Continuing–and expanding on–the trend since Christmas, 19 of the top 50 titles on the USA Today bestseller list sold more units as ebooks than in print. And that was true for five of the top six titles. Among them, Lisa Gardner’s 99-cent ebook ALONE finally gets a ranking to match its position on etailers’ charts. Which will only spark further discussions among publishers about ebook bestseller strategies and standards. In a different taboo-breaker, you know how the big houses all declare they will never buy print rights only to a new book, while others have believed print buyers will emerge […]
territorial rights
More on eBooks and Territory
Diesel eBookstore celebrates the restoration of the final agency model publisher to their store with a look at agency six months later. Writing that “the A5 performed an impressive near-checkmate on the eBook chessboard,” they look at the pros and cons of operating in a partial-agency world. Among the weak points–related to the two stories above–are limitations to selling agency ebooks exclusively in the US: “Without exception, all A5 publishers now offer their eBook titles in the US only. Needless to say, our foreign customers are very upset. We, here at Diesel, have been very vocal with our A5 publishing […]
Territorial Mess, Continued: Waterstone’s Stops “Overseas” eBook Sales
The Bookseller reports that Waterstone’s has discontinued selling ebooks to customers with billing addresses outside of the UK and Ireland. Spokesman Jon Howells says “it is basically due to rights of controlling where we sell books to” adding that “this is not a temporary move.” In an e-mail to customers the bookseller said “we have had to take this action to comply with the legal demands of publishers regarding the territories into which we can sell e-books.” The decision puts fresh spin on the already-tense landscape of “export” sales for English-language ebooks from out of both North America and the […]