tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post116094187407756691..comments2023-11-03T11:32:01.540+00:00Comments on Thought Experiments : The Blog: Pods, Blogs and BooksBryan Appleyardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-29058312881112537852009-08-19T13:00:19.399+00:002009-08-19T13:00:19.399+00:00Its very interesting and enjoyable.Its very interesting and enjoyable.cheap computershttp://www.electrocomputerwarehouse.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161161602017449362006-10-18T08:53:00.000+00:002006-10-18T08:53:00.000+00:00As a blogger, writer and publisher, I have publish...As a blogger, writer and publisher, I have published books traditionally and through POD. <BR/><BR/>I'm losing faith with POD at present because of costs.<BR/><BR/>e.g. Amazon demand 60% discount on a POD book that costs £3.66 to produce<BR/><BR/>I have to pay for the POD books to be delivered to me and then again to send them to Amazon and they only order one or two at a time<BR/><BR/>They pay Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161089853604487552006-10-17T12:57:00.000+00:002006-10-17T12:57:00.000+00:00Marydell and others have already said similar but ...Marydell and others have already said similar but I think this the major point the 'brave new world' vision of POD at Starbucks fails to take account of: that book-browsing (evaluating books by browsing the book's content) is still a major part of book-buying decisions, and that is very hard to replicate yet via the Internet or a terminal in Starbucks.<BR/><BR/><BR/>What do I mean? Well, not Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161054568480755542006-10-17T03:09:00.000+00:002006-10-17T03:09:00.000+00:00Bravo.Bravo.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161034539257517882006-10-16T21:35:00.000+00:002006-10-16T21:35:00.000+00:00And, on the subject of 'chick-lit', could I thank ...And, on the subject of 'chick-lit', could I thank Sheila for correcting all my misapprehensions of the genre by pointing out that it tackles, amongst other profound subjects, "career choices," and that it does so in a fashion which is in no way inferior to that employed by more "portentious" (sic) novels.Gordon McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09151162643523937086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161029823360244552006-10-16T20:17:00.000+00:002006-10-16T20:17:00.000+00:00A thousands amens to your complaints about chain b...A thousands amens to your complaints about chain bookshops. I recently posted thus when I read that Borders was planning to open a store in Dubai:<BR/><BR/><I>"It's a shame our friends in the UAE have had to wait so long for corporate-dictated shelving policies, aisles crowded with book-related products, severe understaffing, and polite, even perky employees who know zero about the products they Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161022444595886862006-10-16T18:14:00.000+00:002006-10-16T18:14:00.000+00:00There should definitely be something called Ballar...There should definitely be something called Ballard's Law, which states that: <BR/><BR/>Almost every time humans try to make things better with technology, they actually make things worse.<BR/><BR/>The case of digital photography and personal printing is a perfect, if minor, example. We each now pay much more, per photo, than we ever did before, now that we individually buy our own printers, Gordon McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09151162643523937086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161017834412428062006-10-16T16:57:00.000+00:002006-10-16T16:57:00.000+00:00Bryan,I've been told POD is a dirty word, not mean...Bryan,<BR/><BR/>I've been told POD is a dirty word, not meant to be uttered in polite society -- or perhaps muttered at all. And, just look at you! How many times did you type it? My goodness, you are a brave soul.<BR/><BR/>Okay, now that we all have to meet for a group confession (your article is everywhere on the web this morning!)... At least let me make the trip to the confessional worth it Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161012366822063702006-10-16T15:26:00.000+00:002006-10-16T15:26:00.000+00:00My Dearest Bryan,I think it is only fair (sniff) t...My Dearest Bryan,<BR/><BR/>I think it is only fair (sniff) that we let the reading public know MY version of our heartwrenching book affair: <BR/><BR/>http://riotlit.blogspot.com/2006/10/i-am-lazarus-come-from-dead.html<BR/><BR/>Yours truly,<BR/><BR/>Daniel Scott BuckAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161003594457520232006-10-16T12:59:00.000+00:002006-10-16T12:59:00.000+00:00Bryan, I am ordering up a lot of books from OUP at...Bryan, I am ordering up a lot of books from OUP at the moment, for my MA.. most of them are academic theology and history. Last week I got one which, like many of same, is POD. In the catalogue 5 years ago it was 25.00.. allow for inflation, call it £30. One copy, POD was EIGHTY THREE POUNDS and was so badly bound the pages fell out when I started to use it.<BR/> <BR/>Unless they bring POD down Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1161000723778991332006-10-16T12:12:00.000+00:002006-10-16T12:12:00.000+00:00How sad I am to learn that you ceased buying in te...How sad I am to learn that you ceased buying in terrestial bookshops long ago, you poor darling, you must have had a bad experience. Perhaps you could write an inspirational memoir on the subject. <BR/><BR/>Thankfully, many terrestial independent bookshops are far more pleasurable to visit than is suggested in your (high street) put-down article. <BR/><BR/>As a bookshop proprietor who works Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160995877602908852006-10-16T10:51:00.000+00:002006-10-16T10:51:00.000+00:00Can I just say: Not all bookshops are chain booksh...Can I just say: Not all bookshops are chain bookshops in the thrall of 'red top' publishing.