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For much of this year, Amazon and the book publishing group Hachette were at what was called “war” by people who care a lot about words (i.e. publishing reporters and commentators) and therefore should know better. While the details of the months-long, and very public, dispute were never brought into direct sunlight, here is the gist of it: Amazon, the online “Everything Store” responsible for selling 41% of all new books in America, put pressure on Hachette, the company that publishes Malcolm Gladwell, Donna Tartt, and James Patterson (so by some estimates corners about a third of the American book market), to charge significantly less for ebooks.

[np_storybar title=”By the Book” link=””]Consider, as an example, the cost break down for a hardcover book with a retail price of $30.00:

✤ ~50% ($15)goes to the bookstore or wholesaler.

✤ ~10% ($3) of the list price goes toward author royalties, including the agent’s cut ($0.45 ish)

✤ That leaves the publisher with ~$12 to cover cost of the paper, printing, and binding (about $2.50).

✤ Out of the remaining $8.50 the publisher needs to pay the salary for the press’s managing editor, the book’s specific editor, the legal team, the sales team, the publicity and marketing team, the various costs related to registering the data that enables that book to be searchable and shelvable by libraries and booksellers, etc., etc., etc. These costs still apply for paperbacks, and for paperless books too.

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