Books Are Not Remotely Too Expensive(millersbookreview.com) |
Books Are Not Remotely Too Expensive(millersbookreview.com) |
Yes we know, games and books are cheaper today when adjusted for inflation (along with stuff like phones, TVs, washing machines, etc) but you know what isn't cheaper? Everything else that's necessary for living: housing, bills, healthcare, education.
So when people today have way less disposable income at the end of the month due to the massive CoL increases, they're not gonna be swayed to buy your books or games, with the argument that when adjusted for inflation they actually cost less than in the past.
So the game and book publishers need to adapt to the new economic realities of their customers if they want to survive. You can't argue them into buying your stuff via inflation arguments, if they have less money.
Less of an issue with gaming that's self regulating now via massive losses of AAA studios and a surge of indie games but IIRC book publishing is more complex.
Normally, free market competition should fix this, but the problem is, unlike the race to the bottom TVs and washing machines, book publishing isn't always a free market but more of a cartel run by a few mafia monopolies and interest groups.
From the article:
> Don’t blame books for being too expensive. Everything else is more expensive, and that’s why you can’t afford books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbook#Market
> In the United States, the largest textbook publishers are [four companies]. Together they control 90% of market revenue
> Harvard economics chair James K. Stock has stated that new editions are often not about significant improvements to the content. "New editions are to a considerable extent simply another tool used by publishers and textbook authors to maintain their revenue stream, that is, to keep up prices."
> the primary factor contributing to increases in the price of textbooks has been the increased investment publishers have made in [bundled supplements e.g. one-time-use codes for a website] [...] the publishers' practice of packaging supplements with a textbook to sell as one unit limits the opportunity students have to purchase less expensive used books
Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals: A Cookbook by Melissa Clark. It costs $15 rn. Even at $30, it’s worth the money. Why?
It’s one of the most recommended cooking books for beginners, it teaches you how to feed yourself in a simple and efficient way (one-pot or one-sheet pan or skillet or casserole dish or bowl) in a world where time has actually the most value.
It helps you to save money, and time, as you will eat less takeout, you have more control over what quality of food you actually eat, it teaches you concepts to cook dinner way beyond the hundred recipes provided, and as long as you have one pot or one sheet pan or skillet or casserole dish or bowl, you can make use of the knowledge from that book right away.
It provides actual value and a ROI that will pay back the price of the book in tasty, quick, and mostly healthy meals in no time.
The Idea Machine, on the other hand, is a luxury item. It’s the same justification perfume makers will tell you their $2 perfume is actually worth $150.
The real-world value in reading The Idea Machine is actually close to zero. Never ever did someone ask me to explain to them the concepts in there you pay $34.95 to read for.
You can’t eat the book or knowledge about the history of books. When was the last time you tried to impress someone at a party with your book knowledge about books?
Maybe in social settings where people buy monocles, but if you have monocle money, you will not even notice the dent it makes in your BlackRock portfolio.
So some books are worth the money, others are luxury items. This guy is just trying to justify his own book’s existence at $34.95, which, considered the real value of the book to the majority of humans out there, is too expensive. Not having this printed and the resources used for it, would get it closer to the value of what is written inside.
Just because the market is flooded with paperback "shit knowledge" at $30+ doesn’t justify most of that being even worth printing, or even trying to sell it at a premium. The price justifies the cost, but not the value.
But that goes for most luxury items produced by entitled people who think what they produce is revolutionary.
But if you do have the means, drop the author some bucks for their work. And I can assure you, it's a lot of work. My tip jar doesn't get a lot of action, but when it does, I'm very appreciative. Here's someone who appreciated the work enough to drop me a few dollars for my labors when they didn't even have to.
https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP/
The above is another example I appreciate: the authors charge for physical copies and complete documents but generally make the work content available for free. I've bought a physical copy in that case because I really valued the work.
I read a lot on my old Kindles, had a gen 1 and gen 2, it was easier than on a computer but still not the same experience as a book. Years later I had read many books on Kindle that I'd mention to people and... I could never let them borrow them, having physical copies also lets you share your favourite books to people you like.
I get that many people will probably loose their jobs, but they need to adapt rather then defend a dying industry. Paper books must remain for high end editions of classics or very high demand books (category which in time coincide with classics).
Other books should be digital first, which is the most efficient medium for discovering new books by new authors, and cut costs by those authors who can easily self publish. Publishers should innovate in this direction, not by publishing thousand of crap books yearly (both in quality of paper etc. and content itself).