Amazon's updated e-book return policy looks like a big win for authors

Anyone who has been taking advantage of Amazon's liberal return policy regarding e-books could soon be in for a shock. That's because following discussions with the Authors Guild, Amazon has agreed to block automatic returns on digital books that are more than 10 percent read. Currently, the problem for authors on Amazon is that customers can return e-books online anytime within seven days of purchase no matter how much content has been consumed. That means if you can you read a book in less than a week, you can simply return it when you're done for free, resulting in a loss of profits for the author. However, under the new policy which is scheduled to go into effect sometime before the end of the year, Amazon will begin blocking automatic returns on e-books that are more than 10 read, which will then need to be reviewed by a representative to ensure that the return is genuine. The Authors Guild says the goal is to create a deterrent for people who abuse Amazon's current policy and to prevent people from treating Amazon's e-book marketplace as an ersatz library. Issues with Amazon's e-book return policy date back more than a decade, but had recently come under fire again after lifehacks about the company's guidelines began circulating online. And according to NPR, in some cases, abuse of the company's return policy even resulted in some authors having negative earnings balances, which typically happened when customers returned an e-book after the creator had been paid out... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2022-09-23 19:10:20 UTC ]
News tagged with: #prevent people #big win #taking advantage #authors guild #digital books #e-book

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Sandra Boynton Demonstrates App, Signs Books--and a Few Nooks

Monday night’s Sandra Boynton book event at the Barnes & Noble on Manhattan’s Upper East Side looked like a pretty normal book signing--normal for Boynton, the bestselling children’s book author, anyway. Toddlers and slightly older kids, some dressed in pajamas, crammed into the event space,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book sales at Hachette UK now 5% and catching US

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 03/05/2011 - 11:42 E-book sales at Hachette UK quadrupled in the first quarter of 2011 and are more than 5% of HUK’s trade sales, the company revealed today (3rd May), adding that it was beginning to catch up with the US, where ebooks now account... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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St. Martin's Prepares for Run on Book by Seals

Three weeks shy of a year ago, St. Martin's Press signed up a book by a Navy SEAL Team Six sniper, chronicling how he became an elite warrior and the battle that nearly cost him his life. Today, with news of Osama Bin Laden's death reverberating around the world, SMP is getting ready for a rush... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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St. Martin's Prepares for Run on Book by Bin Laden's Killer

Three weeks shy of a year ago, St. Martin's Press signed up a book by a Navy SEAL Team Six sniper, chronicling how he became an elite warrior and the battle that nearly cost him his life. Today, with news of Osama Bin Laden's death reverberating around the world, SMP is getting ready for a rush... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Al Gore Reinvents the Book

Push Pop Press, the brainchild of two former Apple engineers, just got a boost from an innovative former U.S. vice president. After having ‘invented the Internet,’ Al Gore is back to reinvent the book. Push Pop Press is a digital tool taking books to the next level, making them even more... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Our Choice for IOS Pushes Digital Book Boundaries

The first time former U.S. vice president Al Gore issued his warning about the dire state of our environment, he used the traditional format of bound paper. To... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Al Gore's Next Invention: The Future of Books? (Cheap Shot, But Cool App) [NetworkEffect]

Push Pop Press, a digital book publishing platform, went live with its first title this week, Al Gore's "Our Choice," available as an iOS app for $4.99. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Confusion Over a Book About Harper Lee

The author of a forthcoming book about the ever-private Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," insisted on Friday that she had the cooperation of Ms. Lee, two days after Ms. Lee released a statement through her lawyer denying that she had cooperated. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Angry Robot's Zoo City wins Arthur C Clarke award

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 28/04/2011 - 07:32 Lauren Beukes's Zoo City has been honoured with the Arthur C Clarke Award for science fiction novel of the year, being tipped to bring "a whole new readership" to the genre. Zoo City's publisher Angry Robot Books has also... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iPad users may not become book readers, report finds

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 28/04/2011 - 08:00 A large proportion of iPad owners in the US have not used the device to read an ebook, a survey from media and publishing forecast firm Simba Information reveals. A report on the firm's "Trade E-Book Publishing 2011"... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Creating an E-book: Tips on Document Formatting

After years of marginal acceptance, ebooks have finally started to eclipse their printed-and-bound ancestors. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales bounce over spring break

Written By: Philip Jones and Jenny Roper Publication Date: Wed, 27/04/2011 - 16:00 Book sales dropped 9% last week as the Easter weekend cut into retail time, but the market was still up on the same week last year with sales up 2.1%, a second consecutive week of year-on-year growth after a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-books among Amazon.co.uk's top sellers as its parent's profits tumble

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 27/04/2011 - 09:39 Amazon.com has reported a steep drop in profit despite boosting sales by over a third. Amazon.co.uk also revealed that one print book and four ebooks were among its top 10 bestselling items in the quarter, with the Kindle... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Mix That Includes Fewer Books

One of the industry's biggest issues in 2011 is the loss of retail shelf space for print titles. The trend of book retailers devoting less space—and generating lower sales—from new books is seen in the recently released 10-k filings from Books-A-Million and Hastings Entertainment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ABC News High On Enhanced E-books

In deciding to launch the ABC Video Bookstore, Andrew Morse said the giant media company was looking for a product that could reach viewers who are attached to a digital reading device, be it an iPad, Kindle, or cellphone, and decided that an enhanced ebook was the right one. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Major Campaign for Special K Book

Special K is a $1 billion brand in the U.S., selling an estimated 168 million boxes of cereal a year. This spring, Kellogg's and Weldon Owen are hoping a massive marketing campaign can extend the brand's success into the book world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With Update, Barnes & Noble's Nook Color Gets More Tablet-Like [Mobilized]

A free update is bringing the ability to install various paid and free Android apps, though only those that Barnes & Noble approves. The new software also offers improved browsing, the Froyo version of Android and support for video content within books. Even with the update, the Nook Color... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle for Android Now Honeycomb Optimized

Amazon has tweaked its Kindle for Android app to run optimally on tablets running Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Releases IBooks 1.2.2 Update

On Thursday, Apple released a minor update to its iBooks ebook and PDF reading app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cheapest E-Books Upend the Charts [Voices]

The nation's largest book publishers are facing increasing pricing pressure on the digital front as the number of cheap, self-published digital titles gain popularity with readers seeking budget-minded entertainment. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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