After a premature wave of reports declaring the Kindle Fire a raging success before any consumers tried it, the press is now moving to the expected next phase of coverage: discovering the problems of a first-generation device. Today’s NYT has it both ways: Fire “is less than a blazing success with many of its early users” but “it would be foolish to underestimate Amazon.” Those poor early buyers “seem to have bought it on a mixture of faith and hype.” Gosh, where would that have come from? The news in the article is that, “in less than two weeks, [Amazon […]
ebookstores
eNews: Thomas Allen Offer Digital Shorts Through Indie Websites; Judy Blume Classics in Digital Format; and More
Thomas Allen and Cormorant Books have partnered for a new digital short story initiative called cStories, ePub files that can be bought through independent booksellers’ websites for $1.99. Transcontinental Media will manage downloads and digital warehousing, taking a 10 percent share of revenues. (Thomas Allen & Cormorant will take 50 percent, while 40 per cent will go to booksellers.) “This is our way of helping independent booksellers be involved in digital retailing,” Thomas Allen marketing manager David Glover told Quill & Quire. “We know if people begin to read these stories, they’ll want more.” In other eNews, Penguin Children’s is […]
eNews: Indiebound Reader App Launches; eBooks in Europe; and More
Indiebound has launched its ebook reading app, Indiebound Reader, in conjunction with Bluefire, as announced in August (and originally set for release in October). So far the app is only available for Android devices, but “it will soon be available” for iOS devices. Consistent with Apple’s revised rules, the iOS version will be for reading only, and will not include in-app purchasing. Indiebound Reader page At the same Reuters Global Media summit where Penguin ceo John Makinson spoke of “dark clouds” hovering over the publishing horizon in 2012, Hachette ceo Arnaud Nourry was more optimistic about the prospects for digital […]
Kindle Launches in Spain and Italy, and More eNews
As promised earlier this fall, Amazon’s newest Kindle Stores launched Thursday in Spain and Italy, along with local-language Kindles retailing for 99 euros and the Kindle Direct Publishing service for authors and small publishers. The Italian Kindle Store features over 16,000 Italian-language Kindle titles, while the Spanish store offers more than 22,000 Spanish-language Kindle titles, including 3 exclusive backlist nonfiction titles self-published through KDP by El País journalist and bestselling author Rosa Montero. (Montero also has 2 Kindle titles available from her current publisher, Planeta imprint Seix Barral, and 4 more of her backlist books published with her agency Balcells in an earlier experiment […]
Kindle Lending Library Reaches Out to KDP Authors–With Cash
When Kindle launched their free ebook library for their prime customers–now called Kindle Owner’s Lending Library to clearly communicate it is for device owners only–it included titles from Amazon Publishing (138 by our exclusive count) but no self-published ebooks from the KDP program. As of December 1, Amazon intends to add KDP titles to the lending library. Authors approached by Amazon to participate say the company is offering a chance to share in a large pool of licensing cash–but requiring complete exclusivity in exchange. The money pool, according to those familiar with the offer, is $500,000 a month over the […]
Barnes & Noble Offers Exclusive Patterson Holiday Novella Promotion In Stores; Can Bundle Print and eBooks Through Store Cash Registers
Barnes & Noble has secured a significant in-store “exclusive” for the holidays: a novella from James Patterson, MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALEX CROSS. The bookseller will give a free copy–either printed, or digital–to customers who buy Patterson’s just-released KILL ALEX CROSS in hardcover and one other Patterson title in any format from a Barnes & Noble Store. Perhaps as important as the exclusive offer, designed to help drive store traffic, is that Barnes & Noble says they have developed a “cashiering system [that] will allow retail customers to seamlessly combine a Nook Book purchase with the purchase of the new hardcover title […]