Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Go figure.  You’d think publishers would be all over reducing overhead and being content providers.  You’d think reducing how much they are chained to print houses and paper producers would make publishers thrilled.  Fact: apparently, I don’t know the first thing about publishing.

But I do know that publishers are holding out on the Kindle.  Former Governor Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” is not yet available for Kindlers.  The publisher is holding out for more hardcover sales thinking that those interested in the inner thoughts of public figure are willing to shell out more cash at the holiday.  We’re not talking about pushing it back a week either.  The book will be on sale Nov 17th while the Kindle edition won’t be here until after Christmas.

If book lovers have Kindles, and every Kindle owner I’ve run across is so passionate about the darn gadget, then the non-book lovers are the new target of publishers?  It would seem publishers will starve the very same folks that talk up books at work, at the gym, in airplanes and as a result, they sell fewer hardcovers.  But to reiterate, I don’t know the first thing about publishing.

If I were a Kindle owner, this would bug the heck out of me.  The publishing industry is conspiring against Kindle owners, the very ones who devour books?  Wha?  What’s more, this isn’t the only title or publisher making these kind of staged launches.  This is the first time for Harper, but Twelve, an imprint of Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Book Group has also delayed the Kindle version.  Amazon’s Kindle would seem to have less value if publishers are going to play these kind of games.

The WSJ says this is possible more about Amazon’s policy of selling new titles for $9.99 and the publishing industry refusing to become more or less a $9.99 album ala iTunes.

Read: [Wall Street Journal]

Image from Amazon