3 ms·

I'd love to see the stats about how many books purchases happen on Amazon because they're referred to from openlibrary.org (which has Amazon links on all pages)

by raybb 2y ago

I'd love to see the stats about how many books purchases happen on Amazon because they're referred to from openlibrary.org (which has Amazon links on all pages). I think the 1 hour loan available for so many books on IA feels pretty similar to standing in a bookstore and reading for a little while. You get an idea if the book is worth your time and if you really like it you'll probably want to buy it somewhere that you can easily annotate it and maybe even pass it on to the friend.

rolph 2y ago
"You get an idea if the book is worth your time" when this happens, it signifigantly raises the bar for authors and producers to deliver a desired quality rather than a spiffy promotional campaign for a pulp piece.
- wongarsu 2y ago
  A bar that the book industry always seemed happy with. The romantic view of "traditional publishing" contains a value chain that starts with a publisher selecting the best drafts sent to them, spending lots of time in a back and forth between editor and author to polish that draft, and ends with a bookseller who is an avid reader and can give personalized recommendations to every shopper. Of course in today's reality we have largely anonymous book stores, "bestseller" lists that are systematically manipulated, and publishers that lower their standards in the face of competition from self-publishing (both with cheaper book printing and online publishing). But providing books that are worth your time still seems to be one of the large selling-points of publishers.
boznz 2y ago
Send a Sample from amazon and other eBook suppliers is usually 10% of the book. Another unfortunate metric for modern authors as they now have to make something interesting happen in the first 10% rather than a slow character and plot build up.
- TeMPOraL 2y ago
  10% of the book is like, literally, one tenth of a book. There should be something happening in that span, at the very least some interesting buildup - otherwise, what's all this space used on?
  - dredmorbius 2y ago
    Neal Stephenson has entered the chat ... ;-)

by raybb 2y ago

rolph 2y ago

"You get an idea if the book is worth your time" when this happens, it signifigantly raises the bar for authors and producers to deliver a desired quality rather than a spiffy promotional campaign for a pulp piece.

wongarsu 2y ago
A bar that the book industry always seemed happy with. The romantic view of "traditional publishing" contains a value chain that starts with a publisher selecting the best drafts sent to them, spending lots of time in a back and forth between editor and author to polish that draft, and ends with a bookseller who is an avid reader and can give personalized recommendations to every shopper. Of course in today's reality we have largely anonymous book stores, "bestseller" lists that are systematically manipulated, and publishers that lower their standards in the face of competition from self-publishing (both with cheaper book printing and online publishing). But providing books that are worth your time still seems to be one of the large selling-points of publishers.

boznz 2y ago

Send a Sample from amazon and other eBook suppliers is usually 10% of the book. Another unfortunate metric for modern authors as they now have to make something interesting happen in the first 10% rather than a slow character and plot build up.

TeMPOraL 2y ago
10% of the book is like, literally, one tenth of a book. There should be something happening in that span, at the very least some interesting buildup - otherwise, what's all this space used on?
- dredmorbius 2y ago
  Neal Stephenson has entered the chat ... ;-)