gotten them at all, because eBooks weren't popular enough yet. The problem wasn't competition from paper editions; the problem was that at the time, eBooks hadn't taken off to a sufficient degree to attract a lot of attention. If anything, publishing the print collections raised the profile of the series by introducing it to audiences who would never even have heard of it had it been in eBooks alone. And since the print collections lagged well behind the eBooks, they weren't in direct competition with the new eBooks anyway. People who read the print collections and wanted to see more new stories would've been inspired to begin buying the eBooks, something they never would've done if the print collections hadn't existed. And those who would've refused to buy the eBooks and just wait for more print collections would've never bought them anyway. So the absence of print collections would've hurt sales for the eBooks, not improved them.

It's never a bad thing to make your product available to multiple audiences. You'll never get every reader to agree on their preferred format, and it's naive and foolish to imagine you can. Trying to force the entire audience to conform to a single format choice is a fool's game. Better to make your creation available in multiple formats so that more segments of the audience will become aware of it. The different formats don't compete with each other, they complement each other. This is why comics companies don't cancel their comics when movies based on them are released, but actually publish more comics to tie into the movies, not to mention licensing novels, video games, toys, etc.

 

[Greg Cox]

Because it was nice to see a series in eBook format only.

I'm thinking maybe SCE/CoE may have sold better as eBooks if they were never to have been printed since eBooks would have been the only way to get them and maybe the series would still be ongoing. I feel the paper editions helped kill the series.

But what about the millions of people who don't read ebooks?

I write the darn things, and I've never read an ebook in my life. I don't even own an ebook reader . . .

 

[Therin of Andor]

It is not a nice thing that S&S has decided to print the Mere Anarchy series. I was hoping it would stay eBook only.

Sigh. That's a bit selfish from someone who complains bitterly, month after month, about the standards of Pocket/Gallery/Simon & Schuster's eBook program. What about people who decided to boycott ST eBooks, based on your complaints about glitches? Can't they ever read "Mere Anarchy"?

Maybe you'll get your wish with "TNG: Slings and Arrows"? And you can still have the eBook exclusive on "The Magic of Tribbles", and a "Typhon Pact" eBook coming from Christopher.

Because it was nice to see a series in eBook format only.
I'm thinking maybe SCE/CoE may have sold better as eBooks if they were never to have been printed since eBooks would have been the only way to get them and maybe the series would still be ongoing. I feel the paper editions helped kill the series.

Well, I remember the original announcement of the first "SCE" eBook, when it was claimed it would not ever get a hardcopy release, and yet I could not buy a Mac version for my PowerMac at home, nor could I download a PC version at work due to a firewall (I did try). And there's always been a loooooong gap between the electronic and hardcopy versions.

Maybe the paper editions, when they are all finished, will rekindle interest in CoE?

 

[KRAD]

For the record, yes, all the rest of the contributors (Barr, Bennett, Dilmore, Galanter, Ward & Weinstein, plus editor DeCandido) are scheduled to be there.

Yes the writers will all be there. So will, as Bill said, the editor, but who'd want his autograph?????

 

[Lorraine Anderson]

 

[terpette]

The problem wasn't competition from paper editions; the problem was that at the time, eBooks hadn't taken off to a sufficient degree to attract a lot of attention.

I wouldn't even necessarily say that ebooks have taken off now. I think, once Kindles and Nooks get below $100 in price, and some kind of format is developed that works well across all platforms is developed, then they will.

Ok, yeah, I know PDFs are universal. But I have the 3rd gen Kindle and it doesn't necessarily handle PDFs all that well. Certainly not like my PC or netbook can handle them. In another 5 or 10 years or so, I see ebooks really making a dent in dead tree.

*MY* big quibble with ebooks is price. S&S ebooks aren't cheaper than dead tree, and that bothers me. I can't understand how digitizing a book is just as expensive as printing one. I still buy from S&S from time to time, though, if I'm too lazy to wait for a book from Amazon or drive the half-hour to the good used bookstore (as the Borders near the used bookstore, also a half-hour away, has very little Trek).

Karen

 

[Therin of Andor]

I wouldn't even necessarily say that ebooks have taken off now. I think, once Kindles and Nooks get below $100 in price, and some kind of format is developed that works well across all platforms is developed, then they will.

My sad dilemma is that, between the ages of 15 and 52, I've bought books, books and more books, and have actually read only a small portion of them. It really hurts if I've bought a hardcover book and not read it before the MMPB version comes out. I keep thinking I'll catch up one day (but even just my "Star Trek" reading is way behind, not to mention all the other SF etc I've bought over the years).

I've been deluding myself that, when I retire, I'll have time and motivation to read all this stuff. I've always worn glasses for long sight, but now that's equalised and the short sight is failing. Reading for pleasure becomes a chore, unless the story is really gripping - and now I'm thinking that, by retirement, I'll have eventually made the switch to an eReader of some design... and all these dead trees in my house will stay unread. Or will have to be rebought as eBooks. Sigh.

 

[JWolf]

The problem wasn't competition from paper editions; the problem was that at the time, eBooks hadn't taken off to a sufficient degree to attract a lot of attention.

I wouldn't even necessarily say that ebooks have taken off now. I think, once Kindles and Nooks get below $100 in price, and some kind of format is developed that works well across all platforms is developed, then they will.

We have a format that works well on most readers. It's Amazon that's the hold-out. ePub is a perfectly fine format and only Amazon is going with a different format. So blame Amazon for the split in formats. If it wasn't for Amazon, we'd all be reading ePub. ePub is the #1 format world-wide. Amazon needs to get with the program. Mobipocket is obsolete.

*MY* big quibble with ebooks is price. S&S ebooks aren't cheaper than dead tree, and that bothers me. I can't understand how digitizing a book is just as expensive as printing one. I still buy from S&S from time to time, though, if I'm too lazy to wait for a book from Amazon or drive the half-hour to the good used bookstore (as the Borders near the used bookstore, also a half-hour away, has very little Trek).

Karen

Since Apple allowed the agency model, have you seen the outrageous prices S&S is charging for each individual SCE/CoE story? Almost as much as a full length novel. It is scandalous. And it is true that eBooks do cost less to produce then pBooks. pBooks have the added cost of shipping, warehousing, remainders... Another problem with the agency model is that S&S will not allow discounts/sales on eBooks. But on pBooks, sure, discount/sale away. This does indeed make the pBooks cheaper then the eBooks.

 

[Sci]

Honestly, the publishing industry is in such dire straits that I don't object to an eBook costing as much as pBook. I think sometimes we as consumers should just accept the fact that if we want luxuries like new Star Trek novels, we'll have to pay a bit more for them.

 

[JD]

I don't see the big deal really. As long as they're not more expensive, I'm happy.

 

[JWolf]

So S&S raises prices significantly and refuses to allow any discounts and you're happy with that? WTF? No wonder they get away with it if that's the majority attitude. Why not raise pBook prices so they can raise eBook prices even more?