Will we still be able to buy directly from Baen? If so will there be a difference in price? I’m sure users of non-kindle e-books want to know these details.
Yes, and yes. You can still buy from Baen, but eBook prices will be $6.99, $8.99, or $9.99. This is linked to the price of the paper editions. If only hardcovers are in print, as with David Weber’s novel A RISING THUNDER, the price is $9.99. If there is a trade paperback in print (a tp of ART goes on sale in Feb.), the price goes down to $8.99. If and when a mass market paperback hits the shelves, the price goes down to $6.99.
I’m a bit conflicted. I’m thrilled that the Baen authors are going to get more visibility from having ebooks on on Amazon, and that author’s royalties will increase. Not quite as thrilled at the price hikes, though. My book budget LOVED being able to buy the $6 ebook the same day the hardcover released. So, yay! and sigh…
pretty sure that they wont kill off the webscriptions site. I certainly hope not. I’m not a kindle guy either, I dont buy my e-books from anyone but Baen.
I think Baen saw that while they were giving readers a great deal charging only $6.00 an ebook. At the same time they were doing the author’s a disservice denying them the same royalities that other authors were getting for ebooks at other publishers. I believe that they were concerned that they’re authors might jump ship to other publishers for better deals for their better ebook deals.
This deal keeps their authors happy and attracts talented new comers.
From what I’ve read, most publishers are really screwing over authors on e-book royalties. Some of the stories out there are pretty horrifying.
Baen’s direction seems to be pretty much the opposite of what other publishers are doing.
I’ll keep buying from Baen as well, but this will help out all the people who’ve never heard about Baen’s e-book store. I’m sure that, up until now, there were lots of people who’ve been wondering “Gee, why the heck doesn’t Baen publish any e-books?” The downside, of course, is that Baen had to tweak their prices to bring them inline with Amazon, but on the upside, this should be a nice boost in sales for all the authors who write under the Baen imprint.
And hey, if this move gets Larry plenty of sales to keep him happy-happy and well-stocked with guns and B-movies, I kinda have a hunch we’ll be seeing some more books from him 😉
” That should take care of my single most freqently asked question”
why you hate HK guns?
Sorry, I could not resist!
So I’m guessing at 25% it’s better for you if we buy through Amazon?
No, if you buy at baenebooks.com–amazon dose not get a cut–Larry gets a bigger cut from a bigger pie.
There’s been no announcement yet on the Amazon website. But I’m sure they’ll have one as well if not tomorrow by the end of the week.
But I don’t have a Kindle…
Will we still be able to buy directly from Baen? If so will there be a difference in price? I’m sure users of non-kindle e-books want to know these details.
Yes, and yes. You can still buy from Baen, but eBook prices will be $6.99, $8.99, or $9.99. This is linked to the price of the paper editions. If only hardcovers are in print, as with David Weber’s novel A RISING THUNDER, the price is $9.99. If there is a trade paperback in print (a tp of ART goes on sale in Feb.), the price goes down to $8.99. If and when a mass market paperback hits the shelves, the price goes down to $6.99.
I’m a bit conflicted. I’m thrilled that the Baen authors are going to get more visibility from having ebooks on on Amazon, and that author’s royalties will increase. Not quite as thrilled at the price hikes, though. My book budget LOVED being able to buy the $6 ebook the same day the hardcover released. So, yay! and sigh…
You had the self-control to wait until the hardcover release? Sadly, Baen always gets me for EARC prices on my favorite authors…
Glad to hear your ebooks are going to be available to a much wider audience, and you’re getting more royalties out of the deal, Larry!
pretty sure that they wont kill off the webscriptions site. I certainly hope not. I’m not a kindle guy either, I dont buy my e-books from anyone but Baen.
Unless its not a title they carry of course.
No DRM? Awesome.
Gee, I thought the most frequent question you got asked was “Have the doctor’s finally found an antibiotic that will work on that ‘social disease’?”
I think Baen saw that while they were giving readers a great deal charging only $6.00 an ebook. At the same time they were doing the author’s a disservice denying them the same royalities that other authors were getting for ebooks at other publishers. I believe that they were concerned that they’re authors might jump ship to other publishers for better deals for their better ebook deals.
This deal keeps their authors happy and attracts talented new comers.
From what I’ve read, most publishers are really screwing over authors on e-book royalties. Some of the stories out there are pretty horrifying.
Baen’s direction seems to be pretty much the opposite of what other publishers are doing.
I’m glad this will increase readership but will probably still buy direct from Baen.
I’ll keep buying from Baen as well, but this will help out all the people who’ve never heard about Baen’s e-book store. I’m sure that, up until now, there were lots of people who’ve been wondering “Gee, why the heck doesn’t Baen publish any e-books?” The downside, of course, is that Baen had to tweak their prices to bring them inline with Amazon, but on the upside, this should be a nice boost in sales for all the authors who write under the Baen imprint.
And hey, if this move gets Larry plenty of sales to keep him happy-happy and well-stocked with guns and B-movies, I kinda have a hunch we’ll be seeing some more books from him 😉
Thank you very much for the informative article and additional links. I will share it with everyone I know.