Gizmoto offers a comparison between what they think are the actual costs of providing a book and an ebook. My experience in authoring textbooks has been that there are more costs than this. Products I have been associated with include heaving editing (someone who works closely with the author in “smoothing” the final product”, media (e.g., fees to photographers and graphic artists), lawyers (e.g., securing copyright releases for embedded images and other protected materials), and fees to external reviewers at several stages of the development process (money paid to course instructors to offer feedback to be considered by the author and editor). I would think the cumulative value of these services would be equal for both traditional and ebooks, but my point is that the costs listed here underestimate what goes into a product for the academic market. Of course, these costs do include the sales force that visit your office or provide access at national conferences or all of those free copies sent to instructors.
Hmm – similar analysis from the NYTimes.
