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 […]
eNews
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 […]
Your Daily Jackalope Report
In a masterpiece of confusion and contradiction from FT chief business commentator John Gapper, Andrew “The Jackalope” Wylie commentates: “Publishers have overpaid for the front-list to increase revenues without an eye to margins and profits. If they get it wrong again, they will only increase the book industry’s malady.” But “despite his Odyssey deal,” Wylie assures Gapper “he does not want…e-book rights to be split from print rights by authors and agents.” Also from our Can You Believe He Said That Department, Amazon executive Steve Kessel tells The Bookseller, “We are not out there contacting agents. [Except for the ones […]
New Kindle Slims Are Everything iPad Isn’t
Last night Amazon announced two new models of their Kindle ereader available for pre-order for delivery starting August 27, and with a new wi-fi only model to sell for a low, low $139 they are continuing to press the price competition as well. Still able to attract high-profile press from all over, Amazon ceo Jeff Bezos trumpets the less expensive model as a “mass market device,” even as it follows the $149 wi-fi Nook and Borders/Kobo $149 plus $20 gift card reader. Amazon’s new wireless model will still sell for $189.) With the current model out of stock and not […]