Something Is Rotten In The State Of E-Book Publishing

The publishing industry has a problem. The old guard haven't innovated. And neither their business models nor their products embrace the digital books revolution. Take the ongoing and complicated spat between Apple and the Justice Department over the agency pricing model and alleged collusion which ended up with consumers being forced to spend more than they needed to. The battle may expand internationally, in fact. Apple tried to expand its 30% revenue share model, which has done very well in the billion-dollar app economy, into books. It also pushed publishers to agree to a very different way of selling their products: Instead of buying books traditionally, at a pre-agreed wholesale price and then pricing them as Apple saw fit in the iBookstore, it would let the publishers set their own price and extract its usual fixed share of the income ... as long as the publishers wouldn't sell ebooks elsewhere.It was a bold move, and one that could and did shake up the industry a bit. Amazon, the publishers contend, had established a monopoly on ebooks, and was selling their wares at overly discounted prices. With Apple's model they could choose to price ebooks lower than physical books cost (appeasing consumers who expect to pay less for a non-physical product), and yet extract more money due to the cost-savings of e-publishing.The DOJ disagreed, and says Apple's deal meant consumers ended up spending much more than they needed to, hence its action against Apple and a laundry... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2012-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #rich media #tablet screens #kit eaton #fast company

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Something Is Rotten In The State Of E-Book Publishing'


Apple Gets Its E-Book Antitrust Monitor

A federal judge taps former federal prosecutor Michael Bromwich to keep an eye on Apple's antitrust compliance. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pinterest Drives More Traffic to Publishers Than Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit Combined

When it comes to referral traffic from social networks, there's Facebook and Pinterest — and then there's everyone else. Facebook accounted for more than 10% of overall traffic to publishers in September, by ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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National Book Award finalists announced, with free ebooks

The 2013 National Book Award finalists were announced on Wednesday, and for the first time, the National Book Foundation has offered a free ebook series with samples of the finalists' work.The 2013 National Book Award finalists were announced on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday, and for the first... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With Readers Still Willing to Pay, Is Publishing Catching a Break?

In the New Republic, Evan Hughes argues that the book business has fared far better than music, movies and other media in sustaining its value to consumers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Survey Finds Publishers Have Concerns Over Paywalls Being Bypassed

Not being able to control access to content as users bypass the paywall is a major challenge facing publishers. This is according to new research carried out by MPP Global Solutions as part of its latest webinar on the future of digital publishing m ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo removes all self-published titles. Is this censorship, an overreaction, or just good sense?

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo removed self-published pornographic titles from their sites and Kobo stopped sales of self-published titles altogether. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Bridget Jones book fails to impress

Reviewers label latest book sad, desperate and irrelevant - but readers beg to differ.     Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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These (Fake) Self–Help Books Diagnose Nearly Every Way People Are Terrible On Social Media

American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis is what's known in online circles as a world–class troll. For the uninitiated, a troll is someone who expresses a controversial and often contrarian opinion in order to get a rise out of people and draw attention to himself. If someone is widely... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo pulls books after abuse row

E-book seller Kobo suspends all self-published books from its UK store after the discovery of abuse-themed titles on sale. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ether for Authors: Is It Time for Publishing to Call a Truce?

Porter Anderson looks at the Frankfurt Book Fair, at Sprint Beyond the Book and Book Sprints, at pen names, and more in Ether for Authors this week. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2013: A Busy Fair Despite Lower Attendance

The 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair was a busy one, despite another modest decline in trade visitors Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Publishers Are Fighting the Shift to Programmatic

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You dropped a book on me: Drones to deliver textbooks

A textbook rental company is trying to mimic the instantaneous speed of ebook delivery for printed books by utilizing civil drones in Sydney, Australia. Imagine the book you need to ace the exam showing up at your door, care of your friendly neighborhood drone. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Much is Too Much? Getting the Content Balance Right in Digital Publishing

As digital publishing slowly but surely comes to eclipse traditional, printed media a big question arises: what happens to the publishing schedule when there are no fixed dealines? This is a problem being tackled head on by the Financial Time ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Glitterati Inc.: Books that Shine

In 2002, Marta Hallett—a very experienced and successful publishing executive and packager— founded Glitterati Inc., a New York–based boutique press that focuses on art and photo books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McDonald's Happy Meal: Books included during November (+video)

McDonald's Happy Meal: Books will be served with one of four original titles in Happy Meals for two weeks in the month of November. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing’s Leap of Faith

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While You Were in Frankfurt: Sprint Beyond the Book

Porter Anderson looks at the Arizona State University-based project Sprint Beyond the Book, creating a book in the three days of Frankfurt Book Fair. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2013: WME, HC Lead the Deal-Making in Active Show

If there a theme emerged from the deal-making at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, it was the dominance of HarperCollins as a buyer of big books, and of William Morris Endeavor as the seller of those books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2013: Markus Dohle's Full Remarks

What does the future hold for the world's first mega trade publisher, Penguin Random House? Check out this transcript of PRH CEO Markus Dohle's full remarks delivered at the 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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