How to get me to never read your book

To the OP:

I've also had this happen to me. I've come across a few books I've been wanting to read and they're not available in ebook format. So I skip it and buy something else. So yes, they miss out on a sale.

I mostly read ebooks now because I never have the chance to make it to the bookstore or library. And when I do, I have 3 kids in tow, so I usually forget to think about the things I'd like to read. So ebooks are the natural choice for me. If I didn't have a kindle/iPad, I can guarantee that I wouldn't read as much as I do now.

However, a book not being available on the kindle won't stop me from buying it in another form. I've been wanting to read a really well known book for a long time that wasn't available in ebook. (it just came out a few years ago.) I moved on, but I still wanted to read that book. Finally, I broke down and slipped in to B&N one night just before they closed and picked it up. And I'm so glad I did. If the ebook was available I would have read it much sooner...but I did read it.

The first book in my current series had an e-version available at the same time the hardcover came out, but the second in the series didn't due to an oversight. It was several months before anyone realized it (I noted it but figured it was a conscious decision by the publisher when in fact it wasn't.) But interestingly, the hardcover sales on that second book were much higher than the first. So it may be a sound business decision not to release an e-version right away (though I realize the increased hardcover sales for book #2 may have been unrelated to the e-book issue, too--who knows?)
Beth

I say, if you want it bad enough, you'll buy it in hardback. If not, bookmark it, write in on your calendar, and check back monthly to see if it's been released on e-book. Contact the author if its such a big deal to you and I'm sure they'll have SOME sort of answer for you.
But, what about the opposite way then? When an author ONLY releases a e-book? What about those of us that don't have digital readers and can't constantly lug about our computers? Should I boycott that publisher/author just because of this? While I understand your disappointment, it's pretty sad to get angry about it.

I'm not certain I follow the outrage here. If I may make a rather lame comparison, this would be like me vowing to boycott Warner Brothers because I can't purchase THE DARK KNIGHT on DVD the same day the movie comes out in theaters. Does that mean Warner doesn't care about the DVD market? Not at all. Are they optimizing profits? Probably.

Publishers do the same thing. They release a hardback, then some time down the road, they go to paperback (while it happens, it's rare that the hardback and paperback come out on the same day) --- and sometimes the e-version will be held until the paperback comes out or even later. Other times, the e-book DOES come out at the same time as the hardback. It can vary.

But just because it doesn't doesn't mean the publisher "doesn't care" about e-book readers. Lots can go on behind the scenes, and I think it's fairly lame to malign and boycott either the author OR the publisher for these decisions when we don't know why there's a gap between the hardcover and e-book. Heck, I'm STILL waiting for my first book to come out electronically, and it was published three years ago. Did I want it out earlier than that? You bet. But like Toothpaste, I'm backlisted, so it takes time. (It comes out in paperback and e-book on the same day in November. Finally.)

Anyway. I'm just not sure I can follow the moral outrage. Books get published in different formats on different schedules. It happens.

I don't want to buy the hardback either, nine times out of ten; I'll wait for paperback. And if I can wait for paperback, surely you can wait for the e-version?

Sunnyside, I've just read your siggy. My sister is a huge fan of Jim Henson, can't wait to get a hold of that book.

Is it being published in the UK, or will I have to order from Amazon.com?

Thanks, Gothic! I don't wanna derail the thread, so I've sent you a PM.

(And I realize, of course, that by posting this, I've already derailed the thread, so no pointing out the irony. As you were....)