Saturday, March 23, 2013

Not the chicken or the egg

Rumor has it that the next iteration in the ebook/print book faceoff is a print book with an embedded chip that has the electronic version, so when you buy the print book you get the electronic version, too. First of all, I love that the two media have been brought together. That's progress. However, I think this combo is backwards. I think people will want to get the ebook first, and read the book that way, and then decide whether to spend the extra money to get the printed book -- personalized for them perhaps, with their choice of cover, and their own dedication. If you pay for the print book and also get the ebook, but then read the ebook first and don't want a print version, you really had no need to have already paid extra for the print book. That overcharges the reader. If you sell the reader the inexpensive ebook first and then make ordering the print book easy, the cost of the print book should be happily paid if the desire is there. This is not an example of the chicken or the egg. It's clear which should come first: the electronic book.

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