Comments on: The Challenges of My Legacy Computer and Legacy Content for Publishers http://www.clearcontent.com/blog/2007/01/21/the-challenges-of-my-legacy-computer-and-legacy-content-for-publishers/ Building Products that Teach People How to Use Technology Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:28:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: becfur http://www.clearcontent.com/blog/2007/01/21/the-challenges-of-my-legacy-computer-and-legacy-content-for-publishers/comment-page-1/#comment-15 becfur Fri, 02 Feb 2007 18:21:39 +0000 http://clearcontent.com/blog/?p=15#comment-15 I have posted this comment on wikert's site as well: clearcontent blogger states: "most books on Windows 98 were either out of print or hard to find..." yet Amazon lists many Win98 titles, gently-used books for less than a dollar (plus shipping). Given publishers' limited resources (production, editorial, marketing, infrastructure updates/support), the obvious need to stay head of competition by being at the forefront of new technologies, AND the limited number of users who will really need outdated info asap (ie, can't wait for a used book to ship from amazon, half.com, ebay etc) -- this idea doesn't make any sense to me. In terms of a third-party outfit that offered POD content, seems like the real money's to be made in red-hot content, not in using resources to aquire/support content on an outdated OS/technology like Win98. I have posted this comment on wikert’s site as well:

clearcontent blogger states:
“most books on Windows 98 were either out of print or hard to find…”

yet Amazon lists many Win98 titles, gently-used books for less than a dollar (plus shipping).

Given publishers’ limited resources (production, editorial, marketing, infrastructure updates/support), the obvious need to stay head of competition by being at the forefront of new technologies, AND the limited number of users who will really need outdated info asap (ie, can’t wait for a used book to ship from amazon, half.com, ebay etc) — this idea doesn’t make any sense to me.

In terms of a third-party outfit that offered POD content, seems like the real money’s to be made in red-hot content, not in using resources to aquire/support content on an outdated OS/technology like Win98.

]]> By: Michael A. Banks http://www.clearcontent.com/blog/2007/01/21/the-challenges-of-my-legacy-computer-and-legacy-content-for-publishers/comment-page-1/#comment-12 Michael A. Banks Tue, 23 Jan 2007 06:52:50 +0000 http://clearcontent.com/blog/?p=15#comment-12 Being an author of several of those books that still have value, I am loathe to just give them away. One book sold 192,000 copies. Another sold 8,000. Still another sold 62,000 copies. But I put as much into the book that sold 8,000 copies as the one that sold 192,000, so I would like to realize every bit of income from the book that sold only 8,000 copies.. Because of that and because of the fact that writing is my sole income, I am loathe to give away the text by just posting it on the Web for anyone to pick up. If there's a way to sell "obsolete" content, I'm for it. That may sound greedy, but I don't have another income, and I don't have a partner who supports me. I am always looking for reprint opportunities. There are more opportunities with my old science fiction stories--some of which have been reprinted four times--than with nonfiction. But I hold out hope for some of the nonfiction. At present I'm considering going through Google's program. (Any thoughts on that from anyone?) Perhaps here's an opportunity for a publisher to set up a sideline sponsoring the electronic or POD publication of, say, Win98 or old hardware guides (for which I do see a market). Is the "long tail" profit there for someone distributing such books in aggregate? Difficult to say. The publisher would have to be motivated in part by altrusim and the desire to see these works available. Something along the lines of Houghton-Mifflin publishing poetry at a loss. --Mike http://www.michaelabanks.com Addenda: Due to some experiences with plagiarism, I'm probably more skittish than most about making works available in easily copyable format--not that the incidents to which I allude involved work in electronic format. (Details in my blog.) Being an author of several of those books that still have value, I am loathe to just give them away. One book sold 192,000 copies. Another sold 8,000. Still another sold 62,000 copies. But I put as much into the book that sold 8,000 copies as the one that sold 192,000, so I would like to realize every bit of income from the book that sold only 8,000 copies.. Because of that and because of the fact that writing is my sole income, I am loathe to give away the text by just posting it on the Web for anyone to pick up.

If there’s a way to sell “obsolete” content, I’m for it. That may sound greedy, but I don’t have another income, and I don’t have a partner who supports me. I am always looking for reprint opportunities. There are more opportunities with my old science fiction stories–some of which have been reprinted four times–than with nonfiction. But I hold out hope for some of the nonfiction. At present I’m considering going through Google’s program. (Any thoughts on that from anyone?)

Perhaps here’s an opportunity for a publisher to set up a sideline sponsoring the electronic or POD publication of, say, Win98 or old hardware guides (for which I do see a market). Is the “long tail” profit there for someone distributing such books in aggregate? Difficult to say. The publisher would have to be motivated in part by altrusim and the desire to see these works available. Something along the lines of Houghton-Mifflin publishing poetry at a loss.
–Mike
http://www.michaelabanks.com
Addenda: Due to some experiences with plagiarism, I’m probably more skittish than most about making works available in easily copyable format–not that the incidents to which I allude involved work in electronic format. (Details in my blog.)

]]> By: Joe Wikert's Publishing 2020 Blog http://www.clearcontent.com/blog/2007/01/21/the-challenges-of-my-legacy-computer-and-legacy-content-for-publishers/comment-page-1/#comment-11 Joe Wikert's Publishing 2020 Blog Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:52:16 +0000 http://clearcontent.com/blog/?p=15#comment-11 <strong>Legacy Content</strong> Joel Fugazzotto offers some thoughts on his blog about what publishers and authors could do to make out-of-print and other legacy content available. This subject is also a subtopic within Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture, which I reviewed and recommende... Legacy Content

Joel Fugazzotto offers some thoughts on his blog about what publishers and authors could do to make out-of-print and other legacy content available. This subject is also a subtopic within Lawrence Lessig’s Free Culture, which I reviewed and recommende…

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