After failing to launch as promised last October, Sony has opened their Reader Store in the UK, offering approximately 100,000 titles. Still not launched, and probably not coming until summer–as has been known to some for months now–is Nook‘s international expansion, and its partnership with the UK’s Waterstones in particular. The Bookseller obtained Nook’s proposed contract with UK publishers, which asks for worldwide distribution rights. Kobo, which has been talking about launching a self-publishing platform of their own since late last year with few details, said at LBF that the new service will debut some time “this quarter,” before the […]
ebookstores
Corporate: Indigo Raises Co-Op Again; Dutch Investor Buys Selexyz; and More
When Canada’s dominant book chain Indigo made comprehensive changes to its co-op program last year, local publishers were not exactly happy. Now they are upset again over further co-op increases that went into effect on April 1, but are only beginning to register with some publishers. Quill & Quire reports that Indigo “raised co-op fees from 4 to 5 per cent for books sold online or in its brick-and-mortar stores – an increase of 25 per cent.” In an email to publishers and distributors obtained by Q&Q, Indigo vice-president for adult trade Bahram Olfati said the co-op fee increase was […]
Sourcebooks Starts Romance eBook Club
Sourcebooks launches their latest experiment today, a subscription plan for romance readers the company is positioning as an ebook club and community. Discover A New Love offers subscribers one of four featured romance titles a month, at $9.99 for a six-month plan (so about $1.67 per book). Members can purchase additional titles at discount, and some club selections are available a month before general release. While the initial hook is value, Sourcebooks sees the long-term appeal as discovery and community. Editorial manager Deb Werksman says in the announcement, “Readers have a hard time figuring out what they should try next. […]
Google Cancels eBooks Reseller Program, Dropping Indies
Both the ABA and Powell’s Books indicate Google informed them on Tuesday it is cancelling their eBooks reseller partnerships as of January 31, 2013. ABA ceo Oren Teicher told members in an email, “Google’s decision to discontinue the program is, therefore, far larger than just IndieCommerce and the users of our product. After January 31, 2013, Google will sell e-books through Google Play only.” Google says on their blog that “the reseller program has not gained the traction that we hoped it would, so we have made the difficult decision to discontinue it.” Whether that’s a statement about the resellers […]
Early Results from Pottermore, Or Less
Pottermore executive Charlie Redmayne told Radio Litopia that in the first three days after launching on March 27, JK Rowling’s web site sold over £1 million worth of ebooks. And he proclaimed, as you would expect according to script, that initial sales were higher than expectations. “We had budgeted for a much lower figure,” Redmayne insists, noting that sales have softened since the splash debut. “It is still running at a much higher rate than I was anticipating, even for the launch. It is still surpassing anything I’ve ever seen for e-book sales.” Given the years of pent-up demand and […]
Amazon Announces Spanish-Language Kindle Store In the US
Amazon has officially created an “eBooks Kindle en Español” store for Spanish-language ebooks for US customers at www.amazon.com/tiendakindle. Barnes & Noble has made this category a priority for the past couple of years and is thought to have over 50,000 Spanish-language ebooks available–but Kindle says it has “the most Spanish-language bestsellers, as measured by Nielsen.” They say they offer “over 30,000 titles,” and are offering an exclusive work of nonfiction by Paulo Coelho, “El Libro de los Manuales.” They have translated some Kindle Single into Spanish, and Spanish-language titles are welcome through the KDP publishing platform (just as Nook’s PubIt does). In the release, […]