5 ms·

I would love if they offered a download option for a file you could just upload to Lulu (or similar service) to have it printed and mailed to you. Every time I

I would love if they offered a download option for a file you could just upload to Lulu (or similar service) to have it printed and mailed to you. Every time I buy one of these public domain books from Amazon, they are invariably shitty, low-quality "printed by Amazon" versions. I miss the time where you could get a high-quality hardcover, but more and more those seem reserved only for the current week's NYT best-seller books.

moonchild 3y ago
Lulu does not make 'high-quality hardcovers'.
dimmke 3y ago
This could be a cool monetization strategy. I don't really read physical books, but the "classics" on Amazon are often complete ripoffs. Here's Crime and Punishment for $10 just to get the Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/Punishment-Penguin-Classics-Fyodor-Dostoyevsky/dp/0140449132/ https://www.amazon.com/Punishment-Penguin-Classics-Fyodor-Do... I feel like these open domain novels published by big publishing houses have the veneer of legitimacy, but projects like the one this thread is about I think could accomplish much more. Especially for authors where the work is translated into English. Plus the cover designs are much cooler. I will say, the search on their website is kind of slow and could use some work.
- zuminator 3y ago
  In fairness though, if you sort by price, you can always find classics on Amazon for dirt cheap. E.g. https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Works-Dostoyevsky-Punishment-Underground-ebook/dp/B00J0647OA https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Works-Dostoyevsky-Punishment... Although there's no saying as to whether or not they will have proper spellcheck, TOC, if they are legitimately in the public domain, or even if it's the right book with all the pages. That's where a service like Standard Ebooks is superior to the potluck you get from Amazon.
- smogcutter 3y ago
  Not the greatest example, as the translation is not public domain.
- paulcole 3y ago
  Why is that book a ripoff?
  - cxr 3y ago
    Without discounting the point made by smogcutter about Penguin's edition not actually being public domain: for a classic work, I'd expect to be able to get a paperback for less than $10.* And that involves a real-life physical artifact which (a) necessarily has lower margins than an ebook, and (b) doesn't come with the omnipresent threat that it will evaporate from your device (or your managed online locker or whatever), nor that you'll have to stop reading if your battery dies, nor that you're unable to easily hand it to someone else to let them thumb through or borrow it. For an ebook, $3 or $4 sounds about right. Maybe $5 for a relatively modern translation, as in the case here. Recall that Netflix in comparison is $X per month (fill this is in; I don't actually know, but I know the number is not high) and libraries are free-ish. Price points at or around $10 per work or more feel like a shameless ploy to trigger the sensation of "economy" in "false economy" and push people into rent-seeking platforms where they consistently hand over a continual stream of monthly payments in perpetuity for "unlimited" access—to select items within the very limited one month term that the payment gets you. * NB: whether this is actually the case or not is a separate matter
    - dimmke 3y ago
      Yes basically. I understand if a publisher commissioned a translation and put in work but $10 for a DRM digital copy is too steep. Maybe $3-$4 would be reasonable? Crime and Punishment was written in the 1800s, the author is long dead. And it's considered a historic and important piece of literature. Regardless, it's great that these works are available in high quality for free.
      - paulcole 3y ago
        If it was $3 would you buy it today?
        3y ago
acabal 3y ago
I've considered running a campaign to finance a print run of some of our (SE's) books. But the fact is that it's just so easy to find super cheap paper copies of these books almost anywhere. As long as you buy a copy that was printed before, say, 2005 - or from a reputable publisher like Oxford or Penguin - then the edition will already be pro quality. (After that, it's much more likely that you're buying a print-on-demand copy of a raw Project Gutenberg text.) If we did offer print books, I think the value-add would be making them extremely ornate, one-of-a-kind editions like Arion Press or Folio Society make, and we'd charge a lot for a copy. But even then I'm still not sure the juice would be worth the squeeze, because that's also been done to death... how many more fancy editions of Dracula or whatever does the world need?
- zopa 3y ago
  I think you might be underestimating the value-add---at least based on the existence of this thread! Yes quality copies are out there, but easy to find for the Editor-in-Chief of Standard Ebooks doesn't mean easy for everyone. I suspect plenty of people would find a trusted, no hassle source for a quality print copy worthwhile, just for the simplicity and convenience. Though I totally respect not wanting to waste ink and kill trees reprinting something that's already widely available.
  - acabal 3y ago
    Folio Society basically already does this, at a premium price. Used copies of well-set PD classics from respected publishers like Franklin Library or Modern Library go for pennies and can be shipped to your door fron places like Abebooks, or you can easily find them at your nearby library sale/used bookstore/charity shop/etc. I've been toying with the idea for a while but I think the market is just too saturated, even for premium editions. Maybe the focus should be on reviving more obscure works... not sure.

