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 ]
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E-reading on the rise but print books still dominate

New research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that the percentage of American adults who read an ebook in the past year has risen to 28 percent, up from 23 percent in 2012. Yet the tree book isn't dead yet, at least in the popularity sense, as the results show most ebook... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jaipur Literary FestivaI to Covers Challenges in Indian Publishing

For the first time the Zee Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF) has introduced a professional program to discuss the ongoing challenges to book publishing in India. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eksmo and AST: Russia’s Two Publishing Giants Merge

Eksmo, Russia's leading publishing company, has officially taken over its main rival AST, bringing the country even closer to consolidation. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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5 Trends for Academic Publishing in 2014

Following yesterday's look at trade publishing, George Lossius, CEO of Publishing Technology, predicts five trends for the academic publishing sector in 2014. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wider publishing industry 'worth £10bn to UK in 2012'

A new report by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has shown that the publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DBW 2014: Publisher, Startup Partnerships

Publishers and startup entrepreneurs came together on two separate panels at Digital Book World to discuss forging relationships. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Complete List of Children's Books and Authors at Wi9

PW has compiled a list of the children's books and galleys being given away at this year's Winter Institute, along with the buzz about why specific authors are attending. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adult Books & Authors at Wi9

A comprehensive list of the writers to look for and galleys and finished books available at the ABA conference. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Why Publishers Are Enlisting Programmatic Ad Chiefs

A new senior role is rapidly emerging at the top of digital publishers’ sales organizations: the programmatic czar. Publishers initially approached programmatic advertising warily, concerned it would do little more than drive down their ad prices and further commoditize their inventory. That... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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5 Trends for Trade Publishing in 2014

George Lossius, CEO at Publishing Technology, predicts 5 trends for trade publishing for the year, including a boost for big data and a focus on formats. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

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E-Readers Create Boom in US Spanish-Language Books

The Los Angeles Times looks into the growing availability of Spanish-language ebooks and increasing confidence in the US Spanish-speaking market. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The First 3-D Printed Book Cover Is Here

A limited edition of Chang-Rae Lee's On Such A Full Sea turns typography into a sculpture.It was only a matter of time: the first 3-D printed book cover has arrived. Published by Riverhead Books on Tuesday, a limited edition of Chang-Rae Lee's novel On Such a Full Sea features a white slipcover... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publish and be branded: the new threat to literature's laboratory

Increasingly fixated on the stars of today, such as Hilary Mantel and JK Rowling, publishers are neglecting the experimenters who could save their industry tomorrow: the mid-list writersThe tickets sold out months ago. Long before the admiring reviews of the stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel's... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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2014 in Digital Publishing: A View from the UK

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Big Hat Books Temporarily Closes

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Should Major Publishers Change Their Core Mission?

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Industry predicts 2014's publishing trends

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Small presses release some of the best books around

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Spanish-language books flourish thanks to e-readers

The surging popularity of the Kindle and Nook allows publishers to offer Spanish-language books in the U.S. at far lower prices than for printed copies. For decades, finding Spanish-language books in the U.S. was like tilting at windmills.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

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Time-Life Books Gets Set for a Return

Although Time Inc. began publishing books that combined the resources of its Time and Life magazines in 1961, Time-Life Books (T-L Books) was not officially established until 1964. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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