Ebooks need to cost more than 99 cents

Originally this post was meant simply as a rant on Facebook, but it grew into several paragraphs.  I am not an overly wordy person so this is an exceptionally long analysis of my thoughts on raising the price of an ebook from a measly 99 cents to something respectable, perhaps $4.99 or even $9.99.  I often see coworkers come into the office with a coffee cup from one of the many baristas.  Asking them how much the cup was I am astounded that many will say $4 or more.  Why is it that its so easy for a consumer to pay that much money for a single cup of coffee, but it is so hard for them to pay more than 99 cents for an ebook?

I got a check in the mail today for V&V modules I wrote in the 80s. I make more money through 30 year old game books than I do with my ebooks on Amazon. I truly can’t see a future for small authors on Amazon or other digital services if they can’t sell their books for more.

Amazon (and others) take 70% of the price of the book. So if I am forced to sell my book for 99 cents (which seems to be the current demand from consumers) I make 29 cents for each book.

A book is not just the creation of one person, but a collaboration of many. Although I am the author,I am often required to pay for a book cover and most importantly an editor. Again, most of these people want their money up front and usually costs hundreds of dollars.

So just putting a book up on Amazon costs the indie author perhaps $1000. I would have to sell 4000 books before I would see even a penny. Most indie authors sell half that much on a great book.

EVEn MMOre: Issue 4

Another issue of Even More is upon us. This last week has been instrumental and galactic shattering for both my characters but also for the game Eve Online. The big news for me is that I have parked my retriever and now sit in a shiny mackinaw ore ship.  This week I finally finished up my last skill I needed to pilot this massive ore harvester and have been wreaking havoc on the mining fields. To use this mighty vessel requires learning Mining IV, Science IV, Astrogeology V, Industry V, Spaceship Command IV, and finally the key skill of Exhumers I. I had learned all of these skills, saving the longest and least useable for me until the last: Industry V.

Shalimar and Dag, using the Foreman skill, work well together. Each gains about 4% extra yield partnering together. Dag is still in his retriever as he is a bit behind Shalimar in learning. I also discovered that I can often make as much money mining ore and processing it, to just selling the raw ore itself. It’s a wash often, but I like selling raw ore because it’s a bit cleaner – processing ore leaves scraps behind that I have to collect and reprocess later.

The other big milestone for me is reaching the 1 billion isk mark. This is on top of each of my characters having at least 80,000,000 isk in their banks and after purchasing the mackinaw and many expensive skills. It’s unsure how long it took me because upon returning to the game, I already had 350,000,000 isk in the bank. Just doing basic mining, the two can make 35,000,000 isk a night (although that is a bit tedious and boring). I am now weighing what I want to do with the 1,000,000,000 isk. Should I buy a PLEX with it (around 840 million) or save it for some really big purchase?

Last month I bought two PLEX which I used to get additional training for my four other alts. I juggled the additional 2 characters on each account with the learning queue and each gained respectable and needed skills. They each now desperately need a 20 day learning skill – that is a rough 3 weeks of waiting and would definitely require more PLEX.

Last week the girls brought to Amarr over 120,000,000 isk in Planetary Interaction cargo. This was a 100% increase from the week before and I can easily imagine this going up another 100% with a few more skills and further refinement of the mining and processing of the resources.

Another big bit of news is with the help of my corporation mate, the two pilots that live in the hole can now win battles against the rats that stalk the mining fields. Up until this week, my hole miners had to run like school children from any battle. Now they can jump into their caracals and give those nasty rats a good thrashing – on their first battle with them they found two nano-threads which sold for 3,000,000 isk each.

The hole is continuing to gain prominence in my gaming in Eve and I hope this week to move 80% of my operation into the nebulous realm. I still need a few planets in high and low sec because of the limitations of the wormhole space, but these can be managed by Salbador and Pharkus, the two guys outside of the large corporations. They could desperately use another 20 days of learning each, at least. The achievement of a 6^th planet or that top tier in command centers could push me into 200,000,000 isk mark.

My short term goal for my game is to reach 80 million isk a day, through a combination of mining, PI, rat loot, and of course at some point other players’ ships. My secondary short term goal is to move my main guys, Dag and Shalimar, into the hole permanently.

Long term goal would be to make enough isk to pay for both accounts – I would have to make 2 billion isk a month for that.   I still like spending money and I don’t like to worry about isk either, so I need so much that I don’t fret over it.

As for the Eve Online news, they released their next installment.  CCP likes to call these expansions, but they are really just beefy patches.  In this release, called Tiamat, they have balanced guns, introduced a new ship design, and finally offered some shiny new graphics.

As for the last patch, I have already turned off the asteroid field graphics.  Although interesting, I found it far too busy for my miners to care.  It really added nothing to the game except it made it even more hectic and chaotic while in the asteroid fields.

