A group of writers are quids in following an experiment to sell a bundle of DRM-free ebooks. Sales of The Humble Bundle, which included works from authors Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman and the much-loved xkcd comic strip, have been anything but humble, with over 84,000 bundles sold, earning the authors $1.1 million in sales. What made the experiment so extraordinary was the fact that buyers could choose what they paid for the bundle, and how much of their price went to charity. WIth the average price coming in at $14.18: anyone who paid more than that got extra content included. One user even paid $1,238 for his 13 books which, if bought separately, would cost $157. One of the writers has been left gobsmacked. Lauren Beukes, author of Zoo City, initially saw the concept as a crazy experiment. "I didn't realise there would be over 75,000 of them spending more than a million dollars in two weeks on books!" she said. "This is New York Times bestseller-level sales." The online publishing industry will have been given a real fillip by this - especially authors who choose to publish their own work by themselves. Larger publishing houses and retailers such as Amazon, both of which swear by the draconian DRM, will be looking to see how future bundles, already in the Humble Bundle pipeline, fare. Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2012-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Cult of the Leader (Wiley), written by Christopher Bones, has been named as the CMI... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian bookselling chain Indigo Books and Music and Books-a-Million have joined ranks with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As traditional revenue channels for newspapers collapse, publishers are seeking new and innovative ways to make a profit without expending a lot of resources. Finding the appropriate niche is the key to survival, and newspapers that recognize this ar ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Imagine buying a car that locks you into one brand of fuel. That new BMW only runs on BMW gas. There are plenty of BMW gas stations around, so convenience isn't an issue. But if a different brand of gas station offers a discount, a membership program, or some other marketing campaign, you can't... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a world where people increasingly consume their content on multiple platforms—watching TV recorded on their DVR, as well as downloaded to their iPad; reading the New York Times in print Sunday mornings, on their Kindle during the morning commute, then on their desktop at the office—questions... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC Books has signed a two-year publishing deal with the BBC's upcoming talent show "The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic book fans gather in the French city of Angouleme to celebrate the 39th international festival of comic books. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can’t wait for high school calculus iBooks where kids have to triangulate Kindle sales with rubbish percentage data –Dan Frommer, via Twitter Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printed book sales fell 12% year on year in January, with spending falling to its lowest point... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Books is a gigantic and ever-expanding online library of books and magazines that can be used to read classic titles free of charge as well as to purchase new releases in all manner of categories. But you may be one of the many people who have found that the interface for the website and... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ProPublica and Open Road Integrated Media will release several ebooks based on ProPublica's investigative journalism, beginning in February. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Matteo Berlucchi, chief executive of the social e-retailer Anobii, has urged publishers to drop... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse (Egmont) was once again the bestselling book in the UK last... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A group of writers in India have set up a petition calling for the lifting of the country's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The rules of the game dictate that any effort to move into America’s large and lucrative education publishing industry must be swaddled in pieties, and the electronic textbook initiative announced by Apple last week was no exception. Apple, which is normally willing to state that customers will... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers may be falling out of love with apps, but they need to fall in love with their... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Want to replace your traditional library with ebooks? Here are some sites and tools that can help you make your physical books disappear. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Journalist and TV researcher Hester Abrams has been appointed to the role of director of literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The actress Jennifer Lawrence in a scene from the movie adaptation of "The Hunger Games." Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The share of adults in the United States who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January and the same surge in growth also applied to ebook readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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