Penelope Lively's recent short ebook for Penguin drew criticism for its brevity – but readers should not be put off the genre as a whole"Overpriced", "ridiculous", I feel cheated". Amazon reviewers haven't been wholly positive about a digital short Penelope Lively has written for Penguin Specials. On the evidence of the story itself, it's not Lively's fault. Abroad is about a pair of art students who travel to 1950s Spain in search of picturesque peasants and are disappointed when they don't live up to expectations. It's funny and evocative of a time when rural Europe was still exotic.It also peters out after just 4,000 words, so I sympathise with anyone who felt ripped off by its £1.99 price tag. These days you can buy two whole novels for that. The sad fact is, publishers don't make any money if an ebook costs less than £1.99. Amazon does, because singles are the literary equivalent of a gateway drug.This was brought home to me on finishing Susan Hill's latest effort, Printer's Devil Court (99p), a haunting tale about pre-second world war medical students who experiment with resurrection. More substantial than Lively's, it's a great, old-fashioned ghost story, whose chilling impact was somewhat undermined by turning the final page to find Amazon ordering me to rate, review, tweet, Facebook and buy more books by Susan Hill. Was the ebook I'd enjoyed little more than a trailer?Singles are a clever marketing tool. But it would be a shame if readers short-changed by one... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
Frankenstein’s monster never looked so good. A few months back, we wrote about a project called Recovering the Classics, which planned to crowdsource enticing new covers for 50 literary classics--great books like A Tale of Two Cities, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Frankenstein, and Pride and... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ZOO Digital surveys digital publishing executives about their ebook workflows and the comparative advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing and internal production. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a filing on Friday, Apple Inc. fired back against a series of measures proposed by federal attorneys that would restrict the company's ability to strike electronic-book deals. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Justice Department and 33 state attorneys general want to force Apple to sign contracts with publishers that don't prevent Apple or other ebook stores from competing on price. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As a book critic Jane Ciabattari had been writing and reading online for years. As an author, she was more accustomed to print. So publishing her first ebook was a trial by fire. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#reading online
One month after a New York federal judge ruled that Apple Inc. had conspired to fix electronic book prices, the Department of Justice has proposed a series of restrictions on Apple's digital book sales. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US regulators have called for Apple to be forced to cancel certain ebook contracts with major publishers. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lucas Lyndes of Peruvian digital publisher Ox and Pigeon argues ebooks offer a solution to cross-border distribution and translation problems in Latin America. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With the simple concept of alerting readers to a curated list of discounted ebooks, Bookbub has attracted nearly 1.5 million users in just a year. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller is to publish a monthly ebook ranking with sales figures supplied by all the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After the European Commission accepted offers from Apple and four publishers to free up ebook pricing restrictions in December 2012, it's now accepted Penguin's commitment to do the same. Much like Penguin's vow to the US DOJ, it will end its agency agreements with Apple and other retailers, and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review website the Omnivore has created a dating feature that matches participants based on answers to questions like 'What are you currently reading?' and 'What author do you have a crush on?' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an interview, Javier Sepúlveda Hales of Ebooks Patagonia describes how his digital-only publishing company in Chile competes in Latin America and globally. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Under the Carib Sun author Ro Cuzon's essay describes journey to becoming a novelist and his experience in the agency-created Rogue Reader self-publishing program. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Monday it was announced that one juror who had found George Zimmerman not guilty had landed literary agent, Sharlene Martin. By 10 p.m., Martin announced she was dropping Juror B37 as a client.Maybe a book by a juror in the Trayvon Martin murder trial isn't such a good idea after all. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agents Jonny Geller and Edina Imrik in London talk with Porter Anderson about Curtis Brown's and Ed Victor's author-publishing approaches. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agent April Eberhardt describes her two-tiered offer to author-clients: one contract is a traditional deal, the other is a publishing consultancy. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The future of electronic books started a new chapter as Barnes & Noble Inc. edged closer to a breakup and a judge thumped Apple Inc. on pricing.William Lynch, chief executive of the country's largest bookstore chain, stepped down. Instead of filling the top post, Barnes & Noble promoted... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2013-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple has been found guilty of colluding to raise ebook prices. Financial ramifications aside, has the judgement damaged publishing's reputation with consumers? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It was a full day of tech news Wednesday, with a federal judge ruling that Apple conspired to raise the price of ebooks and T-Mobile introducing a new plan that makes it possible for customers to change their smartphones more often. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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