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2010年1月23日 星期六
2010年1月20日 星期三
Amazon's New Plan for eBooks: 70% Cut For Publishers, $10 Max Price
Amazon's finally got some competition—and may be about to geteven more—so they're doing everything they can to stay competitive, and to keep publishers happy. This means higher revenue cuts, but also new rules.Interesting rules.
The new system works like this: If they elect to publish under this new program, publishers are entitled to 70% of a books sale price, minus delivery costs, at $0.15/MB. (Amazon says the average book size now is about 368k, which would cost six cents to deliver). This is practically an inversion of their current scheme which saw publishers getting less than half of the book's sale price, so on the surface this is a very good thing.
Amazon's finally got some competition—and may be about to geteven more—so they're doing everything they can to stay competitive, and to keep publishers happy. This means higher revenue cuts, but also new rules.Interesting rules.
The new system works like this: If they elect to publish under this new program, publishers are entitled to 70% of a books sale price, minus delivery costs, at $0.15/MB. (Amazon says the average book size now is about 368k, which would cost six cents to deliver). This is practically an inversion of their current scheme which saw publishers getting less than half of the book's sale price, so on the surface this is a very good thing.
So why would Amazon suddenly offer this plan? The answer's in the fine print:
• The author or publisher-supplied list price must be between $2.99 and $9.99
• This list price must be at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the physical book
• The title is made available for sale in all geographies for which the author or publisher has rights
• The title will be included in a broad set of features in the Kindle Store, such as text-to-speech. This list of features will grow over time as Amazon continues to add more functionality to Kindle and the Kindle Store.
• Under this royalty option, books must be offered at or below price parity with competition, including physical book prices. Amazon will provide tools to automate that process, and the 70 percent royalty will be calculated off the sales price.
So Amazon's willing to cut you a better deal on your books if and only if you undercut your physical copies (DIE BOOKS DIE), let Amazon sell it with text to speech or whatever other presentation techs Amazon might come up with later, and you conform to Amazon's vision of $10-or-less prices for all ebooks. Larger publishers already follow these rules most of the time, and often negotiate their individual deals behind closed doors, so this plan may be directed at smaller companies, but should be available to all.
It's ballsy, and a little iTunesy, and in the end, the announcement makes a lot of sense—as does its timing, just days before Apple may or may not announce their entry into ebookery, which could be accompanied by an ebook store of its own.
Amazon's new revenue scheme will be available starting in June, alongside their current DTP program. [Amazon]
So Amazon's willing to cut you a better deal on your books if and only if you undercut your physical copies (DIE BOOKS DIE), let Amazon sell it with text to speech or whatever other presentation techs Amazon might come up with later, and you conform to Amazon's vision of $10-or-less prices for all ebooks. Larger publishers already follow these rules most of the time, and often negotiate their individual deals behind closed doors, so this plan may be directed at smaller companies, but should be available to all.
It's ballsy, and a little iTunesy, and in the end, the announcement makes a lot of sense—as does its timing, just days before Apple may or may not announce their entry into ebookery, which could be accompanied by an ebook store of its own.
Amazon's new revenue scheme will be available starting in June, alongside their current DTP program. [Amazon]
2010年1月11日 星期一
Chi Lin Nunnery: Post-holiday detox, body and karma | CNNGo.com
A walk around the serene grounds of the nunnery completed by a meal at the reknowned Buddhist restaurant will restore order to our physical, mental and spiritual landscape..Checking into a nunnery might sound a bit drastic as part of a post-holiday detox, but the Chi Lin Nunnery turns out to be literally a walk in the park.
The Tang dynasty architecture of the nunnery built in the 1990s and its gorgeous Chinese garden are an oasis in the middle of Diamond Hill's urban desert. The densely packed buildings of the neighborhood suddenly give way to the nunnery grounds, its greenery, flora, and mahogany buildings shining like well-thumbed prayer beads amongst the drab grey high-rises.
Chi Lin's 3.5 hectares are Hong Kong's most tranquil setting for a long solitary walk while contemplating your self-improvement program for the coming year. The reputable Buddhist vegetarian restaurant serves Chinese vegetarian food, such as vegetarian dim sum, mock meats, and, of course, plenty of tofu. The dishes are known for being less greasy than the usual Chinese vegetarian fare and are accompanied by serene views of a waterfall.
Detox is rarely this easy or yummy, and certainly never quite as culturally immersive.
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