TO PUBLISHERS, FROM READERS: PLEASE STOP 🛑
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- Опубликовано: 11 авг 2023
- TO PUBLISHERS, FROM READERS: PLEASE STOP 🛑
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I hate when they started removing the description of the book on the back and replacing it with reviews, like that makes no sense 😂 I also really don’t like when the description gives away the ending of the book as well, I’ve actually stopped reading the entire description of books because of that. Why aren’t publishers listening to the readers!!
YES 100%%
Holy duck, THIS. I want to know what the book is about, not what some other chuckleducks say about it. It's like they're banking on those 'reviews' to sell it and not believing the book itself is good enough to get your attention.
Yeah. That and actually make the description interesting.
@@SpacemanTheo That is because they have the research that show way too many people DO make their purchasing decisions based on if someone they like also like this book.
@@arthurmarshall6825 Ah duck, I completely forgot that was a tactic and that it also worked. Wild concept to me to get something based on others (very brief and possibly bought) opinions.
I think if there has to be one of those permanent "stickers" on a book for a bookclub, or the adaptation it should be on the back. Next to all those blurbs from other authors.
...or easy to remove or maybe over protective cellophane wrap.
Especially if the cover is already just the Netflix/movie poster version of the characters.
I read a lot of indie authors, and I've noticed that they tend to have much higher quality copies with chapter art and hidden art on the naked hardback. Big publishers tend to make their copies as cheap as possible.
What I hate about the eBook pricing is that it was PUSHED by publishers as a 'cheaper' alternative to regular book buying because of not having to print the book for those editions. Complete doublespeak. Yeah, it'll be cheaper than the paperback by, like, 50 cents. "But we didn't lie!" they'd scream, if you called them on it.
Also: Yay! :D The first time anyone has ever answered me specifically in a video. Silly, I know, but it made me giggle.
Publishers stopping translation mid-series is what ultimately got me to stop reading in Portuguese (well, along with the insane pricing for books in Portugal). Nowadays I read English/Spanish exclusively, that way I can get the whole series without having to worry. Plus, Portuguese translations got very, very awkward within the last few years, and since I found myself re-translating back to English in my head to see if phrases made sense, I just gave up. A decision I don't regret. My bank account does, because ALL the special editions haha. I've also fallen into the deep, dark pits of buying both the Kindle & hardcover editions of books (hardcover is reserved for 5 star books, though; I'm not rich lmao).
Same thing here in Italy! Sometimes it feels like they used Google Translate and the translation is too literal or even wrong; sometimes there are sentences that just don't make sense, and you keep reading the same one again and again until you decipher the syntax or figure out that one word used incorrectly altered the meaning of the whole sentence. Unfortunately, publishers pay translators very little, and often they just seem to print whatever translation they get, without any editing or "quality checking" whatsoever. Moreover, when the original work is not in English, rarely they hire someone who's proficient in the original language; instead they translate in Italian the English translation, potentially altering the entire story and always resulting in a text that is unbearable to read. A decent translation should be the bare minimum, but nowadays the only foreign books that seem to have decent Italian editions are from authors that got their works adapted. That's a broad generalisation too, because manga like Sousou no Frieren and Oshi no Ko are extremely popular at the time of this writing and yet their Italian translations make me want to throw all the booklets out of the window.
Like you, I gave up and started reading foreign books in English, but it's unfair on so many levels...
Oooh I loved this. It’s mind boggling to me that some of these points are overwhelmingly agreed upon. Like permanent stickers on covers. But publishing does nothing to stop it? Like why purposefully and continually do harm to your own sales??
I am SO glad someone mentioned those weird rubbery covers!! I hate the feel of them and it’s impossible to get sticker residue off them. I have several hardbacks with dust jackets that have this texture and I’m just like NO please. 😖
Yes, and some books I have to be very careful holding, as my fingerprints will be left all over them! Have to hold them with my sleeves over my hands so they don't mark lol
depends on the type, but a lot of the rubber finishes, you can buff it off with a bit of goo-gone and a rag.
also a good chunk of common sticker glues you can get off with a pencil eraser, so you dont damage the cover if its delicate.
some are too stubborn tho and ya gotta use chemicals tho.
i work in a used bookstore, so i know that pain well lol.
I LOVE the short synopsis at the start of a new installment in a series. It's so appreciated!
Indied Author here. I actually try to incorporate reminders of the prior story in the first few chapters. I'll debate this synopisis idea for sure! Never considered it before but we're putting otu my second novel spring or summer next year so I might be able to slide that in...🤔
I don’t see a problem with movie/TV tie-in covers as long as that doesn’t become the only edition available. These days, that rarely seems to happen. When I was younger, though, that was very common. The movie would come out, the tie-in edition would release, and they’d stop printing the regular edition. Which was always absurd. That said, there are a handful of books where I prefer the adaptation editions. 😂
Yeah, great point about them being the only editions vs additional editions! I wonder how much money goes into printing these new covers, and if it's fairly sizable, could that money go toward lesser known works? I wish we had the numbers to see!
The problem comes when it’s not USA/UK, and in smaller countries you only get the movie cover. Awful. Not all the times but in some cases.
I loathe movie/tv covers. Thank God that in my country, on the audiobook platforms, they removed those hideous Rings of Power covers from Lord of the Rings when the new Andy Serkis read Silmarillion came out. Replaced with the far superior Alan Lee covers.
