The copy of the Exam Review book in question was NOT purchased directly from
the publisher.
I'm on both (all) sides of this issue. I spent 10 years as a retail
bookseller doing online sales and sales exhibits at conferences. I also
published a few books as part of my retail business. I bought many textbooks
for my MPH program, and I buy every new lactation text as it is released.
I'm the author of 4 texts and chapters in other texts.
As a BOOKSELLER, I learned that it's MUCH better to deal directly with
publishers. It's in the publisher's best interest to please all its
customers - those individuals who buy directly from the publisher, and those
who buy in bulk (resellers). However, some resellers have been known to pass
off used books as new, delay filling orders (especially if they haven't paid
their bills to the source publisher on time), and other tactics. As a
PUBLISHER, I shipped books to resellers - only to have them tell customers
that the book was on backorder, out of print, or otherwise delay the sale;
and some resellers were notorious for delayed paying their invoices to me
for many months.
From an AUTHOR's perspective: Author's royalties are often tied to the
end-point sales source. When someone buys from a reseller, the author's
royalties are usually reduced. So as a customer, I might get a discount for
a textbook purchased from a reseller - and the author of that text will
suffer a slight loss of potential income. Authors put enormous amounts of
time, energy and expertise into their work. Even the best royalty
arrangements don't even come CLOSE to covering a textbook author's
investment in writing the book. (The same is NOT true for fiction books -
royalty rates are usually much higher.) All the texts that we use in this
field are written by people you probably know, and those people may be
relying on royalties for part of their livelihood. People who bought my
books from retail outlets have relayed many stories of getting the wrong
(outdated) edition, delay in their order, and more.
As a BUYER of textbooks, I prefer to buy directly from publishers because
I'll be sure to get the right book at a reasonable price with no "out of
stock" nonsense if the retailer goofs up. And I appreciate from first-hand
experience what goes into the creation of a textbook. The 5% discount I
might get from a retail outlet usually comes out of the author's next
royalty check, which I consider unfair. In my opinion, textbook authors are
worth far more than the full retail price I pay for their books.
Linda J. Smith, MPH, IBCLC, FACCE, FILCA Bright Future Lactation Resource
Centre Ltd.
6540 Cedarview Ct., Dayton OH 45459-1214 Ph 937-438-9458 / fax 937-438-3229
www.BFLRC.com
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