EVEn MMOre: Issue 3

Once again I am at the controls of my trusty retriever christened the Nostromo.  Can you guess the reference? if so you are a science-fiction nerd.  My main character in Eve Online is Shalimar Yanumano, and he is primarily a miner by trade.  He has many other friends that specialize in other aspects of the game.  His buddy, Dag Sabor, is another miner but not as handy at the mining laser and the drone controls.  Both guys spend their days cutting up asteroids in search of the elusive ore that will bring them millions of isk (money in the game).  Each foray out into the rocky fields can yield the duo close to 8,000,000 isk and takes about 25 minutes — it is just one way to make money in the game, but for the two it is the most relaxing.

He also has some distant friends who own their own little corporation.  These guys have done nothing more than study the reference books on how to setup colonies, often referred to as Planetary Interaction (or PI for short).  The biggest problem for Pharkus and Salbador is they are stuck in a high sector system and the planets there are simply atrocious for producing high-end equipment used in the production of super computers.  Instead, these guys simply do the best they can harvesting needed minerals and biologicals such as Industrial Fibers, Silicon, and Electrolytes.  From there they ship it off to some girls they know who patrol the most unknown sectors of space.  It is often fraught with dangers but they then combine their resources with the guys and produce tier 5 equipment that can sell for a 1,000,000 isk each.  Just yesterday they got a shipment together and headed for Jita.  Their cargo and sales were:

Wetware computers: 5,600,000

Organic Mortar Applicators: 9,500,000

Recursive Computing Modules: 13,000,000

Self-Harmonizing Modules: 21,000,000

Nano-Factories: 17,500,000

At the end of the sale they made a cool 66,000,000 isk.  That is not pure profit as Pharkus and Salbador have to pay exorbitant fees to launch their products into space.  And of course these guys fly in low security space so they must factor in expenses lost due to ships and graft.

Shalimar knows these two wily young gals that live in the darkest and deepest parts of space too.  They call the wormhole their home.  Inside of these nebulous and mysterious spaces exist rich worlds to plunder, incredible asteroid fields filled with the most precious ores, and mysterious ancient sites littered with ancient technology.  This space is by no means safe….Sleepers are constantly warping into it searching for careless pilots.  And there are also other human pilots often finding new wormholes into the area.  That is why I do not name names or suggest locations of this — even though the holes constantly open and close it is best not to mention too many details.

The young girls have a wide range of skills, as they must mine and also perform PI.  They are building their skills up in combat skills too so that one day they can fly with the rest of the corporation as they hunt down poor fools who wander too close.

It happened just the other day, in fact.  I was in communication with the corporation when they spotted a large ship moving close to one of our controlled wormholes.  It was specced out with a ton of gear to probe ancient sites.  Like sharks, my buddies waited and trawled the area as the ship probed with scanners, found an ancient site, and retrieved metric tons of ancient mega-computers and unknown gadgets.  Then my friends pounced, letting loose rockets, energy beams, and warp bubbles to trap the soloing space archeologist.  It was a tough fight, for the explorer was equipped with the best combat drones known in the universe.  But in the end his ship was destroyed, and for good measure so too was his clone.  It looked like the poor fool lost close to 750,000,000 isk.  That was not a good day for him and surely he felt miserable for a long while.  I was momentarily sad for him, but that is the world we live in.  He could have just played it safe in the high security areas but he chose to come far out into the badlands — he knew the dangers!  The reward wouldn’t be so spectacular if it wasn’t balanced with the dire and dangerous roads that need to be traveled.  Perhaps next time he will fit another weapon in his hold or more armor.  Then again, he may just not venture back into the voids for lucrative treasure.

Each week I play Eve Online I learn so much more about the game.  This week was filled with suspense, intrigue, harrowing escapes, and even a bit of combat.

Then & Now

I don’t normally post comic strips here but this one particularly struck home to me.  Its a shame that companies today must offer games for free then charge for every tiny aspect in the a game.  In the MMO Star Wars of the Old Republic that actually make you pay so that your character can run.  If you don’t pay, your character shuffles around the giant world — ridiculous!

Instead of offering rewards for time or effort in the game, today it is nothing more than how much you are willing to spend — Remember this is supposed to be a FREE game?!?

I can see a basic argument that many people don’t have time to play endlessly in a game, but the doesn’t mean that everything should be for sale either.  Time and effort still must trump a credit card.  The argument for this falls apart when those players who have both the time, effort, and credit card rule the game.  One cannot sell achievements in a game, they must be earned to have value.  Offer a game that is FREE and that time in the game equates into better skills, equipment, and benefits.  Sell cosmetic gear or aspects of the game that make it easier without making it a Pay to Win.