@@christianbjorck816 do not mention that!!! We do have Rings of Power cover now and most probably for at least 2 years we have to wait for a normal release…
Agreed. That doesn't seem as prevalent anymore but I hate show/movie covers and for a time it seemed you couldn't get original cover anymore
Stephanie Garber is another author that does a lot of bonus stuff at the end of her books, and she said something on instagram that was really interesting to me. Apparently the bookstore/company selling the books sometimes requests the exclusive bonus content so they can charge a little more for their special editions. So while the authors/publishing companies are definitely guilty, the sellers are also complicit because they are trying to draw people in.
Wasn't that obvious? It makes sense that book sellers would want to discourage people from using brick stores as in-person catalogs only to then buy the book cheaper online or an ebook. If the bookstore is selling a version that has unique content you can only get from that store, you now have an incentive to buy that book then and there.
@@arthurmarshall6825 Maybe. But not everyone follows authors on social media, so I am sharing something I learned from Stephanie Garber, which was applicable to the point being made. Additionally, the premise of the video is that this is something that the author/publishers are doing. My comment was to highlight the fact that they are not the only guilty party and there are a lot of other factors at play. This isn't just the case of an author wanting you to buy multiple copies of their book. I highly suspect that, especially in the case of authors that have different bonus material for different stores, there wouldn't be so many versions if the stores weren't incentivizing it. And I don't think many people use these companies that way. Most of the books ordered online come through the companies that are offering exclusives, so they don't care if you buy it in person or not. They just want you to buy it. And print books outsell ebooks 4 to 1, so they aren't losing sales that way either.
@@marypeterson1038 Not sure why you brought up following authors on social media. My point was that I thought 85% of what you just wrote was obvious just by thinking about it. I only disagree with you at the end about them losing sales. I bet bookstores have develop a term to describe helping a customer find that perfect book only for them to open up their phone and buy it online from someplace (Amazon) cheaper. Its why Marvel digital comics are the same price as physical books. I also distrust that 4 to 1 number. The few times I hear authors talk about their sales, it was closer to 50/50. When I look up sales numbers online, they always include text books, which would HEAVILY weight it towards print books.
@@arthurmarshall6825 such a weird idea that ppl would use bookstores as in-person catalogues... i mean i guess ppl could do that but first of all theres way bigger catalogues online (eg goodreads) and second of all most ppl who buy their stuff online prefer to do that bc they DONT want to go out to the store, either bc they cant be bothered or bc they actively dislike the experience.
I need more books which are original and really edited. I feel like reading fanfics all over lately and I’m starting to hate reading. Guess I need to look for book published before 2015 to get SOME quality.
I was really shocked when I picked some spicy romance with friend just to laugh and it was so nicely written that it made me sad.
Yes I wish editors would CUT DOWN some portions of books. An author can write endlessly when in the zone but an editor is really the person who needs to intervene and explain where the flow is and what works best vs isn’t necessary
*Stephen King enters the chat
yeah i was trapped at my grans old place during a week of no power, and i gotta say, some of those old bodice rippers are way more well written then they have any right to be. like damn, some of them even had full on gorgeous poetry in them.
RE: the library hold tip: my library's website has a function where members can request books, either upcoming books or older ones: a couple times I have requested upcoming releases, sometimes even saying "This author's last book had a hold of 6 months so please consider buying many copies" and by default when they purchase a book that was requested they put a hold on it in your name. :)
This is how I've read most of the big new releases of the last few years! It's so awesome and you are still getting that author several sales.
Last month I was reading a thriller book and one of the praises was just straight up "I loved it". I found that really funny
I hate how the digital covers change due to adaptations. They don't even ask the owner of the book. They just change the cover. Several times, the cover to the first A Song of Ice and Fire novel changed to match the newest poster for the adaptation. A few times I couldn't find it on my account due to the change. It also looks completely different from the uniform style of the following books. Fire and Blood not only got a new cover, it now claims that the book is a "tie-in" to the new show, as if it was written for the adaptation rather than the adaptation being ... an adaptation. It's pretty annoying 😅 At least physical copies can't be altered after purchase.
the "bonus" chapters in the new SJM book really get me going because there is absolutely no chance that they are going to be pertinent to plot (I mean, like 75% of her books aren't relevant to the plot, so these chapters definitely won't be lol). They were definitely (in my opinion) written afterwards for the specific purpose of including them in various editions. None of the extra chapters she's had for past books have ever contained anything of any value 😬
yeah the one bonus chapter with azriel people think is so important but not everyone is going to have read it because not every edition has it
@@heatherparisi8250 I agree. Except now I know for certain that *"Elain is a shallow b-i- - h"* and I'd personally like Az and Gwen to be together (mostly because it would be sooooooooo cliché for the 3 sisters to end up with the 3 "brother-like" heroes.)
@@PureMagma literally cannot stand this take did you get that from tumblr or one of those annoying booktok people? no original thoughts.
Given the fact that SJM literally has all bonus chapters in every book she’s written linked on her website, and has always shown genuine respect and gratitude to her fans, I doubt that this gratuitous bonus chapter shit was her idea or even done with her blessing. She’s already loaded and clearly loves her work, there’s no motivation for her to pull a cash grab like this. The CC books haven’t been as popular as ACOTAR and her publishers are clearly trying to incentivize book sales. I bet that she wrote the book, said “these 5 chapters would make good bonus chapters. Pick two and we can either leave the other three or cut them” and the publishers got dollar signs in their eyes. Don’t assume that this was the author’s doing especially given how we know just how little control over marketing and publication authors actually have. SJM has done some legitimately questionable things, criticize her for that, not a marketing choice that was clearly out of her hands.
