The makers and holders of the dream

Unless it’s been out for a while, I don’t want my shiny new book-to-read to cost less than a candy bar. I don’t want this new idea, new world, new character that someone has worked on for a year of their life–to cost less than a burger and fries at Micky D’s.

I make no claims of understanding everything in the publication process, but one thing I do know well is how hard it is to create a world, bring a character to life, find a new idea, sacrifice (sometimes) family and health to see it to reality–and setting value on this endeavor according to how much it costs to print it (vs e-books)  just doesn’t seem right to my Kindergarden rule book. Printing is easy. It’s the stuff that goes before it that’s hard.

I love e-books. I think independent authors are among the bravest people I know. This isn’t about that. It’s about how we value the makers and holders of the dreams, no matter how they craft their vision.

Edit:

Because I’m often obtuse in my posts, I’m going to flat out say that I’m complaining about Amazon trying to force books that are created within the scope of a publishing house to adhere to the same price points as those created by independent authors who are not all paying for marketing, placement, cover artists, proofing, and the building to house these people, not just for their book, but all the books within the publishing house. Independent authors can afford to charge a lower price because they do not have these things. Indeed, they should be allowed to charge a lower price to garner the attention that they miss by not being associated with a big six publisher. But forcing those who _are_ paying for marketing, cover artists, proofing, ect, not just for their book, but others in the publishing house, is an unfair practice, and seems to me to be a sneaky way to try to say we are all alike, with the same needs, skills, and assets, when we are not.