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Comment by dgregd | Hacker News Reader

In my option, in e-book business, a company like Macmillan is unneeded middle-man. "unneeded" is probably too big word, I don't know publishing industry. But their added value to an e-book is much less than in case of printed books distributed via traditional sales channels.

In long term, economics is on Amazon side. Macmillan is loosing power so they play hardball to survive.

By analogy, think about Apple app store and developers. Developers do not need middle-man companies like Macmillan.

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Conversation snippet between publisher and author: "Hey, we haven't gotten the updates from you yet. Everything OK? Need some help? We really need to get this published, while you're still fresh in readers' minds from your last book."

Conversation snippet between Amazon and author: "Oh, you wrote a book? We'll let you know if anyone buys it."

There are a set of relationships and business practices in old publishing, and there are another set in new publishing. No one piece of either is enough to validate or invalidate the entirety of either set.

I would like publishers and editors to continue. I think we would not have had a lot of excellent books published by excellent authors who needed coddling; not all excellent authors are excellent self-starters and business people.

I like cheap books, but that doesn't mean I want to see a publishing world where Amazon can and does lay siege to publishers or anyone else.

Again, I like cheap books. But if Amazon wins the larger aspects of this conflict, the book business is going to be as free and open as the Apple device and media ecosystem.

[Edit: added "Apple" in last sentence. I wish I had an editor.]

Actually, as I think about this a little more, the logical conclusion of Amazon's efforts to control publishing is more Google-like than Apple-like, where an author will suddenly find his "self" published book removed from the Amazon store, and no more indication as to why than a vague reference to Terms and Conditions.

Of course I agree that publishers add value. I am saying just that proportions of how much each party gets, have to be changed for e-books.

App developer get 70%. Writer probably 10%, publisher probably 20%. And my question is if publisher work is still worth that much, actually more than writers work.

I don't see how Macmillan has a long-term future under their current business model. Arguably their best hope is to go into competition with Amazon and sell eBooks directly, at razor-thin margins. Technology is driving their margins down just like everybody else's; the only question is if Macmillan will be around (and lean) in ten years, or just a memory.

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