Award-winning children's enhanced storybook creator Auryn, who recently launched its StoriesAlive subscription reading service for kids, has put out a list of vetted and dynamic kids' subscriptions for tablet-based content. These subscriptions all aimed at the under-teen set, are expected to be welcomed gifts of reading, learning, and fun, for children and toddlers. First, … [Read more...] about Auryn Points Parents to Great Gift Subscriptions for Kids this Christmas
New Book Discovery Engine Novelry Aids Searchability
One of the key issues plaguing an admittedly glutted ebook market is the need for better searchability, especially for self-published and small press books that don't come with the publicity teams reserved for bestsellers from the Big Five. Even as readers reach out to support the efforts of indie authors, book discovery still remains murky. But a new book search engine is … [Read more...] about New Book Discovery Engine Novelry Aids Searchability
Scribd, Smashwords Partner to Put Indie Authors’ Work in Subscription Service
This might be a biased statement given the amount of news that crosses the Good e-Reader desk concerning ebook distribution and self-publishing platform Smashwords, but it's a pretty safe bet that Smashwords has done more to further the cause of self-publishing than any other platform available to authors. Certainly companies like Amazon, Barnes and Noble's Nook Press, and … [Read more...] about Scribd, Smashwords Partner to Put Indie Authors’ Work in Subscription Service
Vellum Self-Publishing App for Mac Aims to Do It All…
A new self-publishing app for Mac by software veterans Brad Andalman and Brad West, both of whom are former Pixar designers, is trying to make the self-publishing process for ebooks even easier and more streamlined than it already is, at least on the surface. The app, Vellum, is supposed to make the entire formatting and distributing process even easier and more … [Read more...] about Vellum Self-Publishing App for Mac Aims to Do It All…
iStoryTime Announces Children’s Enhanced eBook Giveaways
One of the first companies to begin producing high-quality, interactive ebook apps for the little readers among us was zuuka's iStoryTime, who has produced many of the licensed movie adaptations on the market. Through agreements with companies like DreamWorks, iStoryTime has released exciting renderings of storybooks to go with popular titles like Kung Fu Panda, Shrek, Rise of … [Read more...] about iStoryTime Announces Children’s Enhanced eBook Giveaways
Smashwords Unveils New Website, New Features
It's a testament to the company model that self-publishing platform and ebook distribution company Smashwords hasn't changed its website since it launched in 2008. Rather than throw around flashy landing pages that don't really do anything, the site has spent the last several years sticking with its tried-and-true site while it focused on more important factors, such as ease of … [Read more...] about Smashwords Unveils New Website, New Features
Kindle Worlds Releases Work by Howey Based on Slaughterhouse Five
When Amazon Publishing announced the creation of its fan fiction publishing site Kindle Worlds, one of its first and most vocal supporters was bestselling author Hugh Howey. The author of the Silo Saga has been an active proponent of the idea that fan fiction--when readers take authors' story lines or characters and craft their own unique tales with those elements--is both a … [Read more...] about Kindle Worlds Releases Work by Howey Based on Slaughterhouse Five
Amazon’s List of Bestselling Titles of 2013
While retailers around the world--both in the book industry and out of it--tend to carefully guard their actual sales numbers, bestseller lists are a different idea altogether. Amazon has released the lists of books by category and by overall sales rank that have sold the most so far this year. While most of the top twenty titles came as no surprise, there were some … [Read more...] about Amazon’s List of Bestselling Titles of 2013
Is the Publishing Industry Wasting Its Time on Tablets?
One of the anticipated major trends of 2013, at least according to the companies showcasing their platforms at last January's Digital Book World event, was supposed to be online retail stores branded specifically to publishers and authors, essentially letting publishers cut out the retailer altogether when it can to ebooks, audiobooks, and other downloadable content. The move … [Read more...] about Is the Publishing Industry Wasting Its Time on Tablets?
Without a Blockbuster Title for the Holidays, Indie Authors Can Step Up to the Plate
The past few holiday shopping seasons have seen a good-sized upswing in sales for the book industry, but consumers have had recent out-of-the-park blockbuster titles to purchase for their own holiday downtime or for gift giving. Books like new Stephen King and Neil Gaiman releases, and trilogies like The Hunger Games or Fifty Shades of Grey secured publishers' and booksellers' … [Read more...] about Without a Blockbuster Title for the Holidays, Indie Authors Can Step Up to the Plate