E.L. James has just released a new book that is entitled Grey. It retells the original 50 Shades of Grey from the prospective of Christian Grey and it looks to be a smash for the book selling industry. The title has sold over 1.1 million copies in the first four days.Vintage Books has confirmed that 1.1 million copies of Grey have been sold in audiobook, e-book and print in … [Read more...] about EL James Grey Sells 1.1 Million Copies in 4 Days
E-Book News
Harlequin Launches Innovative Rewards Program
Harlequin has just launched a new rewards program in Canada and the United States. Readers can get Skype conversations with their favorite authors, gift basket or autographed books.A new website has been established called Harlequin My Rewards and readers can earn points by leaving online book reviews, buying books and participating in fun mini surveys.Now I know … [Read more...] about Harlequin Launches Innovative Rewards Program
Amazon is Changing Product Reviews
Amazon has taken the first steps to augment product reviews, one of the largest initiatives the company has taken in their 20 year history. Amazon reviews have proved to be critical for people looking to buy a product and have come to trust Amazon more than any other website.A new in-house machine learning program will be putting more weight on verified purchases, new … [Read more...] about Amazon is Changing Product Reviews
Penguin Random House Now Selling Books on Twitter
Penguin Random House is a launch partner for a new initiative by Twitter to turn the social media platform into a shopping experience.When you click on book related branding by Penguin Random House, such as a Tweet about a latest bestseller it will take you to a dedicated product page within Twitter. You can then check out tweets by other others talking about the book and … [Read more...] about Penguin Random House Now Selling Books on Twitter
Erotic e-Books can Only be sold After 10 PM in Germany
The German Publishers & Booksellers Association have mandated that all e-books that aimed at adult audiences cannot be sold until after 10 PM. This includes romance, erotica and any e-book whose metadata classifies it as not being suitable for minors.How do you classify an e-book as being exclusively for adults? There is a new data entry field for publishers or … [Read more...] about Erotic e-Books can Only be sold After 10 PM in Germany
Why Do Libraries Pay More Money for e-books?
Libraries in Canada and the United States have been quite enamored with establishing digital collections. This includes audiobooks e-books, magazines, newspapers and video. 95% of all libraries in these two countries have an e-book collection and the costs are starting to add up. Predatory pricing by major publishers are pricing their e-books almost 500% more than the Kindle … [Read more...] about Why Do Libraries Pay More Money for e-books?
Smashwords New Preorder System is Great for Authors
Smashwords has unveiled a bold new feature that will allow authors to start taking pre-orders without the need to upload a final manuscript or e-book cover art. This is a boon because an author can start earning money right away and help finance the actual writing.Two years ago Smashwords initiated the first stage of their pre-order system, but it required authors to … [Read more...] about Smashwords New Preorder System is Great for Authors
Linkedin Pulse Gets Totally Redesigned and It’s Horrible
The Pulse Reader app from Linkedin is one of the most popular e-reading apps out there. It allows you to quickly add in your favorite news websites and easily check out the top stories. The major selling point was being able to create dedicated pages where you can establish genres. So you could have a page devoted to tech news, another gaming news and quickly switch between all … [Read more...] about Linkedin Pulse Gets Totally Redesigned and It’s Horrible
Oyster Prioritizes Nighttime Reading
Oyster is one of the largest e-book subscription services in the US and they want to encourage you to read at night. Traditionally the bright screens on your smartphone or tablet make this difficult, but the company has just released a new feature called Lumin, which automatically adjusts your device's light levels based on the time of day. The result, they say, is better sleep … [Read more...] about Oyster Prioritizes Nighttime Reading
Kobo iOS App Now Allows you Read Samples without an Account
Do you want to preview e-books and read samples without having to register an account? Kobo has just pushed an update to their iOS app that will allow you to do just that. This should go a long way to maybe giving new customers a reason to participate in the Kobo ecosystem and see what the overall e-reading experience is like before they pull the trigger, make an account and … [Read more...] about Kobo iOS App Now Allows you Read Samples without an Account
Read the First Chapter of Ernest Cline’s Armada
Ready Player One is one of the most influential books for those of us that grew up in the 1980's. It has 174060 ratings and 26598 reviews on GoodReads and the audiobook was narrated by Wil Wheaton. He second full length novel is coming out on July 15th called Armada and the book has already been optioned for a movie.The concept of the book centers around a high school … [Read more...] about Read the First Chapter of Ernest Cline’s Armada
Amazon Changes the Structure of KDP Select
Amazon has just announced sweeping changes to their Kindle Direct Publishing Select program. Under this new model, the amount an author earns will be determined by their share of total pages read rather than their share of total qualified borrows.Here are a few examples illustrating how the fund will be paid out. For simplicity, assume the fund is $10M and that 100,000,000 … [Read more...] about Amazon Changes the Structure of KDP Select
If You Use This Book Opening, You Will Never Be Published
There are certain beginnings of books that are the kiss of death in the publishing industry and I am not talking about 'its a dark and stormy night.' If you are an aspiring author or even one who has written a few books, there is one beginning that you should never use, if you have any hopes about landing a publishing deal.Many agents and publishers have admitted that … [Read more...] about If You Use This Book Opening, You Will Never Be Published
How to Submit Your Website to Apple News Publisher
Apple is getting into the news business and is hoping to disrupt established players such as Flipboard, Buzzfeed and Linkedin Pulse. Apple News is coming out this fall and will be loaded on all iOS 9 devices by default. How exactly do established news websites get their content onto Apple News?Apple News will pay developers 70% of all revenue that their publications … [Read more...] about How to Submit Your Website to Apple News Publisher