Barnes & Noble is pressing the strategic advantage that they say their physical stores bring to sales of Nook and will roll-out 1,000-square-foot demonstration Nook boutiques across their stores, starting this summer. The NYT says the new boutiques will be adjacent to their in-store cafe’s. The company says they will take space away from their music departments to make room for the Nook nooks, and ceo William Lynch “said that the number of books on display in Barnes & Noble stores would not decrease.”Release Separately, Bloomberg reports that BN “filed two suits yesterday to try to fend off demands by […]
Archives for July 2010
People
Octopus in the UK will cut 19 people and another 10 have accepted “voluntary redundancy,” the Bookseller reports, comprising almost 30 percent of the staff of 104 people. At Yale University Press, Ileene Smith has been promoted to executive editor-at-large; Tim Shea has been promoted to editor of foreign languages; and Laura Davulis has been promoted to editor, digital development. Harper Children’s vp, director of inventory management and member of their executive committee David Toberisky will retire at the end of the year after 23 years at the company. Sheryl Moore-Anderson will rejoin the division in August as director of […]
Today’s Threat: Jackalope Envisions Life As A Full-Time Publisher
Reporting from our Ice-Skating in the Netherworld Department is the latest jackalicious threat from Andrew Wylie: that if publishers don’t negotiate acceptable erights royalties his Odyssey will “make itself available to other agents,” who are no doubt clamoring to have Wylie as their electronic publisher. Or perhaps they will be persuaded by his passion and commitment to the publishing process: “I am only trying to make a point in order to underscore the importance of getting the right terms with a view to uniting the two [print and digital] revenue streams.” It’s interesting that he talks of “uniting” something that […]
Supreme Court to Hear Watch Case that Could Affect First-Sale Doctrine
If you’re a copyright geek you’ll be interested in the Omega watch case that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear in their next term. Omega used a copyrighted symbol on their back of their watches to thwart Costco and others from selling lower-priced grey market versions of the company’s watches in the US. The case is important because, in favoring Omega, the district and appeals courts ruled that the first-sale doctrine does not apply to goods first sold outside of the US, even if they are then imported for sale here. As the WSJ notes, “Constrain the first-sale doctrine […]
Shake, Rattle and Roll: Amplified, Enhanced, Extended, Videod and Apped
Jeff Bezos still doesn’t believe color (or video) is ready for “serious” ereaders, but publishers are rolling out a variety of experiments. Hyperion launched The Secret Diary of Ashley Juergens as a $12.99 enhanced, video-filled ebook in iTunes, based on ABC Family’s TV show The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Simon & Schuster Digital and Scribner have released a $15.99 video-filled version of Rick Perlstein’s NIXONLAND, working with corporate brethren CBS News. Open Road announced enriched content for two William Styron ebooks, The Long March and Lie Down in Darkness, with original videos. After an early look at the […]
Think of a Number (or Price) that Can Make Your eBook a Bestseller
While most big publishers have forsaken ebook giveaways as a business-effective way to establish new frontlist (with thanks to Chris Anderson for helping to prove the limits of FREE), price experimentation is gaining adherents as a way of highlighting new authors in a crowded marketplace while still driving at least some revenue. Crown has experimented with a promotional price window to highlight novelist (and former ad executive) John Verdon’s debut effort THINK OF A NUMBER, acquired at auction in a major three-book deal last September. For two weeks right after publication they offered the ebook edition at a digital list […]