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 ]

Other news stories related to: "Amazon's updated e-book return policy looks like a big win for authors"


Bookstat chart: Girl Beneath the Sea surges to top spot, Rooney shoots to second

Andrew Mayne's The Girl Beneath the Sea (Thomas & Mercer) has made a splash in the Bookstat e-book top 10, sailing straight into the number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-05 09:58:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


E-book VAT: the other side of the story

In his recent blog, 'Amazon's VAT Windfall', Anthony McGowan expressed concern that the Bezos behemoth had not changed e-book prices following the recent VAT cut, and were set to profit to the tune of millions as a result. He and I have been arguing on Twitter, very politely I might add, about... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-04 21:54:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Amazon's VAT windfall

From 1 May, bringing forward a plan originally scheduled for the end of the year, the Government has removed VAT from e-books. It was a change lobbied for by many writers, as well as the big publishers. They rallied under the stirring slogan ‘No Tax on Learning’. This is a good thing, surely,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-04 08:40:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Coronavirus lockdown hastens e-book VAT exemption

Amazon says it will reduce prices but the Times newspaper subscription will remain the same. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2020-05-01 12:36:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Coronavirus Update: The UK Scraps Its 20-Percent VAT on Digital Books

A rare benefit of COVID-19, the UK's government finally–and suddenly–has wiped out the market's punishing tax on digital publications. The post Coronavirus Update: The UK Scraps Its 20-Percent VAT on Digital Books appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-30 16:03:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


E-book and audio sales proving 'welcome ray of sunshine' for publishers

Publishers are seeing a surge in e-book and audio sales of up to 25% as readers escape the lockdown with feel-good fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-23 02:30:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hugh Bonneville voices audiobook for Nosy Crow coronavirus title

"Paddington" and "Downton Abbey" star Hugh Bonneville is voicing the free audiobook for Nosy Crow's recently released children's e-book about coronavirus.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-20 18:06:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Authors Guild Finds Writers Are Losing Significant Income

A survey by the Authors Guild of its members found a majority of authors had already lost significant income due to the ongoing pandemic, led by lost fees from appearances and writing opportunities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Orion makes child's play of next acquisition for parents home-schooling

Orion has acquired the first book from Early Years specialist and playHOORAY! founder Claire Russell, to publish in e-book next week. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-15 07:21:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Rough Guides offers free e-book during pandemic lockdown

Rough Guides is offering a free e-book to customers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-09 05:10:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Digital Bestseller Lists: Buchanan's Wall scales the heights

For the week ending 4th April, it was all change in the Bookstat e-book top 10, as nine new entries rushed in.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-09 05:02:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Claire McFall releases e-book to raise funds for food banks

Scottish YA author Claire McFall is releasing an e-book title, Making Turquoise, to raise money for food banks.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-08 05:38:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sphere releases 99p activity e-book for readers in lockdown

Sphere is publishing a 99p activity e-book for people in need of "affordable distraction" during the lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-07 18:30:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Authors Guild, AAP Outraged by IA's 'National Emergency Library'

The Internet Archive says it is performing a public service by making its scans of print books available to all, but critics call it an 'attack' on copyright. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Why Is Dying in America So Expensive?

In Megan Giddings’s debut novel Lakewood, desperation leads to a loss of self in a capitalist medical system bent on taking advantage of Black people and their bodies. After the death of her grandmother, Lena, a college student struggling with overwhelming medical debt and taking care of her... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-03-24 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Canadian publishers turn to e-book discounts to entice readers amid COVID-19

Some Canadian publishers are offering special deals on e-books in a bid to entertain readers and pay authors during the COVID-19 shutdown. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2020-03-23 09:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The e-book vaccine?

Despite the fact that so much entertainment content is now digitally delivered, physical books - at least up until this point - have continued to outpace the sales of e-books. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-23 01:46:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Macmillan drops controversial US e-book library policy

Macmillan has abandoned its controversial lending policy on e-books for US libraries in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 05:44:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Macmillan Abandons Library E-book Embargo

“There are times in life when differences should be put aside,” reads a brief memo from Macmillan CEO John Sargent addressed to librarians, authors, illustrators, and agents, revealing that Macmillan will "return to the library e-book pricing model that was in effect on October 31st, 2019." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Digital Bestseller Lists: Marian holds the Keyes to the top

Eight new titles have flocked into the Bookstat E-Book top 10 for the week ending 7th March, with Daisy Pearce’s The Silence in the number one spot. Of course, Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light also broke into the chart, hitting fourth place with an estimated 20,114 units sold. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-13 05:16:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this