moonchild 3y ago

Lulu does not make 'high-quality hardcovers'.

dimmke 3y ago

This could be a cool monetization strategy. I don't really read physical books, but the "classics" on Amazon are often complete ripoffs. Here's Crime and Punishment for $10 just to get the Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/Punishment-Penguin-Classics-Fyodor-Dostoyevsky/dp/0140449132/ https://www.amazon.com/Punishment-Penguin-Classics-Fyodor-Do... I feel like these open domain novels published by big publishing houses have the veneer of legitimacy, but projects like the one this thread is about I think could accomplish much more. Especially for authors where the work is translated into English. Plus the cover designs are much cooler. I will say, the search on their website is kind of slow and could use some work.

zuminator 3y ago
In fairness though, if you sort by price, you can always find classics on Amazon for dirt cheap. E.g. https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Works-Dostoyevsky-Punishment-Underground-ebook/dp/B00J0647OA https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Works-Dostoyevsky-Punishment... Although there's no saying as to whether or not they will have proper spellcheck, TOC, if they are legitimately in the public domain, or even if it's the right book with all the pages. That's where a service like Standard Ebooks is superior to the potluck you get from Amazon.
smogcutter 3y ago
Not the greatest example, as the translation is not public domain.
paulcole 3y ago
Why is that book a ripoff?
- cxr 3y ago
  Without discounting the point made by smogcutter about Penguin's edition not actually being public domain: for a classic work, I'd expect to be able to get a paperback for less than $10.* And that involves a real-life physical artifact which (a) necessarily has lower margins than an ebook, and (b) doesn't come with the omnipresent threat that it will evaporate from your device (or your managed online locker or whatever), nor that you'll have to stop reading if your battery dies, nor that you're unable to easily hand it to someone else to let them thumb through or borrow it. For an ebook, $3 or $4 sounds about right. Maybe $5 for a relatively modern translation, as in the case here. Recall that Netflix in comparison is $X per month (fill this is in; I don't actually know, but I know the number is not high) and libraries are free-ish. Price points at or around $10 per work or more feel like a shameless ploy to trigger the sensation of "economy" in "false economy" and push people into rent-seeking platforms where they consistently hand over a continual stream of monthly payments in perpetuity for "unlimited" access—to select items within the very limited one month term that the payment gets you. * NB: whether this is actually the case or not is a separate matter
  - dimmke 3y ago
    Yes basically. I understand if a publisher commissioned a translation and put in work but $10 for a DRM digital copy is too steep. Maybe $3-$4 would be reasonable? Crime and Punishment was written in the 1800s, the author is long dead. And it's considered a historic and important piece of literature. Regardless, it's great that these works are available in high quality for free.
    - paulcole 3y ago
      If it was $3 would you buy it today?
      - 3y ago

acabal 3y ago

I've considered running a campaign to finance a print run of some of our (SE's) books. But the fact is that it's just so easy to find super cheap paper copies of these books almost anywhere. As long as you buy a copy that was printed before, say, 2005 - or from a reputable publisher like Oxford or Penguin - then the edition will already be pro quality. (After that, it's much more likely that you're buying a print-on-demand copy of a raw Project Gutenberg text.) If we did offer print books, I think the value-add would be making them extremely ornate, one-of-a-kind editions like Arion Press or Folio Society make, and we'd charge a lot for a copy. But even then I'm still not sure the juice would be worth the squeeze, because that's also been done to death... how many more fancy editions of Dracula or whatever does the world need?

zopa 3y ago
I think you might be underestimating the value-add---at least based on the existence of this thread! Yes quality copies are out there, but easy to find for the Editor-in-Chief of Standard Ebooks doesn't mean easy for everyone. I suspect plenty of people would find a trusted, no hassle source for a quality print copy worthwhile, just for the simplicity and convenience. Though I totally respect not wanting to waste ink and kill trees reprinting something that's already widely available.
- acabal 3y ago
  Folio Society basically already does this, at a premium price. Used copies of well-set PD classics from respected publishers like Franklin Library or Modern Library go for pennies and can be shipped to your door fron places like Abebooks, or you can easily find them at your nearby library sale/used bookstore/charity shop/etc. I've been toying with the idea for a while but I think the market is just too saturated, even for premium editions. Maybe the focus should be on reviving more obscure works... not sure.