Self-published thriller writer John Locke, who sold more than a million copies of his Donovan Creed novels primarily via Amazon (helped in part by the 99 cent ebook price of each series title) has found a large publisher to back him on the print side. Starting in February 2012, Simon & Schuster will handle sales and distribution for the print editions of Locke’s books under the banner of John Locke Books. The deal will allow Locke’s novels – the eight books already released, as well as newer titles to come — to be more widely available in brick-and-mortar stores (including […]
eNews
RR Donnelley To Acquire LibreDigital
RR Donnelley announced today that it has acquired digital content distribution and e-service provider LibreDigital for an undisclosed sum. President and ceo Thomas Quinlan said in a statement that buying LibreDigital will “extend RR Donnelley’s reach across the breadth of the supply chain.” This is the second company Donnelley has purchased this week, having also bought Sequence Personal, a provider of proprietary software that enables readers to select relevant content to be digitally produced as specialized publications. Earlier this summer Donnelley also acquired online writer services company Helium and Journalism Online. “With this acquisition we uniquely position RR Donnelley to […]
Self-Help Bestseller Tim Ferriss Sells New Book To Kirshbaum’s Amazon Imprint
Some days the biggest news happens in the deals section, and today is no exception with Amazon’s announcement that the still-untitled imprint headed by Larry Kirshbaum made its first buy, acquiring Timothy Ferriss’ latest self-help opus, THE FOUR-HOUR CHEF, for publication next year. (Our deals database has more information on the terms.) Previously Ferriss was published by Crown, and both of his earlier books, THE FOUR-HOUR WORKWEEK and THE FOUR-HOUR BODY, have been on the NYT bestseller lists for 84 and 33 weeks, respectively. Amazon’s release ceded most of the “future of publishing” rhetoric to Ferriss, who was quoted as […]
Class Action Lawsuits Against Apple and Agency Publishers Proliferate
When the Seattle law firm Hagens Berman filed suit against Apple and publishers Hachette, Macmillan, HarperCollins, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster last week, they specifically sought media coverage–and got it. Without press releases, what was missed was that four additional suits, all seeking to be part of a larger class action, were filed in federal courts in New York and California between August 10 and August 12. Across the various suits, Random House, Amazon and Barnes & Noble all get added to the legal feasting as well. As you may surmise, each of these suits works off the same logic […]
eNews: FTC Settles Privacy Concerns With Children’s App Developer; Claim That Next Sony Reader Will Be Bundled With Potter eBooks; And More
The Federal Trade Commission has settled with W3 Innovations, which owns children’s app developer Broken Thumbs, for $50,000, after the developer was charged with violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting information from children under the age of 13 without their parents’ permission. (Several apps produced by Broken Thumbs were downloaded more than 50,000 times.) FTC chairman Jon Liebovitz said in a statement: “The F.T.C.’s COPPA Rule requires parental notice and consent before collecting children’s personal information online, whether through a Web site or a mobile app. Companies must give parents the opportunity to make smart choices when […]
eNews: IndieBound Partners With BlueFire on eReading Software; Amazon Cracks Down On PLR eBooks; and More
The ABA announced last week that it is working with BlueFire to create a version of the company’s Reader app, which will be called the IndieBound Reader, for IndieCommerce stores selling Google eBooks. The app is scheduled to launch in the next 60 days. The Android version of the app will link back to indie bookstores, while the iOS version will not because of Apple’s rules about in-app purchases and links to outbound e-commerce stores. Users will be able to buy books using their Google ID instead of having to active an account with Adobe Digital Editions (as is the […]