Amazon announced that for those using Kindle Direct Publishing, the 70 percent royalty has expanded from a top price of $9.99 up to $12.99, effective July 7, “with equivalent changes in other KDP marketplaces” around the world. That is the first increase in the price band since 2007. As the Authors Guild notes, “This move also brings Amazon closer in line with its competitors: Apple Books and Barnes & Noble Press pay a flat 70 percent at every price point, and Kobo pays 70 percent on any ebook priced at $2.99 or above.”
Self-publishing
Harlequin Adds Self-Publishing Line
Following the same model as Thomas Nelson’s recently-announced WestBow Press, Harlequin has started a self-publishing line. Like Nelson, they are outsourcing most of the work to Author Solutions as their partner. Unlike Nelson, they aren’t afraid to use their own name for the line, which is called Harlequin Horizons. As they say on the site: “The intent behind creating Harlequin Horizons is to give more aspiring romance writers and women’s fiction writers the opportunity to publish their books and achieve their dreams without going through the submission process with a traditional publishing house. “However, we understand you may aspire to […]
Author Solutions Buys Canada's Trafford
Author Solutions continues to roll up its rivals, now buying Canadian self-publisher Trafford Publishing. CEO Kevin Weiss tells the WSJ his company will have close to $100 million in sales in 2009. Trafford ceo Geoffrey Reid, who will remain in that position, tells the paper, “We felt that Author Solutions was consolidating the market, and we wanted to be part of that.”WSJ
Amazon/Penguin Contest Returns
The e-tailer’s Breakthrough Novel Award competition will return for a second year, open to new manuscript submissions as of Groundhog’s Day, 2009, and once again they will partner with the Penguin Group. Amazon calls the first contest “enormously successful,” despite the tepid response from the marketplace to the August release of winner Bill Loehfelm’s FRESH KILLS. (Loehfelm’s book has sold approximately 4,000 copies through outlets tracked by Nielsen Bookscan.) But Penguin has acquired rights to four of the other ten finalists: Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan (Amy Einhorn Books, July 2009); The Wet Nurse’s Tale by Erica Eisdorfer (Putnam, […]
Self-Published Cookbook Goes National
Wona Miniati and Deana Gunn say their self-published COOKING WITH ALL THINGS TRADER JOE’s has sold 20,000 copies in the past year, with another 15,000 recently shipped to stores, and now Borders is carrying the book chainwide. Published without the participation of the grocery chain, the book presents recipes based on prepared ingredients carried by Trader Joe’s.WSJ
Lace Reader on NPR
Follow the link below to hear LACE READER author Brunonia Barry on NPR’s Morning Edition. Part of the story focuses on her successful adventure in self-publishing. “Barry’s husband, Gary Ward, encouraged her to self-publish; she says if it had not been for him, the book might still be sitting in a drawer. Barry and Ward have their own software publishing business, which served as a base for the venture. “We thought, ‘We can do this, we’re already publishers,’ Barry remembers. ‘It’s kind of a laugh now, because you run into so many things you never anticipated.'” Manager of the Spirit […]