Macmillan ceo John Sargent reported a new ebook policy for the house yesterday, blending enhanced, premium price e-versions with a delay of “several months” on other titles: “Our goal is to give the consumer what they want, when they want it, at a fair price. In 2010 we will publish our bestsellers in several ways. Some bestsellers will be enhanced with additional content and priced to reflect their increased value to the consumer. These will be published at the same time as the hardcover and will be available for three months as special editions. We will publish other bestsellers, without […]
eNews
Edelweiss Pairs with NetGalley
In other digital announcements, the Edelweiss digital catalogs will now give publishers the option of providing selected retailers, reviewers and others access to electronic galleys from NetGalley. The first electronic galleys will be available through the program in the second quarter of 2010.
Renamed Kobo Spins Out of Indigo Into Separate Company; New Funders, and Partners, Include Borders
In addition to changing the name of Shortcovers to Kobo, the venture announced that it is separating out of parent company Indigo Books to operate as an independent company. A new round of funding has raised $16 million (Canadian), with $5 million coming from Indigo, now joined by Borders Group, REDgroup Retail (which currently owns the major book chains in Australia and New Zealand), and Instant Fame, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong. Those new funders will also serve as strategic distribution partners for Kobo’s international rollout. Indigo retains a 58 percent stake in Kobo, the Canadian Press reports. Borders is […]
Stephen Covey Tries eRights with Rosetta; Amazon and S&S Tangle
Stephen Covey’s bestselling 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE as well as his 1991 book PRINCIPLE-CENTERED LEADERSHIP became available as ebooks on December 2, through epublisher Rosetta Books. Rosetta ceo Arthur Klebanoff indicates to the NYT that Covey is receiving “more than half of the net proceeds.” Amazon’s Kindle platform has been given a one-year exclusive on the titles “in trade for promotion,” while Rosetta’s license is “for a period of years,” according to Klebanoff. Covey’s company Franklin Covey already publishes certain products directly, without a publishing partner, though Covey and his son Sean tell the NYT they intend to […]
The New eRights Battle
As many readers know by now, last Friday Random House ceo Markus Dohle wrote to agents with the twofold purpose of summarizing some of the publisher’s ebook and electronic marketing initiatives, and reasserting their view that “the vast majority of [their] backlist contracts grant us the exclusive right to publish books in electronic format.” Since many agents disagree with that view, the letter was quickly interpreted as a warning shot to Jane Friedman’s start-up Open Road and any others who would aspire to electronic rights to legacy titles still active in the marketplace. And some saw the possibility that Random […]
More eNews: Kindle App Goes International; Shortcovers Adds Lots of PD Titles
Amazon launch the new international version of their Kindle for iPhone app–opening up purchase of some Kindle ebooks to iPhone customers in over 60 countries. Kindle for Mac and Blackberry are still listed as expected “in the coming months.”Release Separately, Shortcovers announced that they will make available 1.8 million public domain titles from the Internet Archive.Release