There is strong momentum in the USA's world of ebooks. Sales nearly doubled from 2010 to 2011, and ebooks now account for over 30% of all Trade-Fiction! BookStats compiled a recent report, which examines US publishers' annual net sales revenues and net units. Their research does a good job at tracking sales from all adult fiction, non-fiction, and kids books. Recently the … [Read more...] about eBooks Now Account for 30% of All US Fiction
Digital Publishing News
Barnes and Noble Encouraging Teen Digital Reading
It's been a long-standing paradox that teenagers are the demographic least likely to adopt to digital reading. While they have always been stereotypically known for being the most tech savvy among us, there has been an identifiable divide between using their devices for fun and using their devices for what may be considered academics.Now, Barnes and Noble is working on … [Read more...] about Barnes and Noble Encouraging Teen Digital Reading
Kobo Launches the Writing Life Self-Publishing Platform
Kobo has finally taken the wraps off of its newest project, Kobo Writing Life. The development of this self-publishing initiative has taken well over a year to develop and is finally released. It gives authors the ability to convert an existing Microsoft Word file to an EPUB format. It also gives you the power to download your file and distribute it to friends and family, or … [Read more...] about Kobo Launches the Writing Life Self-Publishing Platform
Digital Gives Old Characters a New Life
For those who stay current on the trends in digital publishing, one of the best aspects of the possibilities associated with technology of digital publishing is its ability to bring to life some of the favorite characters from the past. Sesame Street has already gone digital, along with Dr. Seuss’ time-honored classics. Now, Scholastic, the world’s largest children’s publisher, … [Read more...] about Digital Gives Old Characters a New Life
eBook Visibility in Australian Schools Increases Dramatically
Digital eBooks in the Australian school system are increasing dramatically. More than 50% of schools in Australia are doing business with Softlink, who is Overdrives official partner. In the past 12 months alone, over 250 schools in the region have subscribed to the service.This benefits educational institutions to be able to offer digital content for e-readers and tablets. In … [Read more...] about eBook Visibility in Australian Schools Increases Dramatically
Sweet Valley Twins Return as e-Singles
Many girls grew up in the 80's reading Nancy Drew and the Sweet Valley High series. St. Martin’s press is going to be reissuing 12 Sweet Valley books this October, but in the meantime, a number of digital e-singles will be issued.Francine Pascal, the writer of the new singles, mentioned on the Kindle Blog that "I would pick (these singles) three years after Sweet Valley … [Read more...] about Sweet Valley Twins Return as e-Singles
More Publishers Experiment with eBook-Only, eBook-First
An original piece in Publisher’s Weekly revealed that more and more traditional publishers are trying out the ever-growing publishing tactic of digital only books, or at least digital first. Over a year ago, traditional publishers like Harlequin made headlines and raised eyebrows by announcing the formation of imprints within their publishing houses that were dedicated to … [Read more...] about More Publishers Experiment with eBook-Only, eBook-First
Japan Making Ready for Digital Reading Explosion
Japan is looking ahead to the launch of four separate e-reader devices in the coming months, notably one from Amazon and one from Kobo. The Amazon.jp site snuck in a Kindle page only a few days ago, and Kobo announced that its device and some 30,000 Japanese titles will be available this Thursday. Additionally, Toppan and Sony are both working on soon-to-be-released products or … [Read more...] about Japan Making Ready for Digital Reading Explosion
eBook Review: Black List by Brad Thor
Verdict: 5-StarsI sincerely hope that Brad Thor is just a great fiction writer because if he’s not, if he’s simply writing the truth, America is in a lot of trouble. According to Black List, the real bad guy is our own government. Worse, the people who are charged with keeping us safe are often in more danger from internal orders than the terrorists they hunt.That was … [Read more...] about eBook Review: Black List by Brad Thor
eBook Startup Livrada Could Save the Brick and Mortars
Laura Hazard Owen of paidContent.org wrote an article on new ebook startup Livrada, a company whose goal is to make digital book gifting more appealing to consumers. By selling gift cards in the electronics sections of Target’s 1,771 stores that are specific to the titles of certain bestselling books, Livrada aims to let consumers give ebooks for Nooks or Kindle as gifts while … [Read more...] about eBook Startup Livrada Could Save the Brick and Mortars
Smashwords’ CEO Mark Coker on Publishing Milestones
Yesterday, Smashwords’ CEO Mark Coker updated the company blog with a stunning announcement: Smashwords has now had a stunning five billion words uploaded to the site. GoodeReader caught up with Coker this morning prior to his speaking panel at ThrillerFest in New York to learn an even more amazing figure.“I wrote that blog post late Wednesday night,” said Coker in the … [Read more...] about Smashwords’ CEO Mark Coker on Publishing Milestones
DITA Strategies Webinar Brought a Varied Educational Publishing Audience
Amber Swope, founder of DITA Strategies, hosted a webinar with Data Conversion Laboratory last week to introduce attendees to the structured architecture of XML. Some of the specific teams in attendance were educational publishers looking for a format that wasn’t so proprietary, an important factor in making digital content compatible across platforms. Swope spoke to … [Read more...] about DITA Strategies Webinar Brought a Varied Educational Publishing Audience
ebrary Adds 9,000 New eBooks to Government Libraries
ebrary won a government contract a month ago that put it in the unique position of being the only ebook business on the government buyers list. This has given the company a huge revenue boost in supplying various libraries, such as the American Water Works Association, Cardiotext Publishing, and Urban Institute Press. The database now includes a growing selection of more than … [Read more...] about ebrary Adds 9,000 New eBooks to Government Libraries
50 Shades of Grey Sells 20 Million Copies in the US
The 50 Shades of Grey series is undoubtedly the most successful book franchise of 2012. The hot series continues to top Kobo’s bestseller lists worldwide, and just this week, the book series has sold an incredible 20 million copies in the US, according to AFP.Nielsen's BookScan numbers show that in the spring, the 50 Shades of Grey series accounted for 20% of adult fiction … [Read more...] about 50 Shades of Grey Sells 20 Million Copies in the US