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Department of Uselessness?


Jay Rose

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My publisher has just released Producing Great Sound in a hardcover edition. Apparently the paperback been popular enough at film schools that their libraries are asking for more rugged versions.

The text is exactly the same as the paperback and Kindle editions, and it has the same online tutorials and diagnostic files. But it costs about 5x as much. (It's a very nice binding, and they kept the glossy cover photograph of G. John Garrett CAS holding a boom on the Alaskan tundra.)

 

I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's flattering, but textbooks are too expensive already. That's why I specified a reasonably priced paperback and electronic edition when we negotiated the contract. 

 

If you feel really compelled to buy the hardcover, I'd suggest you buy five copies of the paperback and give them to friends... unless you're a library or institution, and need the more rugged binding.

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I feel you.  I don't understand why the institutions don't buy more of the paperback either, esp since your book (since it is a great tool) is a serious candidate for being stolen from schools.  Schools sometimes justify their (illegal) copying of publications for exactly this reason--they are too expensive but their students desperately need them.

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2 hours ago, Jay Rose said:

It's flattering, but textbooks are too expensive already.

 

But isn't this just a library edition, as you say? I mean, your book is worth $195, but I'd figure schools will still order the paperback for their textbook stores and the librarians will be happy that your book isn't beaten back to pulp as most bigger paperbacks are...

https://www.routledge.com/Producing-Great-Sound-for-Film-and-Video-Expert-Tips-from-Preproduction/Rose/p/book/9780415722070

 

Or do you think some schools will foist the hardback onto students?

 

And anyway, I gave away another copy of your book, so I need to buy again. Got one of those frequent-buyer discount cards?  :-)

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1 hour ago, Jim Feeley said:

Got one of those frequent-buyer discount cards?  :-)

 

No, but since you're a frequent buyer and former editor, I'd be glad to give you free bloviating consultation on any sound problems that come up in your productions. Which, somehow, I don't think you'll have.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/4/2018 at 12:54 PM, Jim Feeley said:

 

 

 

Or do you think some schools will foist the hardback onto students?

 

If there is more money to be made by the publisher that way, then yes, they will do that. Nowadays publishers are also tying in online content to text books to combat the selling of used books. They'll make it so you have to purchase the book, and then there is online content that is required for a given class, and there is a pass key to use, which is only good once, so you can't re-sell the book, forcing students to purchase new books.

The college text book market is super seedy and after my freshman year of college I vowed to never spend money on a text book again and went to the library and just made copies of the sections from books I needed for class since all the info was in the course syllabus on what part of the books we needed. Saved my self literally thousands of dollars in three years of college doing that. That was before the whole online content thing.

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Thank you, Dutch. That's a great picture!

 

Dfisk, I had to provide online content with my book, but mostly because of Amazon. My previous books included a Redbook CD with tutorials and diagnostics, and then Amazon (with the publisher, but without telling me) decided to release a Kindle. No CD, no embedded audio files, nothing. And there are references to the tracks throughout each chapter.

 

So on this one, I put all the files on the web: hi-bit mp3 where appropriate, lossless APPL where needed. But I maintain the website, not the publisher. And the key for each directory is an easy-to-locate word or phrase from the relevant chapter... so it's usable whether the book is print or Kindle, new or used.

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