As a writer, I admire J.K. Rowling. She has created a niche with a phenomenally successful series, and has subsequently written a book for another segment of the reading public. Well done! Chapeau! Bravo!
Though I browsed through some Harry Potter titles, I’ve not read any of them, and after checking a few snippets of The Casual Vacancy’s plot, I’ve decided to pass on this one too. But before anyone starts crying foul, let me add that this has nothing to do with quality of writing or the plot value. I just don’t like those genres.
I suppose every reader under the sun has his own peeves when it comes to reading matter, which is a good thing; otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a vast diversity of publications.
But as a consumer, I’m disgusted to learn that writers, publishers and retailers don’t give a damn about the product they sell, as long as the sheep out there (yours truly included) part with their fleece to stuff their already filled-to-burst mattresses.
Here’s the story so far:
The Casual Vacancy’s eBook was released to retailers September 26. The following morning, The Wall Street Journal reported that readers who had pre-ordered the title, downloaded to their devices an unreadable file plagued with formatting glitches.
Readers who pre-ordered J.K. Rowling’s new adult novel “The Casual Vacancy” eBook awoke to some issues Thursday. There were problems with “the adjustability of font color and size and adjustability of margins” across all e-book retailers including Amazon and Barnes & Noble BKS -1.24% according to Hachette Book Group’s Little, Brown.
The publisher was informed of the problems by retailers and consumers Thursday morning. Little, Brown subsequently provided a new, corrected file, and asked retailers to contact any consumers who had purchased the older version of the e-book prior to 3 p.m. and tell them to reload a new version. The spokeswoman said she didn’t know how many copies were affected.
Later in the day, the book publisher, Little, Brown, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, released the following statement:
“Yesterday the eBook file for The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling was released to all U.S. eBook retailers. There were issues with that file, including the adjustability of font color and size and adjustability of margins. As soon as Hachette was made aware of these issues, a replacement file was uploaded to all eBook retailers. Hachette has requested that each retailer contact their customers directly about reloading their eBook. Any consumer who purchased the eBook on Thursday, September 27, before approximately 3:00pm ET, who has not heard from their retailer, should contact them and request that their eBook be reloaded. No consumer should have to repurchase the eBook.”
A usual with corporate releases, the paragraph is patronizing and mendacious, without a shred of self-criticism.
There were issues with that file, including the adjustability of font color and size and adjustability of margins.
This is preposterous to say the least, and akin to admitting that hard copies consisting of blank pages have been shipped to readers who had already paid for their copy. There’s such a thing as quality control, rigidly enforced through contractual documents, which ensure that the printers are hold responsible for product quality. Likewise, eBook formatting requires the same quality controls. That a major publisher would release a product without testing it in all available e-readers is unbelievable. Whoever was responsible for the eBook conversion should be fired. (“Fired” brought to mind an image of a quiet dawn, a brick wall, and a bunch of riflemen, but I won’t get into that).
Next they follow with:
Hachette has requested that each retailer contact their customers directly about reloading their eBook.
I assume that Hachette included in such a request from retailers, some kind of economic compensation, since allocating personnel to launch and follow up the operation of replacing thousands of files costs money. Next, after hitting the retailers, they go for the sheep with the following beauty:
Any consumer who purchased the eBook on Thursday, September 27, before approximately 3:00pm ET, who has not heard from their retailer, should contact them and request that their eBook be reloaded.
Hang on a minute. Who pays the reader for his time? Here we have a situation where a reader downloads a file, say at noon on September 26, settles down to read and spends the next fifteen minutes cursing and messing about with buttons and tabs before discovering that the file is faulty. Next, the same reader must spend the best part of one hour wading through systems designed to sell, not to return goods, or lodge complaints. Not a word about reparation.
And to cap it all, there’s a closing sentence with a patronizing declaration, like Caesar bestowing baubles to the rabble:
No consumer should have to repurchase the eBook.
Uh? How dare you? Since when Trade Legislation would allow a manufacturer to charge twice for faulty goods?
The suggested retail price of The Casual Vacancy hardcover edition is $35, although it can be purchased at $20.90 on Amazon.
J.K. Rowling’s new eBook is $17.99 or $2.91 cheaper than the print edition. This paltry difference has provoked an avalanche of criticism among readers, as reflected in social haunts and blogs. It seems there’s a reason, however convoluted, for the hefty eBook price, as commented by Laura Hazard Owen in Paidcontent.
Why is the ebook edition of J.K. Rowling’s new novel, “The Casual Vacancy,” $17.99? Thank the fact that publisher Hachette is in a sweet spot between the ebook settlement’s approval and the time that it actually takes effect at non-Apple retailers.
Ms. Owen’s article offers a rare insight into the bilges of the publishing industry and deserves reading in its entirety but the fact remains that publishers show their contempt for readers by fleecing buyers on account of their internecine wars, while flaunting their supine incompetence by releasing substandard goods.
Mediabistrogives a measure of the frustration of readers quoting this review:
The publisher either didn’t bother doing any work at all to make sure that this ebook displayed well on kindles and nooks, or they willfully did a poor job, or they are too apathetic to care how one of the most anticipated novels of the past five years would look on ereader devices. The body font is extremely small, while chapter headings are proportionally much, much larger. On top of that the publisher choice for font can not be overridden! This is kf8 formatting at it’s worst. This is a slap in the face to ereaders.
I would add that the writer has a moral responsibility to ensure that the fruit of her labours reaches her readership in a shape susceptible to be used. To date, I’ve not heard Ms. Rowling publicly complain about her publisher’s incompetence and demand compensation for her readers. Likewise, though the onus of quality is with the publishers, retailers also have a duty to ensure that the product they ship in exchange for hard-earned money is of merchantable quality.
At the end we, the consumers, must foot the bill, suffer, and give away our time while the perennial incompetents continue in their posts to botch whatever passes through their grubby hands.
But as a consumer, I’m disgusted to learn that writers, publishers and retailers don’t give a damn about the product they sell, as long as the sheep out there (yours truly included) part with their fleece to stuff their already filled-to-burst mattresses.
The publisher was informed of the problems by retailers and consumers Thursday morning. Little, Brown subsequently provided a new, corrected file, and asked retailers to contact any consumers who had purchased the older version of the e-book prior to 3 p.m. and tell them to reload a new version. The spokeswoman said she didn’t know how many copies were affected.