Sourcebooks has launched another experimental new business (following on initiatives like PoetrySpeaks.com), creating a membership-based website for fans of the soap opera Days of Our Lives at DaysInsider.com. In exchange for a $9.95 membership fee, the site promises early online access to chapters from forthcoming Days of Our Lives novels and a commemorative book, discounts of more than 30 percent on the books when published, online chats and community forums that include participation from the Days of Our Lives team and more. Think of it as an online fan club where books are part of the mix, or a paid, […]
New Business Models
And a Different Paid, Pre-Publication Online Book Club Idea from WowOwow
Women’s website WowOwow, co-founded by former agent and publisher Joni Evans, is trialing an “early access” book club that sells pre-publication galleys of selected books in limited quantities. The coverage at Forbes says the site “believes they’ll pay a substantial fee for that privilege and for the various other perks associated with membership, such as author chats”–but the current test is charging from $15 to $30 a copy, which seems at odds with the first statement. The trial offer underway is for Jodi Picoult’s March 2011 release, SING YOU HOME. Evans tries to pitch a few different paradigms. “The concept […]
Amazon to Borrow Nook’s Lending Feature; Company Discloses $269 Million Sales Tax Bill from Texas, and a Patent Lawsuit
On Friday Amazon announced on their Kindle forums that “later this year” they will borrow Nook’s “Lend Me” feature and make ebooks available for limited lending, using the same basic rule set: “Each book can be lent once for a loan period of 14-days and the lender cannot read the book during the loan period. Additionally, not all e-books will be lendable – this is solely up to the publisher or rights holder, who determines which titles are enabled for lending.” Everyone’s having lots of fun citing Jeff Bezos’s remarks on Nook’s Lend Me feature to Deborah Solomon in the […]
Two New Audiobook Players Launch
LibiriVox founder Hugh McGuire has launched Iambik Audio, starting today with a list of 11 literary fiction audiobooks from independent presses in the US and Canada, including works from Gordon Lish and Lydia Millet. They sell at “reasonable prices”–from five to ten dollars–with no DRM, so that the files can play on any device. The company is selling directly from their site now and finalizing distribution agreements with partners such as Audible, Overdrive and eMusic. The company’s FAQ indicates they “work almost exclusively on a revenue-share basis, with narrators, publishers/authors, and iambik all sharing in successful audiobooks.” McGuire explains their […]