Philip Morton's dashboard

Just posted some additional thoughts and questions regarding printer-friendly digital editions on our site: http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/announc...

Aileenf, selling a PDF version designed especially for printing is a very interesting suggestion. We'd need to take the version we send to the printer and at least remove all the toner-hungry design elements (e.g,. dark backgrounds found on our chapters' first pages). But it's feasible.

But is it something that many people are clamoring for? I'd love to hear more thoughts on this idea. Anyone else struggling with the same issue?

I take the point about Amazon's fees etc. And the digital version seems a pretty good solution.

However, I am inclined to print out digital books, for ease of reference, reading away from the computer, etc. And, while the appoach of optimising the digital version for on-screen use is great.... for on-screen use.... the 374 pages make it a bit prohibitive to print out....

Maybe there could be alternative (screen and print) digital versions.... maybe we could choose when ordering or maybe you'd be kind enough to supply both to a "digital" customer.....?

Hi Philip, we'd love to be there. But... publishers are being crushed by middlemen and retailers, including Amazon, which require 55%-70% of the list price of the books you purchase. That's why we opt to sell through two chief channels: directly (where for the same price as the paperback you'd purchase on Amazon, we'll also provide you with the book's digital edition), and via Amazon's Marketplace program, which charges a much smaller commission to publishers (enabling us to stay in business).

Unfortunately, because we don't participate in Amazon's standard Advantage program (at a 55% clip), they won't list us in Amazon.uk or other non-US Amazon stores.

One reason we sell a digital edition (again, directly at http://rosenfeldmedia.com) is to cater to customers who understandably don't want to pay shipping fees. Our digital books have been designed and tested for on-screen use, but of course you can print them too.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. We're open to exploring different sales channels, but at this point, I have a hard time seeing how we can offer the value we do and be a viable business with a different approach.