May

Should Paperback Books Come with a Free eBook?

book digital copy

When you look at the movie industry you always get the digital version for free when you buy the hard copy. When you buy a Blu-ray Disk it normally comes with a free digital edition for your computer, ditto with DVD Disks. Considering that eBooks are so popular, why is it that the leather bound tomes we have come to love are not accompanied by the digital version?

I think this idea would make a tremendous amount of sense. If you look at most tangible media goods, they always come with a digital copy. This digital copy allows you to watch the movie on your laptop when you travel or are within your network. There are many factors that make the digital copy of a DVD or Blu-ray disk worth it.

Amazon recently claimed at the beginning of the year that ebooks were destroying regular books at a ratio of 3:1. Even the New York Times now has a dedicated eBook section.

Many people often write to me and lament that they have a favorite book and in order to enjoy it on their e-reader they have to pay for the book again. While others say that when they purchase the real book and then pirate the ebook, they don’t feel bad.

I admit that the eBook industry is exploding and many factors of the evolving landscape bear striking similarities to the music industry growth in the last 15 years. Companies in the digital book age have the case studies done on how unprepared the music industry was for the digital revolution.

The ebook industry had a similar phenomenon to the music industry; many different formats of ebooks were developed, before one spontaneously became the default. Music came in 10 or 15 major formats at one point before everyone gravitated towards MP3′s as the industry standard. Perhaps the slow establishment of the ebook industry standard is hampering the book industry from giving the digital version away for free.

Speaking of eBook formats, four years ago many more were developed before the ePub version was settled on. We had formats such as LIT, LRF, OPF, AEH, FB2, DJVU, and tons more. When the ePub format became the leading format a few years ago you saw more companies dealing exclusively in it. This is why companies such as Borders, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and others sell the same ePub format, so it compatible with the maximum number of devices. The odd man out? Amazon, he is just a very BIG man.

Currently we are in a battle of formats, much akin to major battles of formats before the niche took off. You look at previous wars such as; Beta VS. VHS, MP3 vs Flac, Bluray VS. HD DVD. It was not until the battles were decided did the industries really grow and more companies supported the format.

In order for the free ebook digital copy to be included in the paperback or hardcover version, a single, universal format needs to be agreed upon and compatible with ANY e-reader.

As we mentioned, Amazon is the odd man out with its MOBI/AZW format that it uses to encrypt books to prevent piracy. The company seems to be coming around and might be getting into the business very soon at dealing with the ePub format. We broke the news a week ago that Amazon was telling many major publishing partners that they were switching to the ePub format very soon. They were doing this because they need to be more publisher and consumer friendly. Once Amazon does this, it will establish ePub as the defacto industry format for electronic books. Once this happens, we will hopefully see the electronic version of the book given away with the tangible version.

Lastly, I can see some positive benefits to including the digital version of the book along with the hard copy. For one, much akin to pre-orders for video games you can provide a key that would be redeemed either for the authors digital version but maybe a backlist title as well. In any case, giving the digital copy away for free would insure that survival of tangible books in the digital age. It would be better for the major chains to allow customers to come INTO the store and buy the hard copy and while their there to make impulse purchases.

What do you think?

Michael Kozlowski (1787 Posts)

Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about electronic readers and technology for the last four years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the Huffington Post, CNET and more. Michael frequently travels to international events such as IFA, Computex, CES, Book Expo and a myriad of others. If you have any questions about any of his articles, please send Michael Kozlowski an email to michael@goodereader.com

Categories : Commentary, E-Book News

Nicol
I’ve thought this all along, and I’m a published author, more than happy if buyers of my books could also have a free ebook version.
When I buy a CD, I can rip it to play on a portable music player, so I get both formats. I strongly agree that the same principle should apply to books. Trouble is, we can’t easily rip a book into digital format, and how would publishers package the digital copy? On a CD? That vastly increases publishing and distribution costs. By putting a unique serial number inside the book, enabling the buyer to activate a downloaded EPUB? Then what would stop people from going into book stores and copying down those numbers?
The only viable way I see to do it is from books ordered online, which would enable the seller to ship the book and send a link to a downloadable version. Which puts bricks-and-mortar stores at a greater disadvantage than ever. Not a good idea.
http://goodereader.com/blog/ Good E-Reader
Good point, but when people started buying digital music or pirating it more places like Virgin closed lots of stores, HMV, Sams Club and a ton of other music chains, not to mention independant companies that closed. You also look at Bloated book chains like Borders filing for bankruptcy. Its a sign of the times that digital books are selling more and more and stores are feeling the pinch.
http://thislamp.com Rick Mansfield
It makes sense to have both, but honestly, I generally don’t want print books anymore. But If I bought a package deal like this, could I legally give away or sell the print copy and keep the digital copy? This seems iffy at best. Obviously, it’s not legal to sell a CD if I plan on keeping the songs I ripped from it, right?
I’ve digitized a number of books myself by having the spines cut off and then scanning the pages. I then take a picture of the book to prove I had it, and then throw it away. I don’t want the physical copy anymore, but I know I couldn’t give it away to someone else.
http://billbobooks.blogspot.com Billbo196
I suppose the mechanics of providing the electronic copy of the book could be problematic. Music and DVDs have the advantage of packaging and shrink-wrap protecting either a memory stick or a code for a free download. Books are sold as-is: I don’t think that shrink-wrap, or even a sticker of some sort would be particularly effective in a brick-and-mortar book store.
http://twitter.com/HazelMKey Hazel Key
I do feel that going to a bookstore is a far more complete and tactile experience than downloading an ebook from the web. The two are not the same and I suspect that both have a sustainable market and can draw customers from the same source. Bookstores may perhaps become smaller and will need to be supported by a coffee shop etc. I hope I am right because the experience is something I would miss if it were to disappear; we are human after all.
Ebooks are a wonderful idea for a fast-moving world, but there are still plenty of us who look for something that operates at a relatively relaxed pace and involves interaction with real people.We are still human after all. And maybe we’re a group that’s growing, I don’t know.
Don’t get me wrong, I am writing an ebook myself and have a web site and blog too, I support ebooks wholeheartedly and hope and believe (as Maggie Thatcher used to say) that they will transform the publishing industry, putting power back in the hands of the individual, which is my dearest wish.
Laurin Wittig
Both the post and the comments seem to presuppose that the print version comes first. Some of us who have been traditionally published are choosing to break from publishers and bring both backlist and future original stories out digitally. My backlist books still have the pb edition available second hand so I have not created a paper version to go along with my new digital editions. Since neither I, nor my traditional publisher own those pb copies, there’s no way to include a free ebook with them. My future books will have something like a Createspace paper version available for those readers still attached to physical books. For those I can see offering a digital copy to accompany the paper copy, but the logistics of how to accomplish that would have to be worked out with multiple vendors.
Things are changing so fast in the publishing industry that I suspect by the time I get a new book ready to publish some of these questions (format, free e w/ paper book) will be decided. As both an author and a reader I’m enjoying the heck out of what’s going on in the market. More books, often better prices, no short shelf life, more time and more ways to discover books/authors — so far it’s all good for the consumers and the authors.
Pingback: Why ebooks need to be given away with the purchase of the paperback version | Ebooks on Crack
Lee
Good points, but an answer suggests itself hidden in your text: If an online retailer could supply a download link/code at point of purchase, surely a bricks and mortar retailer could too? Either on the receipt or on some other piece of paper.
Alternatively, at least one publisher has already come up with a rather destructive option: http://www.manning.com/ebookoffer/

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