Amazon ebook pricing battle intensifies after 'Authors United' ad

Compares Hachette dispute to past paperback fears, but partially quoting George Orwell is a risky moveAmazon has hit back following an open letter from more than 900 authors criticising its licensing dispute with publisher Hachette, which was published as an ad in the New York Times.However, the latest blog post from the Amazon Books Team is raising eyebrows within the publishing industry due to its use of a partial quote from George Orwell in support of its cause.We have made Amazon many millions of dollars and over the years have contributed so much, free of charge, to the company by way of cooperation, joint promotions, reviews and blogs.This is no way to treat a business partner. Nor is it the right way to treat your friends. Without taking sides on the contractual dispute between Hachette and Amazon, we encourage Amazon in the strongest possible terms to stop harming the livelihood of the authors on whom it has built its business.With it being so inexpensive and with so many more people able to afford to buy and read books, you would think the literary establishment of the day would have celebrated the invention of the paperback, yes? Nope. Instead, they dug in and circled the wagons.They believed low cost paperbacks would destroy literary culture and harm the industry (not to mention their own bank accounts). Many bookstores refused to stock them, and the early paperback publishers had to use unconventional methods of distribution places like newsstands and... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #status quo #penguin books #market share #big businesses #reading public

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Free ‘key driver’ in ebook sales

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 24/03/2011 - 09:36 Sampling free content is inspiring customers to buy ebooks, with a fifth of UK readers citing it as the primary reason for purchase, according to new research. Surveys by Book Marketing Limited (BML) and Bowker Publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kindle ebook lending service reinstated after modification of code

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 23/03/2011 - 07:10 Lendle, the US-based tool that allows Kindle users to lend their ebooks, has been reinstated after Amazon said that its concern related to its "Book Sync tool". The news that Amazon had locked the services out of its API caused... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book sharing: Amazon and book publishers' stupid attempts to curtail lending sites.

As convenient as they are, I've long worried about the many ways in which ebook purveyors restrict readers' rights. You can't resell the books you purchase for the Amazon Kindle, and you can't read them on most other e-readers. We also don't really own ebooks in the same way we own... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade publishers say ebook sales will not reach 10% until 2012

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 23/03/2011 - 11:58 A third of UK trade publishers think that over 10% of their total book revenue will come from ebooks by 2012, according to new research released by Publishing Technology at BML’s annual Books & Consumers Conference. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld signs three from debut author Lamb

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 22/03/2011 - 08:30 Transworld has acquired three novels by debut author Victoria Lamb, all set in the time of Elizabeth I's reign. Publishing director Selina Walker bought world rights in the trilogy from agent Luigi Bonomi, and will... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Livre US ebook sales nearly 25% of total

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Mon, 21/03/2011 - 11:26 E-book sales by Hachette Livre in the United States are in line with the national average, according to the group's chairman and c.e.o. Arnaud Nourry. He told the Buzz Média service of the French daily Le Figaro that ebooks... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Library bodies warn publishers off 'retrenchment' over ebook lending

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 17/03/2011 - 09:23 The Society of Chief Librarians and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council have signed a joint position on ebook lending in libraries, saying the Publisher Association's baseline position has "limited practical use"... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orange offers 23k ebooks for sale via Android app

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 17/03/2011 - 06:47 Orange has launched an ebook app for Android, with a "one-click buy" system which directly bills a user's Orange account. But the app will not be available on Apple's iPhone or iPad devices at the same time because of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Debate Pricing, Marketing Models For Apps

Simplifying (and clarifying) the purchasing process—regardless of newsstand--and finding new ways to effectively market among the crush of new apps being launched is critical for publishers to succeed, according to speakers at MPA’s Digital E-Reading conference today. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French authors happier with publishers

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 13:30 French authors are increasingly satisfied with their publishers, according to the third annual survey conducted by the Civil Society for Multimedia Authors (Scam). The latest results show that 71% of respondents are... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French government says publishers should collaborate over ebook negotiations

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 09:23 French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand has urged French publishers to speak with one voice in forthcoming negotiations with Amazon over supplying their ebooks for the Kindle. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Magazines is 2010 Group Publisher's Ad-Page Champ

With the explosion of magazine apps, social media and the resurgence of print advertising, magazine brands are showing a prominent face to their loyal and new readers and advertisers. A top 5 chart pulled together by FOLIO: sister publication min looks at the group publisher vanguards that had... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hardback fiction added to UK's shopping basket

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 14:47 Adult hardback fiction books have been added to the basket of goods that the government uses to calculate the cost of living in the UK. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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United Agents' Canter dies

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 14/03/2011 - 08:52 United Agents co-founder and children's agent Rosemary Canter died on Friday [11th March]. Canter began her publishing career as assistant fiction editor at Penguin Books in 1972, eventually working in children's book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors hit by new fears over taxation charge

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 16:25 Writers’ ability to average out their earnings over a number of years could be abolished, according to new tax system proposals. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has '80% online share', claims new survey

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 09/03/2011 - 09:48 Ten times as many people shop at Amazon than online at Waterstone's, a survey has revealed, while more than half of respondents bought books online. The research, carried out by the Institute of Direct Marketing,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Female authors heralded on International Women's Day

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 08/03/2011 - 08:40 Inspiring books by and about women are being hailed for International Women's Day, as J K Rowling and Germaine Greer are named among 17 authors on the Guardian's Top 100 Inspirational Women list. Female novelists are holding... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sceptre spends six figures on debut author

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/03/2011 - 10:14 Sceptre has signed a six-figure deal for two novels by debut author Jess Richards, including Snake Ropes, set on an island "off the edge of the map". Deputy publisher Jocasta Hamilton made the deal for UK and Commonwealth... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adults and teenagers still prefer prints books to ebooks, WBD survey says

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 07:34 Almost half of teenagers have read a book on a computer, according to a new survey to mark World Book Day. As hundreds of events get under way across the country today, 40.8% of teenagers said they had read a book on a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cutting Out Middleman to Sell Small Ads Online

Online publishers like CBS and Forbes are selling the tiny ads on their Web sites, rather than letting a third-party network promote teeth whitening and herbal remedies. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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