shoobeedoo wrote:
I would also reserve the right to refuse distribution to a book that I consider inappropriate. There are many possible reasons, such as poor quality (spelling, grammar, layout, etc.) as well as politically or racially offensive material (among others).
So you reserve the right to censor material in you shop. Why should you decide on how I spell things or whatmy house grammar style should be? Huckelberry Finn is racially offensive to some - does that get approved? Who approves and why? we should know these things.
As far as I know, refusing to distribute a title is not censorship. Censorship would be if, as a distributor, I altered or selectively removed parts of the material that was passed to me for submission.
Distribution companies are well within their rights to refuse to distribute a particular item, and I don't believe they even owe anyone a reason for the refusal. The only case I can think of where such refusal might be illegal is if it were to be caught under common law, such as antidiscrimination or antitrust legislation.
As a distributor, I have the right to refuse to distribute something I deem inappropriate. For example, if I am a distributor of electrical appliances and I'm approached by a company that produces (in my opinion) inferior electrical appliances, I'm at liberty to say "thanks, but I'm not interested in distributing your products."
Similarly, as a book store owner, I'm at liberty to choose not to publish titles that I deem inappropriate to the nature of my business. For example, there are plenty of book stores that do not sell novels, but exclusively specialize on particular lines, such as technical manuals. And, even then, these book stores are perfectly within their rights to refuse stocking an item that they deem inappropriate, such as a book with poor-quality binding or inaccurate information.
Apple's slow review process is not censorship, as far as I can see.
Apple are not the publisher - they are the distributor. A Christian or Islamic bookshop put that title over the door so we all know what to expect inside. Ipad should be a free platform for content. I have no problem with checjking for bugs and viruses to keep the walled garden safe, but if we are going to have a walled garden of opinion too, then I think we should be told what to expect insie that garden.
I too believe that a level playing field is desirable, and I am generally opposed to censorship. However, I do not see how what Apple is doing could be construed as censorship.
I strongly agree with you that it would be good to have more information on the conditions for rejection/approval. The currently available information from Apple is not detailed enough, IMO. More detailed information would make it easier for authors/publishers to avoid the kinds of problems that lead to rejection, and it would streamly the slow process.
My main gripe in the video is exactly that
The problem is that the submission and review process are slow and insufficiently documented, and that the trouble ticketing system is less than helpful in pointing publishers at the nature of a problem when one is found.
and that is why publishers will get bored - go somewhere else and let iBooks rot on the vine as Mac Os did in the 90's. Kindle will be just as good very soon and you can get your book earning in under three hours. How can I write iBook material that is time sensitive when I don't know if it will be published in time because a reviewer, who works for a software company, who only really care about syntax, decides I spelt something rong.
These are all good points, especially the very large time discrepancy between the Apple and the Amazon publishing process. I expect that Apple will improve the process if enough people complain. Or alternatively, if Apple doesn't improve the process, authors may vote with their feet and, as you say, the iBookstore experiment may turn out to be an "also-ran."
I love the iPad and I want iBooks to succeed, but this is not the way to ensure a rosy future.
I agree that the current process needs a lot of work. But I think it's too early to predict the failure of Apple's approach. The entire eBook thing is very new, and we are roughly at the stage where the web was in 1999. IMO, it'll take another five to ten years for this market and the technology to stabilize to the point where authors, publishers, and distributors have worked out a model that works.
For Apple, the current model seems to be "sell as many iPads as possible on the strength of the iBookstore." They may just succeed at that. Apple became the world's largest music distributor, and they may become the world's largest distributor of eBooks, too. Time will tell.
Michi.
