Kobo Plus is an unlimited e-book subscription service that is only available in the Netherlands and lately they have been able to get a number of exclusives. In the name of the father is a new e-book from by thrillist Linda Jansma and a number of titles by author Willem Asman are both exclusively available on Kobo Plus and this is pissing off local booksellers.The Paagman … [Read more...] about Kobo Plus is Getting a Number of Exclusive eBooks
Digital Publishing News
Amazon Updates Its Kindle App
It's been roughly ten years since Amazon launched its Kindle app for a variety of platforms, and today the company has announced its biggest update since that time. The newly revamped reading app brings with it a number of key changes that readers have been asking for.“We’ve built the new Kindle app from the ground up for book lovers, giving readers easy access to … [Read more...] about Amazon Updates Its Kindle App
Digital Book World Conference Has Been Sold
The Digital Book World conference has been one of the only events in the United States that exclusively focused on digital publishing and eBooks. It used to be relevant three or four years ago when everyone was still trying to wrap their heads around self-publishing and best practices for EPUB creation. This sort of thing is commonplace now and all sorts of events now have … [Read more...] about Digital Book World Conference Has Been Sold
Major Publishers Proclaim eBooks Represent 20% of Total Sales
Over the course of the past few years major publishers have consistently reported that ebook sales have been declining steadily. This has resulted in a number of publishing executives to become disillusioned with the format. Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle recently stated that “Book markets have seen growth in most countries, slow, but continuous growth,” Dohle said, … [Read more...] about Major Publishers Proclaim eBooks Represent 20% of Total Sales
CreateSpace Is Closing Its Online Bookstore
Amazon owns CreateSpace, the print-on-demand solution that allows indie authors to produce print editions of their work and then seamlessly integrate them into Amazon's online bookstore. CreateSpace started out as an independent company before being bought by the online retailer some time ago, and as such, CS has kept its own online bookstore in operation all this time. But … [Read more...] about CreateSpace Is Closing Its Online Bookstore
Draft2Digital Announces New Author Referral Program
Draft2Digital is one of the largest independant self-publishing platforms and they have just launched a new affiliate program that is unlike anything else in the industry. With this new program, referrers can earn 10% of D2D's cut of author royalties for Books sold through the service's distribution network, for one year."We've always had excellent word of mouth promotion," … [Read more...] about Draft2Digital Announces New Author Referral Program
Google is revising their Newspaper Paywall Strategy
If you are a voracious digital reader the newspaper paywall system is a fact of life. Newspapers traditionally allow users to read only a few articles per month, until you have to pay a monthly subscription. There is a way to bypass this system by simply Googling or using DuckDuckgo to search for the name of the article and you can read it in its entirety for free. Google is … [Read more...] about Google is revising their Newspaper Paywall Strategy
E-Book Revenue Increased for the First Time in Two Years
Monthly ebook revenue increased for the first time in two years. Revenues for book publishers were up by $50.7 million (4.6%) in May 2017 over May 2016. Downloaded audio had another strong month, up 43.4% in May 2017 vs. May 2016 and 32.5% from Jan. - May 2017 vs. the same five months in 2016. Revenue for print books was also up this May, with growth in hardback, paperback, … [Read more...] about E-Book Revenue Increased for the First Time in Two Years
How eBooks Can Save Banned Books
It's Banned Books Week, a popular celebration for rebel readers put on by the American Library Association. For thirty-five years, the ALA has encouraged readers to explore the list of books that have been banned or challenged in schools, libraries, and even retail sales in order to exercise their right to read.Unfortunately, in this climate of political angsts and … [Read more...] about How eBooks Can Save Banned Books
Goodreads Turns Ten
Users and book lovers alike have heard the news about the decade anniversary of book discovery site Goodreads, and have pretty much all responded in the same way: "Goodreads is only ten?!"Yes, the site has been around for only ten years, although die-hard devotees would swear it's been much longer than that. Goodreads has been credited with making book discovery possible … [Read more...] about Goodreads Turns Ten
Apple Updates iBooks Author for the First Time this Year
Apple has just released an update to iBooks Author, the first time it has received an update in 2017. The update adds the ability to add images and videos from Photos, the Mac photo management app. There are some other minor changes, such as support for wide color gamut images.The new iBooks Author update coincides with the launch of macOS High Sierra, though it doesn't … [Read more...] about Apple Updates iBooks Author for the First Time this Year
Why Do Girls Have Breasts And Other Questions This Children’s Publisher Can’t Answer
The internet is all in a tizzy about a three-year-old book and objectification of girls, namely, in the way it encourages boys to view girls as objects of sexual gratification. Alex Firth's title for Usborne, Growing Up for Boys, contains a passage that speaks to the actual purpose of breasts, citing two reasons:1. For producing milk that feeds babies - yay for normalizing … [Read more...] about Why Do Girls Have Breasts And Other Questions This Children’s Publisher Can’t Answer
Amazon Removes One Star Reviews of Clinton Election Memoir
Amazon's book reviews are once again raising community ire, but this time for the perception that the retailer is engaging in unfair preference to a book and its author. Hillary Clinton has finally released an autobiographical account of the November 2016 election that did not result in her victory, and the political dogs have been loosed.Hundreds of one-star reviews of … [Read more...] about Amazon Removes One Star Reviews of Clinton Election Memoir
We Live in a Literary World of Terrible Self-Published Authors
There are a copious number of online self-publishing companies that promise aspiring authors the opportunity to distribute their ebook all over the world. Millions of authors publish with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Draft2Digital, Kobo Writing Life, Nook Press and Smashwords. Most "authors" who self-publish an ebook never sell more than a handful and over 75% of all … [Read more...] about We Live in a Literary World of Terrible Self-Published Authors