@missanthropy6174 oh don't get me wrong, I completely agree that SJM herself isn't behind the 5 editions and that it's totally publishing being greedy and taking advantage of the situation!
That is one thing that I am so envious of! :) It must be so nice to just go to your local bookstore and pick up a book. In my country the book selection in store is very limited. And if we want to order books not in store most of the time the price skyrockets. For an example, if ordered on Amazon the delivery cost is literally the cost of the book (or sometimes a bit more) so we have to pay double the price. It breaks my heart :(. and we also don't have libraries so we can't use that resource.
Same! We hardly have any proper bookshops here anymore and the ones that are around are extremely expensive & limited stock :-( I don't have a car anymore & it's very difficult for me to even get to the city on top of that.
That's why I did a huge haul when the poor old Book Depository closed (as free freight across the world!!) & now use Libby a lot to listen to free library books I can easily use & support them. Luckily, we also have 1 great online store where I can get Manga at least!
Japanese publishers have a few standard sizes that most books default to. It's really convenient for shelving, and it also means you can buy nice protective cloth book covers that fit a lot of different books well.
They also put things like endorsements or info about adaptations on a short paper band around the bottom of the book, which you can just slide off, so it doesn't ruin the cover.
(Oh, and importing Japanese books to the US is now frequently cheaper for me than buying new English books, because their prices are lower across the board despite generally higher print quality. The flip side of that is that longer books are often split into multiple volumes, which is usually nicer to hold, but does mean paying multiple times for one book.)
Ulysses was split into 4 thick books but they're comfortable to hold and read, the Japanese book publishing industry really is ahead of the game.
Self-published here. Thanks! This was VERY handy. For the record, I'm working a vampire buddy-cup trilogy now and yes, we are going out of our way to keep the same cover artist and we do FULL covers without ads and stickers over the art.
I feel y'alls pain.
Love the bundling ideas and I'll have to look into it. Oh, and I'm not a best seller on any category and my ebooks are all under $5... just in case anyone is wondering. 🤣
P.S. To that reader looking for new stuff - Try Nicole McKeon. Fantastic cover artist and indie published author, such good work!!!! There's a suggestion from a stanger on the internet.
Kind of sad to hear everyone devalue-ing the work of authors by demanding cheaper and cheaper ebooks. When you buy a physical book do you think you are just paying for paper and glue?
People think authors are rich. Majority of authors are not. Especially those of us who self publish. We pay editors, proofreaders, cover artists, ISBNs...
Reading should be accessible but we should be paid a decent amount for our work.
I think the issue is more when the ebooks are basically the same price as the physical copy, but yeah, most authors are not rich at all
I'm new to reading ebooks and am discovering that they are not as affordable as I thought. In a lot of cases they are only 2 or 3 dollars less than the paperback, and sometimes are the same price as a hardcover which is insane
the only thing ebooks are good for rn is saving space, other than that its cheaper to buy the physical book
@@zhisu2665 its also easier to pirate an ebook than to steal a physical book
Soft touch laminate (the one that person was complaining about) is literally advertised as ‘to bring a luxe’ feel to books but is also known to be the worst lasting cover. Especially with heavy use (libraries) or in humid environments like my own, it becomes immeasurably sticky like the faux rubber coating on a lot of early 2000s tech that’s almost glue-like. And now they’re putting that on our books.
Texture sensitivity is a big thing in a lot of neurodivergent people (also like myself) but I also hate it for the lack of forethought into how it will affect the longevity in who knows how many book covers.
Absolutely need more floppy paperbacks and yes all the "#1 Bestseller Lists" need to stop 🛑. It's out of control. 😏 (#1 Small Town romance of a bake shop owner who dates the town's sheriff....hmm, okay I guess 😂)
😆
i read that book!
I actually love dustjackets and go out of my way to make sure not buying hardbacks without them. I hate how they look without the sleeves 🙈
A couple of things from the perspective of someone who works at a library:
-I have developed a dislike of matte or textured covers because they get real gross really quickly when multiple people are reading them.
-Dust jackets are great. The library I work at has protective covers for dust jackets that not only keeps the book in better condition for more usage, but protects the information we put on them, like the library barcode and spine. Also, much easier to wipe down if they come back a little icky.😅
-I would also prefer a standard sizing, it can be very irritating dealing with oversized books that won’t fit on shelves or smaller books that got lost amongst other books of a more standard size.
-Final point, a reader shouldn’t have to be a detective to figure out if a book is in a series and what order to read them in. Not everyone can check the internet for series information and a clear reader’s guide should be more standardized with numbers on covers if the books need to be read in order for the series to make sense. I see the ambiguity confuse patrons a lot and there is no need for it.
Putting first chapters of other books as sneak peaks at the end prevented me from reading Six of Crows for so long, because its first chapter was at the end of my edition of the last Grisha book, and it's this amazingly boring prologue about characters that don't matter and never appear again and I was like "This is the books everyone's crazy about?" So yeah I never read those since then 😂
The short cover thing is called a stepback
As a librarian: we also like it when you bug us about new releases-we want to get on the hold list too! 😅
I am so over publishers ditching regular paperbacks halfway through a series. If I wanted a giant book I would have bought the hardback.