Comic Book Awards for January

The new year is here and its first month has gone as quickly as it came, bringing with it the fresh artistic offerings from comic book publishers everywhere. A new year beckons the thrill of new beginnings which was taken advantage of in view of the fact that three brand new ongoing series’ made it into my monthly comic book purchases (as if I didn’t already have enough comics, mind you). Marvel finally had the motivation to give their tiniest – may I add greatly underrated – hero a chance with Ant-Man #1 in light of Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man film hitting theaters this July, written by well-received writer Nick Spencer. As sad as it is to say that Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, is not the man under the costume, Scott Lang dons the insect-themed alias to very amiable results. That galaxy far, far away that we all know and love reunites with its first love at Marvel as well. Star Wars #1 by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday will make any Star Wars fan ecstatic, and you might even be hearing John Williams’ fantastical score in the back of your heads as you open up the respectful first issue. Picking up my first ever ongoing book from Image Comics, Jonathan Hickman and Ryan Bodenheim’s The Dying & the Dead debuted this month with a staggering 60 pages for only $4.50. Regulars like Aquaman, Hulk, Avengers, and many others released whilst Fantastic Four took the bold move of going back to its true numbering with #642.

But out of these and other nominees, which were the best of the opening month of the year? This proved to be one of the most competitive months in recent memory.

Cover of the Month Award: Star Wars #1 

Cover Artists: John Cassaday & Laura Martin 

For context’s sake, the first ever Star Wars comic was published by Marvel Comics back around the time Episode IV: A New Hope released in 1977. As time went on, Dark Horse eventually became the proud home of the greatest sci-fi fantasy universe, launching with Star Wars: Dark Empire in the ‘90s, and held the reigns for over twenty-five years, producing incredible titles exploring never before seen timelines and characters. When Disney, then already having bought Marvel a few years earlier, acquired the Star Wars property, the stars aligned and the teeming inevitability of new Star Wars comics back under the Marvel banner would be an historic event in the comic book world. Here we are, almost forty years later, and Marvel’s Star Wars #1 comes to us presenting a blasting cover from John Cassaday and color partner Laura Martin.

One look shouts out classic Star Wars. X-Wings and Tie Fighters zoom overhead the hearts and souls of the Rebel Alliance as Darth Vader’s helmet silhouette of hyperspace stands in the backdrop in capturing, modeled symmetry. The detailed touches on the ships and almost pitch-perfect faithfulness to the looks of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, C-3P0, and R2-D2 from the beloved films is what you need to do to invoke the absorbing splendor of the Star Wars license. The cover for Star Wars #1 nails it.

Art of the Month Award: Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier #3

Artists: Marco Rudy (PGS 1-12, 17-20), Michael Walsh (PGS 13-16)

 

Two issues of Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier came out in January (making up for no issue in December 2014), both exhibiting the talent of artist extraordinaire Marco Rudy. #4 mainly featured pencils and inks from Langdon Foss with just four pages given to Rudy, regrettably. However, #3’s seventeen magnificent pages from Marco Rudy more than make up for any disappointments, and still outweigh the artwork of the 10+ other comics on my reading list. That’s how remarkable this guy’s stuff is. Sublime is page after page of Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier #3. Serene colors caress the full, wondrous space and alien bound issue and a few one pagers will pause you for a second or more. Unique, extravagant panel layouts return with pages one, two, eighteen and nineteen standing out in considerable efficacy. There’s even a glimmer of romance in #3 that is shown quite tastefully. Regardless of Michael Walsh’s simplistic but firm four pages, one panel of Marco Rudy’s paints carries with it a deep, memorable signature.

Story of the Month Award: Avengers #40 (“We Three Kings”) 

Writer: Jonathan Hickman 

With Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars now only four months away and his run on both Avengers and New Avengers coming to an end this April, the time for closure is at hand after two-and-a-half years of spectacular buildup. The climactic events of New Avengers #28 left us at an unexpected standstill between Steve Rogers’ army of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and heroes and the clever Illuminati. The opposing forces lightly agree to a legitimate truce for the moment as the entire multiverse hangs in the balance due to the curious incursions plaguing the Marvel universe. Our heroes plan to get rid of The Cabal – consisting of the mad titan Thanos, Black Swan, Terrax, Maximus, Corvus Glaive and his wife Proxima Midnight – while a grueling confrontation Black Panther has with Namor is something we’ve been waiting to see since the very early issues of New Avengers. There is no holding back now.

Issue of the Month Award: Avengers #40 (“We Three Kings”) 

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Artist: Stefano Caselli

Color Artist: Frank Martin

Cover Art: Dale Keown & Jason Keith

Avengers #40 is a comic book you don’t want to pass over. This story chapter of Hickman’s continuing dark drama epic is fluid and shocking. The endgame of his Avengers is rising to its boiling point in too many brilliant ways. Stefano Caselli is the featured artist of this extra-sized issue; his smooth but crisp style a caliber of excellence. Colorist Frank Martin, the underdog trooper of the book, is in great form, too. You’ll find a host of familiar faces in Avengers #40 and also witness once more heroes make decisions that will take a toll on relationships in addition to status of moral ground.

Thanks for checking out my awards and check back sometime next month for February’’s Comic Book Awards! Until then, hopefully you and I will continue to be reading comics in the dawn of this new year!