Amazon’s site indicates that they are “temporarily sold out” of both of the new Kindle models announced last week for shipment at the end of August. The etailer’s UK carries the same message. Customers are invited to “order now to reserve your place in line,” with new pre-orders expected to ship within a week after the launch date, on or before September 4. Keen observers have noted that, despite reports from members of the Google Books team that their Editions service would launch in late June or July, it is now August. Publishers tell us that in recent discussions with […]
eNews
People, Etc.
Nielsen BookScan general manager Jim King, who has been with the US version of the data service since it started in 2000, is leaving the company later this month to pursue new opportunities. President of Nielsen Book Jonathan Nowell says, “Jim has been an outstanding colleague and I have really appreciated his efforts over the past ten years. He has done a great job with BookScan and worked tirelessly on behalf of his clients to help improve the efficiency of the US book business.” An announcement on succession will be made later. James Peltz and Donna Dixon have been named […]
BN Adds Nook Boutiques, and Sues to Block More Patent Claims; Copia Promises Different Line of Unreleased Devices
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]