So funnily enough, being called a "New York Times Bestseller" pretty much means nothing. I started looking into it when i started getting into author circles and everyone and their dog was a "US Today Bestseller". Its a title based solely on book sales
i mean, what else would it be based on?
@@Vickynger True, but the title, to me, conveys a level of "quality" like a panel of judges were picking the top books to justify the label. But after the scandal of that woman scamming her way to number one - the label is simply a label, not an accomplishment
For the ebook pricing I completely agree, especially new releases lately are insane. In many cases for me it forces me to wait until they lower the price (if they ever) as I live in Italy and my library doesn’t have many English new releases (or many fantasy new releases in general actually).
The prices also seem so arbitrary, sometimes you get book for 0.99 or 3€ and other times 10+€ for very short books.
So you think authors don't deserve to be paid for their ebooks? Most authors are struggling to survive on their craft, many of which includes ebooks. And you want these authors to make less money on their ebooks? And if an ebook is on sale for .99, the author is probably hoping to get fans that will buy their next book at full price, cause at that price the auther would probably have to sale a few thousands to earn enough to buy a cup of coffee.
With the bonus chapter controversy I feel like they could resolve this by there being a special code or maybe sharing a copy of the receipt that would allow access to all the other bonus chapters, that way readers can choose one special edition for themselves to physically own but then still have access to all the other bonus chapters. Or just make these chapters public once these editions are no longer sitting on the shelves.
I was thinking the exact same thing!
Your makeup was amazing because it was complemented by the glare of your glasses. Looked magical.
I've always hated the sleeves on hardbacks. It's one of several reasons I don't get hardbacks unless there will never be paperbacks (these days I mostly do ebooks so it's kind of moot, but this point is still valid I think).
I hate them too, they keep sliding and falling off when reading
@@alexvaldiers9788 Yes and I have a bad habit of losing them because I can't read the book with them on. Might be some kind of anxiety attached to that lol.
I personally love dust jackets/sleeves on hardbacks. I don’t read with them on, and if the naked hardback gets a bit grungy while I read it I still have a beautiful and intact piece of art to display on my shelf. It also keeps me looking cryptic when reading in public, so nobody knows what I’m reading, lol. (Also, I love having a surprise design on the hardback itself.)
100% need the sleeves. When I bought the Farseer Illustrated editions, I didn't know they were sleeveless, and when the books arrived, they were scuffed and ruined. :( If the book has artwork or looks fancy, at the very least, include a dust jacket to protect the book.
The smaller cover with the next page sticking out further is a step back and they are really common in Romance, especially historical. They usually have really beautiful art under the step back cover but it is usually a very spicy image so I think they were probably designed like that due to people's sensitivity. I really like them on romance books as long as there is additional art under the step back.
As a huge reader, I totally understand the "why are ebooks so expensive". But as an editor at a small, indie press, we have books in our catalogue that we must charge over $5 for or else we would lose money because large distributors deduct a "delivery fee" from the royalties based on how large the epub file is. A delivery fee, mind you, that only applies to small presses and indie authors. So we would not be able to give the author a cent and also keep our lights on if we didn't charge at least $7-$9 for some of the lengthier ebooks, unfortunately. I know that that is a lot of money for many folks. I wish we could do better.
I wish publishers would pay more attention to proof reading. There are often quite a large number of spelling and grammatical errors in books these days. Especially in self published books. I find it very jarring to be immersed in a story only to keep being pulled out of my immersion by these mistakes. I can forgive one or two mistakes, especially in very large books. But some books contain so many mistakes that I can only assume there was no attempt to proof read them at all. There is no excuse for this at all with main stream publishers, but I can’t understand why even authors who self publish are often so careless. Even if they can’t afford a professional proof reader, they could still read through the manuscript themselves before publishing. Around 90% of errors are so obvious it would only take a cursory read through to eliminate them. Authors should have enough pride in their work to want to take the time to do that.
I don’t like the bonus chapters for other books at the end of the story either. First off, it usually isn’t in chapter one of the new book; second, if the bonus chapter is for a future release, it may not be included once the new book is released (has happened to me more than once!); third, it’s kind of a let down that the story I bought is shorter than I thought because 50ish pages are for a different story.
As a previous book seller I suggest people get to know their local book sellers. There are so many passionate people working in retail book sales who make it their mission to find the Hidden Gem books and love to recommend lesser known authors! The "tables" are corporate planogram set ups.....not what the staff are actually reading.📚
Library of a Viking recently had a short video about the different editions. Because of Amazon, stores like Barnes and Nobles 'want' their own special editions (he explains it better than I do) and that authors don't always have a say in it because of their contract. So I sort of get that. HOWEVER I feel the bonus content must never be crucial to a story, it should be some little extra snippet. Like the avengers eating shawarma at the end of avengers 😂
Step-back covers! I only like them on The Locked Tomb because it's a colour strip. I own the hardbacks too so it doesn't bother me as much.
I don't like photo covers in general and prefer illustrations. I hate how with some adaptations they diversify the cast, which makes it seem like the book is that way too when it's not.
I love dust jackets if they put a little something fancy underneath. My dad throws away his dust jackets because he dislikes them so much lol
As a bookseller, we'll have some titles sent in because that's what the buyers send us BUT a good bookseller should be ordering titles in for their sections too. I look after SFF and I'm also ordering in different titles so people have something new and exiciting and different to find. I also talk to customers a lot and personally recommend things etc. If your shop is very samey, someone isn't doing that extra work or isn’t being allowed to do that for some reason.
