My husband has published two books through Random House. The first was co-authored and both are no longer being actively marketed by Random. They're selling well though and getting good attention from their niche market.
The first book may now be published as an ebook and Random want to do so using PDF which seems very insecure. Apparantly this is their first foray into the field and there are no global guidelines to help our local guy.
Has anyone been in a similar position?
We're happy to do the eBook thing but it seems that there is more involved than creating a big PDF and saying "go for it".
How do your encourage a publisher to be more professional?
Sarah
Posted on: 1:21 am on May 2, 2005
Storyman
PDFs can be quite secure, but it depends. The version that can be created using Acrobat Pro using a password isn't all that secure. On the other hand the PDF created using Adobe's secure system (it starts at a few thousand) is quite secure.
This conversation has been covered elsewhere in the forum, so you might want to do a search. From what I recall I posted a link to Adobe's site that covers the high end program.
Posted on: 3:35 am on May 2, 2005
sarahk
We've just discovered Random's online bookstore where they sell ebooks!
Presumably this book could be included into that bookstore, utilising their tools, and hey-presto, security is solved.
We can't understand why their guy down here has been telling us that no part of Random has ever produced an ebook and that this is "a first" with no precedent.
My question wasn't about the PDF but how to coax a "traditional" publishing house to work with you towards a sensible ebook solution.
Sarah
(Edited by sarahk at 4:36 pm on May 2, 2005)
Posted on: 4:35 am on May 2, 2005
Storyman
I'd have to wonder what this guy has to gain by playing dumb. It's that or he doesn't know his job. Either way he's someone to steer clear of.
At least with ebooks you aren't dogged with the buybacks that so many green authors eargerly agree to. (One editor told me that their company put the buy back clause into every new writer's contract because it was seldom question. Happily, they were also quick to to remove it when challenged.)
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