I'm afraid the Publishers Association doesn't get the epublishing revolution. The entry fee is not just reduced, it has practically disappeared. By pricing their guide at 100 pounds sterling they have essentially made it unobtainable by the very people who could profit best from the advice.

In the business of electronic publishing you don't want to maximize profit per sale, you want to maximize sales.

Who are they kidding?

"...At £100 for 70-odd pages for non-members (half that for PA members)...it's the quality not the quantity that matters."

Even the Government can issue something at less than that price!

I can also get a 3 for 2 at Waterstone's, normal price £6.99 per copy, if I choose.

But honestly, I can seek absolutely loads of commentary for free on that topic on the web, if I choose. What "quality" has the PA offered that could persuade me to divert some of my monthly mortgage costs?

And why am I starting to feel some sort of kinship with the crunchy nut cornflake? (Apols, Alan, but some media ads do catch my attention.)

I'll leave the PA to defend their pricing policy but I think the principle still holds. It's not the length it's the value of the content.

Principles rule in everyones' minds. But the bucks still hit the bottom line in anyone's budget.

Corporates may see that fee with ease; individuals with interest may waver or run a mile. That's a fact of today - principles may cost more money than the individual has available, within budget.

UKP100 is what many millions of families would have to live on for a YEAR in my part of the world! -- Frederick Noronha, Goa, India.

Frederick

That is absolutely true. It is a fact of international exchange rates and relative poverty levels. However, a UK organisation must set prices relating to local conditions. The cost of dinner for two in a decent London restaurant can be around £100. In that context £100 may not be such a big ask.

the PA's pricing scheme is based on the idea that the potential audience won't that big. Not so, it's potentially huge. A business site with shopping cart and material is all one really needs to become an electronic publisher these days. With the right sponsored host it's even possible to get all the software you need for production, display, and sales for free. Anybody who wants to put forth some minimum effort can become a publisher.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=6029&

That's the link for a series of PDFs on PDF publishing. Two a month through 2006 for a total of twenty-four installments of five pages each at $5.00 U. S. Comes to a total of $120.00 U. S. for 120 pages. Or $75.00 for a subscription. Now, it is aimed at a particular sub-sector of the e-publishing field, but the advice should be useful for anyone publishing any sort of material.

At 70 pages I think the Publisher's Association could sell their guide at 10 pounds and still do well.

Why?

Because the days of scarcity are done. A 10 meg file only takes up 10 megs. It's bandwidth that's the choke point, and even cheap hosts offer 10s of gigs of bandwidth. A decent business host should offer bandwidth in the terabytes.

What about those who don't have Internet access?

Then they're not getting into electronic publishing, now are they?

The question with something like the PA's electronic publishing guide is not just value for the money, it's how do you get people to use it? At 100 pounds a copy it's not going to get used. People will make do without. You want people to use it, you need to encourage the use. That means cutting the price.

The better people know what they're doing, the better they will do. The better they do the better the chance they will become dues paying members in good standing of efforts such as the Publishers Association. Everybody benefits.

Remember that it's not only who you're publishing for, but why you're publishing for them.

Let's put this into context - £100 for 70-odd pages?!?

Most seeking an education don't dine in London's finest restaurants, even at lunchtime on Table D'Hote menus.

Most seeking an education seek reliable fact/research and the reliable reporting of, and don't do lunch.

Most seeking a further education dive out into the commercial sector at one stage or another, beacause it pays. I have a small sample that I am aware of I'll admit, but circumstances decree that this was a wider problem - I can only imagine it's an even wider problem now.

I've known of someone bump a phD to earn "decent" money. How on earth can students/new academics afford to pay these fess when they have so many other basic fees to meet?

This book is not for students. It's for professional commercial publishers.