Barnes and Noble did an exclusive paperback edition of The House in the Cerulean Sea with these beautiful sprayed edges that match the cover. Then they totally ruined it by having it be a step-back cover with the under page being bright yellow. 🤦🏻♀️
@@catsandbats77 that's so annoying!
I have to say: I found a Karen Marie Moning book for $3 at my local bookstore and decided to pick it up. Well, it was book number 10 in the fever series. In the back of the book, there is a summary of all the characters, the magic of the world, creatures, and what happened in previous books. Although I am not enjoying the book, it was nice to go back and see what happened since I haven't read the other books.
I ended up buying the hardcover of Mystery of Thorn Manor for $15 even though I knew it would be ridiculously tiny because the ebook was $16.99 for less than 200 pages, it should be a $5 price point at most
Totally agree with the 'bonus' chapter content in books and how you have so many books having a different chapter. I work in a bookstore, and the number of times I get asked if they will be released......it's crazy!! Just recently for a school, Holly Black book, one of the requested "books'" was actually just a chapter!! The girls had seen it spoken about online, and then wanted it - little hard for us to get firstly because the edition it was in was the B&N one......and secondly because Australia we don't tend to get an 'bonus' content like they do in the US!!
The SJM 5 different versions made me so viscerally angry it was irrational lol. And I’ve seen where these supposedly aren’t integral to the overall story but in my experience with her work that’s bull. And it’s honestly made me reconsider whether I want to continue buying anything from her.
I am almost assuredly going to self-publish my own work in progress, so I figured this would be a very helpful watch. I wasn't disappointed. Tons of useful tips here as I think about my own process. One thing I thought of that I want to do specifically is have resources hosted on my website (like unaltered cover art) for BookTubers and anyone else interested. As I said on the video you did to writers, thanks for putting this together!
Wouldn't it be nice to have all your books be case-bound, smyth-sewn, the same size and without extra advertisement on the cover?
Yeah, amazon is ridiculous with it's book ratings. I've never seen a book with fewer than 4 out of 5 stars listed there. Not exactly believable.
In regards to the story relevant bonus chapters:
Piracy (be it music, video, book, manga, anime, etc.) arises from a confluence of two key issues: price and availability. Piracy is generally an indicator that you have a distribution problem. I would even make an argument that one of the reasons that manga has enjoyed the success it has in the US in recent years is because of early piracy and scanlation aggregators like OneManga.
Zelazny's Amber series came out in a huge omnibus edition decades ago, and it's still being sold today for around $15 on Amazon. The same 10 books in e-book format are currently being sold, again, on Amazon, for $54.40+tax.
Tell me this is not insane. I cannot come up with anything that would justify this. I've already bought this series twice, I am not paying over $50 for a digital copy.
You see this sort of thing a lot with classic series from the mid to late 20th century, probably because they got reprinted a lot and different publishers got the rights at different times, but this type of messy history creates some of the most egregious price disparities between physical and digital copies.
I am perfectly fine with indie and self published authors e-book prices, it's the traditional publishers that think it's okay to sell a decades old digital copy from a long gone author for double the price of the same book in paperback, and I'm not okay with that.
I think eBooks are super expensive because companies like Amazon take such a huge percentage of the sale price. Truly awful.
Completely agree with the binding comment. I absolutely refuse to pay $35 and not have a sewn book with acid-free paper. I prefer to get the eBook, and if the eBook is more than $10 I prefer not to read it.
a big gripe i have is that bookstores are inconsistent with how they market fantasy romance books. Some are put in the fantasy section and some the romance section. please just create a fantasy romance category in the romance section. the romance expectations i have of a fantasy romance are very high and putting it in the fantasy section makes it really hard to find what I'm looking for and I'm much more hesitant because regular fantasy has completely different expectations even if it has a romance.
19:30
Yes! I totally relate. I won't even buy some books because of it. If I hold the book too long, my fingerprints can be visibly seen. It makes me not want to read the book!
YES for sizing consistencies, YES for banning cover obstructions, YES for the surprise when undressing your hardcover, YES for the e-book/audio bundle deals (I've seen extra audio costing $17 when buying a kindle!!), YES for link to e-versions and audio versions in hardbacks and paperbacks, YES for more sprayed edges, creative art work attached to non-fantasy books (I would love to receive posters, bookmarks, t-shirts, mugs, inspired playlists, whatever.. I would definitely purchase or pre-order an "ultimate package" of a new release of an anticipated fiction book), YES for more book club guides at the end of books (I enjoy reading the questions and sometimes help me see the book more under a microscope or a different angle). GREAT VIDEO!!! Love your channel
For orbit books specifically, the cover of their paperbacks peels off. It is the worst. It is normal for a spine to be cracked after some used but the cover peeling off is NOT normal.
Omg yes…. Changing the covers mid series drives me BANANAS😤
I LOVE bonus content. Maybe it's just a being poor thing. I feel like I'm getting more than I paid for. I also love getting to read a bit of the next book before it comes out. The 5 different stores thing is messed up. But when they're all the same it's cool.
I read one series years ago. At the end it had lyrics to the songs mentioned in the books. I was like, 'yeah okay, whatever.' I still read them of course. But recently I listened to them on audio and they fricken composed and sang the songs! And had a live interview with the author. It was really cool! I did get the audio through libby though, so I didn't have to pay for it.
