Finally, people are talking about what the actual value of a book is–and what the price should be — using real numbers and real math.  Motoko Rich broke it down in the New York Times on Sunday and it has generated quite the internet buzz these past few days.  Monday, Michael Kinsley and the Atlantic sunk their teeth into the issue, in both a serious and satirical manner, mocking the industry for its 2-martini lunches (but also adding a nice zing that a significant chuck of publisher income goes to paying employee health-care… but that’s another debate).

The Atlantic might have been right about the frivolous expenditures of bigger publishers up to a point (although much has changed since October 2008), but the independent presses that make up a small but growing percentage of the industry have much different overhead expenses.  We don’t have mega-blockbusters and mass-market paperbacks to keep us afloat–every book’s costs and profits matter to us, and our risks are even greater without corporate support.  So we really appreciate Motoko’s breakdown of the cost of a book vs. an ebook, however general it might be.  What I think is really important at this time is that this information gets out there so that consumers understand that we are not trying to screw them over.  We’re just trying to publish more books!

Publishing needs to come out from behind its curtain of tradition (although I promise you, as hard as some people might try, this is no version of Mad Men).  If people are going to be valuing our product and determining its future price, we need more transparency (something Macmillan’s John Sargent has clearly embraced).  But in all honesty, stop picking on publishing because of the e-book issue. Goldman and Bank of America are still reeling in large bonuses and taking clients out on the town.  Anna Wintour showed up to fashion week however elegantly and was not forced to cancel numerous trips abroad at a time when Conde Nast seems to be falling apart from the inside.

The Atlantic‘s article seems irrelevant when discussing the future of e-book pricing, but it does seem like a clear call for industry downsizing and reform, although the magazine does miss the point of many of those expenses.  True we need to cut back on the lunches (and maybe midtown-priced office space), but those parties we used to throw for book launches?  Now marketing dollars. The few parties that still happen?  Publicity stunts usually well worth it. That author tour? Marketing dollars in action. Sending high-level staff to Frankfurt?  How else would the industry make millions selling foreign rights?

The fixes that need to be made in the industry and price-setting are not issues to be conflated. Let’s focus on one or the author and not let those 2-martini lunches seem like the reason why e-books should be 12.99 instead of 9.99.  Do the math.