<BR/><BR/>Secondly, as a bookseller, I am becoming daily more and more bemused by the torrent of crap being promoted by self-published authors, misguidedly benefiting from the new technology that allows for cheap yet presentable publishing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160993560289227082006-10-16T10:12:00.000+00:002006-10-16T10:12:00.000+00:00Hi BryanI've just read your comment piec e'A novel...Hi Bryan<BR/><BR/>I've just read your comment piec e'A novel use of technology' in this week's Sunday Times magazine. <BR/><BR/>Like you, I agree that the advent of POD is a good thing. <BR/><BR/>However I am deeply disturbed by the intellectual snobbery of your observation that the displays of bookshops contain nothing more than 'chick-lit, celeb pap and footballer's lives'.<BR/><BR/>It's Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160992524504462912006-10-16T09:55:00.000+00:002006-10-16T09:55:00.000+00:00I have just read with considerable interest your S...I have just read with considerable interest your Sunday Times article on Print on Demand technology. I also look forward to a seismic shift in publishing which will not only drive a coach and horses through the tyranny of bookshops and the incestuous practices of the conventional publishing houses, but will also empower new authors who will be able to publish directly to the reader. In future theAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160992124702367382006-10-16T09:48:00.000+00:002006-10-16T09:48:00.000+00:00Bryan , What a cracking article in todays ST. Than...Bryan , What a cracking article in todays ST. Thank you for all the web addresses....I am going straight to AbeBooks...I am sick of the greedy bookshops.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160987015470592972006-10-16T08:23:00.000+00:002006-10-16T08:23:00.000+00:00"A recent post of mine on Jeffrey Archer and Paris..."A recent post of mine on Jeffrey Archer and Paris Hilton received fewer hits than one on the use of metaphor by the American poet Wallace Stevens."<BR/><BR/>I find this, as I'm sure you do yourself, deeply disturbing. What's gone wrong with the kids of today?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160979146232424632006-10-16T06:12:00.000+00:002006-10-16T06:12:00.000+00:00I have just read your today's piece in the S.T. ...I have just read your today's piece in the S.T. By far and away the most incisive summing-up of the situation that I have come across --- "what oft was thought" etc. It is direct, angry, yet full of feeling for books. Thank you.<BR/> <BR/>I discovered a few years ago that I now hate going into bookshops. They have been the solace of my life since a boy, they have grown bigger, brighter and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160978693209939392006-10-16T06:04:00.000+00:002006-10-16T06:04:00.000+00:00Although I believe that bookbuying will undergo a ...Although I believe that bookbuying will undergo a revolution in the future, I think you underestimate how profitable POD really is. The reason why book-buying is still so popular on the high-street is that there are a lot of impatient book-buyers out there who would much rather walk away with a book immediately than have to wait for it to arrive in the post. Bookbuyers love browsing and thumbing Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160978080691984552006-10-16T05:54:00.000+00:002006-10-16T05:54:00.000+00:00Your article today is very interesting. I believe...Your article today is very interesting. I believe the internet is a huge benefit in all sorts of ways, and have been using Amazon and Abebooks for some time. The financial advantages of POD, as you outline, are indisputable. Your article fails to mention, however, one of the delights of a bookshop. What are the significant number of us who like to browse through the pages of books in a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160967204047460482006-10-16T02:53:00.000+00:002006-10-16T02:53:00.000+00:00Okay, my imagination is running wild (no need to c...Okay, my imagination is running wild (no need to comment on that), so I'm developing a business plan.<BR/> <BR/>An environmentally sound business model. There will be a separate entrance and exit to the Starbuck's, of course. On the way out, the paper cups and napkins will be dropped into a special machine that instantly recycles and produces the paper the books will be made out of. Perhaps 1 outAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160960609433791452006-10-16T01:03:00.000+00:002006-10-16T01:03:00.000+00:00You make such an excellent point, and I'm really s...You make such an excellent point, and I'm really surprised that it hasn't been made with such force before. In this spectacle of the Fall of Traditional Publishing, the bookstores have put on the expression of an hapless bystander, and I don't think they can wear that mask any longer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160959574296713612006-10-16T00:46:00.000+00:002006-10-16T00:46:00.000+00:00'POD will put power back where it belongs, with th...'POD will put power back where it belongs, with the publishers.'<BR/><BR/>I would rather POD put it back where it <I>really</I> belongs, with the authors.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1160951462724148782006-10-15T22:31:00.000+00:002006-10-15T22:31:00.000+00:00In your article, you mention that a lot of people ...In your article, you mention that a lot of people still enjoy browsing the bookstores. My local B&N and Borders are both filled with patrons sitting in plush chairs while flipping through pages. Part of book-buying, in a bookstore at least, is the shopping experience. Can POD possibly replicate that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com