I just started reading EE Knight’s Dragon Novice series (I’m about mid-point through) and I’ve noticed two annoying trends that I really wish would stop. The first, which was mentioned broadly in this video, is fantasy authors who want the allure of a magical school without ever doing the work of coming up with a curriculum, history, facts. I felt this way with Deadly Education and Fourth Wing gives me the same vibes.
My second issue is with this writing style where the character is talking to someone and then halfway through they switch to giving the Cliff’s Notes recap of what was going on in real time. Again Dragon Novice is guilty of this as well as Iron Widow, if I remember correctly. I don’t know if author’s are getting lazy or publisher’s aren’t giving them enough time to complete the books but this needs to stop!
E E Knight had a more interesting premise for his other series. The Age of Fire series is in the perspective of actual dragons. No shapeshifters, no pseudodragons, these are legit dragons with their own culture, folklore, biology, and suchlike.
I wish xenofiction of more beast-type creatures were more often talked about in fantasy circles, because while The Hobbit and Legends & Lattes are technically xenofiction (as are shapeshifter xenofiction like werewolves and changelings), how awesome would it be to read gryphon or kirin or tarasque xenofiction! Or a fantasy story told from the eyes of a cat or a dog!
About the bookstores having only popular authors, readers also have to realise that a bookstore is first and foremost a business. Even if they make an effort to have a cozy atmosphere, and have events, and do all the neat bookish stuff, they still need to pay bills, rent, and their employees AND make a profit to make this business worthwhile and to do that they need to sell books and popular books sell. I appreciate when they stock authors that aren't as well-known because for many people a bookstore might be the only way they can have access to new books, but I'm not going to fault them on having displays on popular authors. It's still a business and if the popular authors are making money so that they can stay open, I can't be mad!
True about book cost. I live 3 minutes from my library but don't always have a ride to get there. I never buy new books cause they cost around $15 to $19 per book. Used books are more affordable since they sell for $4 to $8 bucks. But I gotta get some cash too.
I live in europe and i stoped reading english books in my own languish beceaus i bought the first 1 or 2 and then they stoped.... i really want to suport the local publisher but that just wont happen now.
19:10 i work in a used bookstore, and I like the new ones with the rubbery finishes personally, but idk if its only some of them, but we get some in the store that are older, and that rubber finish has degraded and they get all sticky and gross. and then i have to spend like 5 min buffing it off with sometimes goo-gone.
kind of a pain in the butt, i once got a box with like 20 of those all sticky and covered in pet hair, and dust, not fun.
Re: the comment about sneak peaks
Idk about the situation in the us but where i'm from, pages in books always get bundled in batches of i think 30ish paper sheets (has to do with the folding and cutting of the sheets if i remember correctly) and then bound in the book, and depending on how long the book is that means that there are a bunch of empty pages at the end. That's why there are, at least in my country, sneak peaks, summaries for other books by the same publisher or - in the case of my old translated percy jackson copies - glossaries about the worldbuilding on the last pages so as to not leave them completely empty
Aah! That makes sense, I've been wondering about those books with empty pages at the back😅
@@tabaluke2584 a friend of mine once used the empty pages to write down an alternate ending so i guess that's also a way to do it 😂 but yea it's just about the folding/cutting/printing mechanism
Yeah, books are generall printed on large sheets and then folded and the edges cut off, that way you can use larger plates and safe on fixed costs for printing, also allows more throughput for the printing machines. You can see it in many hardcovers in the binding if you look from the top. Each of these printed and folded pieces before binding is called a signature.
I really understand the annoyance of not being able to get paperbacks right away for new releases, but at least in Austria (and the German speaking countries in general), authors normally get a higher percentage of hardcover sales. It's in parts regulated, so that the authors will make at least some money, though it's still a really small part of the resell price. Knowing this, my feelings on the hardcover/paperback release delays have become more nuanced and I feel that it's a good thing for the authors. At the same time, I just do not have the money to only buy hardcovers and I prefer reading paperbacks
AH I missed out on the community post but something that really bothers me is that publishers and authors will share lists of every.single.trope in that novel. Like NOTHING about it is a surprise anymore. I feel like it's way too spoiler especially for the hyper specific ones. For ex: 'Touch her and die' well great now that I know its coming I'm not as excited to read it
Stepbacks! I think that's what those covers are called. I don't really mind them, except when I'm shelving it and it gets caught on other books.
Re: Libraries. This varies by library, mostly depending on budget, but the number of copies ordered of a particular title is determined by the holds list when it's a pre-order.
For example, in my system, pre-ordered books appear on our online catalogue 2-3 months before release. Approximately a month before release we look at the holds list and order enough copies to get through the initial holds list in three weeks or so. If someone doesn't see the book they want listed two months out, they can put in a purchase request then and still get a copy within a day or two of the release date.
Generally speaking, we'll pick up a couple copies of any book our customer's request, as long as it's still in print from an established publishing house. We don't buy used and avoid indie publishers due to quality issues. A lot of indie presses have substandard binding and pages fall out within just a few checkouts. The turn around time from request to getting the book in the customer's hands is usually about 2 weeks.
As I said, this varies a lot from library to library, but ask your local librarian what their policies are. We're mostly way too enthusiastic about the minutia of collections development and would be ecstatic to have in depth conversation about what we purchase and why. You may be surprised at how much you personally can change the selection available at your local library.
TINY FONT. I just hate reading books with small font because its harder... and annoying on the eyes. I would rather a book be more pages with bigger font. I think its why so many people like reading on kindle because bigger font helps people read a bit faster. Also... there is a level of dopamine I get when I get to turn pages and work through a book.. sorry... but its just how I am. lol
Funny enough the "Publishing Rodeo" actually has an answer to why publishers misrepresents the content of a book. A guest mentions that an editor wanted them to use a cover and title that the author didn't like and felt the books core audience wouldn't like either. The editor said a new audience would discover and enjoy a book they wouldn't otherwise pick up and the books actual core audience will learn about it eventually and pick it up as well. This will lead (in the editors mind at least) to way more sells over if the cover art and title was honest. I'm with you and think that excuse is BS and the practice is just going to lead into having a lot of disappointed fans. But at least we now know why they do it.
This was such an awesome and interesting video to watch! Like I've seen a few others say or mention in the comments, I'm also someone who intends to self-publish. So hearing and seeing all these wishes, wants, and requests feels like I'm getting some really good intel that is gonna help me out haha. Not only that, but a lot of stuff on here are also things that I would agree with outside of that as well and just seems like such common sense (why are we not taking the time to properly edit???). There were also things I'm not sure I would've ever thought about, like the idea of having a couple pages of a summary of the previous book in a series, and I definitely am down to do that cause I don't see how it would hurt (those who need it have it, and those who don't can simply skip). Many a things in here I would love to achieve if I have the time and resources to do them to help please potential readers! Publishing might not hit all the right notes or care to, but I certainly will try my best to do so!
Great video! I actually love the dust jackets. I am super nerdy and cover them in mylar (as opposed to removing them to read). Even nerdier, I love when I have a pile of books to put the mylar covers on - I find it really relaxing. Yes, I am that lame. :)
For years I published all my paperbacks the same size. Then printing prices in Europe exploded, and I had to change to a slightly smaller size because that enabled me to considerably reduce the amount the books had to get more expensive.
In my thinking, it would be preferable for readers to get the book a bit smaller but with a manageable price, even mid-series.
And, by the way, all my hardcovers have stitched pages. (Sorry, German version only, so far, translations are very costly).
I personally need my books to have their dust jackets, I don’t want to see a naked book on my shelf
On the book sizes/art changing thing. Its on purpose, they know it annoys people not to have a matching set so some people will go back and buy the 'new' version of the previous book so that they match, which makes them more money.
Regarding e-book prices from traditional publishers, for me as a Romanian reader, they are actually higher than the paperback, because the VAT (value added tax) for e-books is much higher than for paperbacks (in my country, because paperbacks count as "books" but e-books are seen as "electronics"), so if the American publisher prices the e-book a little lower than the paperback, the total price of the e-book plus tax is higher than the total price of the paperback plus tax. I prefer e-books for a number of reasons, but unless they are on sale (or indie, which usually cost less) I feel forced to buy the paperback because of the cost. So if publishers could at least lower the price of the e-book to the point where it doesn't cost me more than the paperback, that would be fantastic.
With the bonus chapters, I feel like instead having short stories that’s not relevant to the current plot but involves the characters could work. That way you can encourage people to buy multiple copies, but not make those who can’t feel like they’re missing the story. Of course that works better or worse depending on the story.
The ebook price comment is interesting to me. I work in a public library and we purchase a subscription for the database Hoopla. Hoopla is interesting in that every time a patron clicks on a graphic novel, ebook, audio, etc we are charged for that borrowing privilege. We are also charged for every time a patron renews that item. If you aren’t finished with your audiobook when it’s time to return and you decide to renew that, Hoopla charges us. We spend an obscene amount of money for this consortium so that patrons have the access they need. Some graphic novels are 4 dollars every check out and renewal. Libby does not work this way and is bought as is with the consortium each year. Very interesting.
Wow, I never knew this about Hoopla! Very interesting. Thank you for sharing!
Oh wow! I recently started using Hoopla for audiobooks because of the instant-borrow selection! I didn't realize this was their model, though. I'll try going through Libby more often, then
Interesting! It's unfortunate in my case that Libby (or Palace) neither have books that aren't the first in a series or often have lapsed licenses.
I'd much prefer to use those, especially given your information.
"Wheel of Time...has an adaptation." That's where you're wrong.
Lol, true! Justified hate!
What if the cover art HAS to change mid-series? 😢 I'm an indie author, and I have two books out of a six-book series. Book Three releases in December. My designer started on a concept but isn't able to continue due to personal stuff. I didn't feel another designer would be able to match the previous books' styles well enough (and also feel the covers aren't the best fit for the series), and I didn't want to have to change designers again for 4-6 if the cover for 3 didn't perfectly match 1 and 2.
I feel so bad about changing them but also figure it's better to change them now than later... 🥺 (I do hope, someday, that my original designer can finish out the series and I'll be able to do special edition covers for 3-6 in that original style.)
Self and indie pubs don’t have many options for hardbacks. Most of it is limited to printing on the hardback directly. I know of one printer that does dust jackets, and the rest are direct printed.
I have one specifically addressed to the manga publishers: Please for the love of manga, STOP with the digital only titles. If you are going to publish a series, PLEASE make physical copies. Not everyone can read manga on a screen without our eyes going weird. I get that printing takes more money than digital books, but you are making certain series inaccessible to readers who want to read them but cannot deal with digitized manga.
I couldn't not contribute a message to publishers even though the video is over. Everyone raised some very excellent points and you delivered them in a nice and cohesive way. I can understand most of them and do feel bad for countries that do not have as much access to books as we do in the US. Reading to me is one of those things everyone needs access to.
I have often enjoyed the sneak peek chapters at the ends of books, myself! It has gotten me interested in books before, or scratched that itch to continue the series just a little bit more or to catch some glimpse of what direction things might go on next before the sequel actually releases, or even just to decide whether or not I'd want to continue a certain series at all! LOL
But I suppose I can understand how that might be annoying for someone who doesn't ever actually read them. ^-^
Yeah some of these decisions publishers make are just dumb. I don’t think the people who make decisions talk to readers or have books on their shelves at home.
I think if you purchase any format of a book you should get a discount attached to it for a certain percentage off if you buy another format. Realistically, I don't think publishers are going to give away free copies of an ebook if they buy a physical copy, though that would be ideal. But what if they gave you 10% off a new physical copy or a code to get the ebook for like $2 or 50% off the audiobook or something like that? Have that available for pre-orders or have the code attached to the receipts? I also think there should be sales for digital items. Like if you buy the ebook at full price you can send a copy to someone else at a discount.
Completely valid points about books that come out on the tails of the popularity-height of trends! (And how the authors might unfortunately suffer not because their books are bad but just because audiences are so burnt out on the subject OR how they might seem less fresh, but they may have actually been written or plotted out well before they were actually published-or they be a release of something a decade or two older, getting a new wind, like when The Vampire Diaries were re-released after Twilight started booming like crazy.)
Book series with mismatched covers go on my rainbow shelf, so I don't have to see them together and get irrationally angry.
I am just admiring all the manga and books behind you and omg yes to all of this. Also just graphic design covers drive me crazy
So much yes for the cover art. Just pay an illustrator ffs. So boring. It's one of the main reasons most of my physical purchases nowadays are special editions because they actually care to put artwork on and in books.
As a UK reader I had no idea how expensive books were in the US 😳Like $15 for a paperback is that normal? That's like £12.30 for a paperback, for context our paperbacks here in the UK the usually cost £8.99 - £9.99 which converts to around $10.97 - $12.20. The most expsenive hardcover I have ever bought was £25 which was a special edtion of "The Journey to the West" this converts to around $30.50 so paying $37 (£30.31) for a normal everyday hardcover copy of a book is madness to me. The usual price for hardcovers here is ranging £16.99 ($20.75) to £19.99 ($24.40). I think if I lived in America I would be converted to ebooks just because the prices for phyisical ones seem ridculous over there!!!!! I commonly don't even buy new books here because I can get them way cheaper second hand I usually pay like £1 ($1.22) - £3 ($3.66) for my books. I feel sorry for my US bookworms
I actively avoid buying series with books in differing sizes. Drives me bonkers.
The praise instead of synopsis thing really irritates me, too, because you're telling me nothing about the book except how you want me to feel. It makes me less likely to check it out. Give me something specific about the plot, characters, or even the worldbuilding instead. Is there a heist, an airship, an old lady who is more than she seems? All three? Of course, this applies equally to writers promoting their work.
What's really annoying in the is sometimes ebooks will just disappear, I can sometimes find the listings for them where they used to sell them, or see they are available in a different region on the same store. But I can't get it, but the audiobook will be right there, sometimes there are whole series where the audiobooks are just sitting there looking pretty, but I'd have to go hunting on ebay for something for the books.
I've noticed in some cases the ebooks do pop up later on, but it can be a long time.
Good to know for me, as I’m going to start my own publishing company within a year or two 😁
One thing you can do if there isn’t an audiobook... As long as the ebook is downloaded to the kindle app you can go through the Alexa app, select the book and it will read you the book. I’m not big on audiobooks, but I tested it out when I heard about it because my mom loves audiobooks. Most of the time I can’t stand the narrator’s voice. Going through the Alexa app I didn’t want to take an ice pick to my eardrums so that’s a plus 🤣
Thanks so much for sharing this video Elliot xoxo 😘 💛🩵🩵💛🏝️🏝️🌞💛💛🌞🏝️🏝️🏝️🌞🩵💛🌞🏝️📚📚📚🏝️🌞💛🌞📚📚📙📖📖📖📙📖📖📚📚📚📚🏝️🌞💛💛🩵🩵🩵💛🌞🏝️📚📚📚📙📖📖📖📖📚📚📚
I absolutely HATE that matte rubbery texture. Regular matte please
I find that more indie authors that have a hardcover will have a design on the hardcover along with the slip cover. ( yes they are more expensive but it makes it so nice, ex “hollow heathens” and “the serpent and the wings of night”. Trad. Doesn’t seem to like to put things on the hardcover save the slip cover. )
I hate when they do the cover with that material that gets dirtied so easily. Also, there are very few libraries nowadays...
19:59 ugh, the rough textured paperbacks are terrible. I haven’t had many, but they always make me feel like I’ve gotten them dirty so I’m constantly trying to wipe my hands and the cover off
Yes! The first in the Rook and Rose trilogy was smooth. The second was that awful gritty cover! I haven’t read it yet because I hate the texture SO much!!
@@AnEmbarrassmentofBooks Interesting, pretty sure my copy of Liar's Knot has a normal smooth finish