TOR is one of the largest science fiction and fantasy publishers in the world and they have quietly implemented a new policy. They are now delaying submitting all front-list titles to Overdrive and will only make them available once they have been out for a minimum of four months. The publisher is hoping to maximize their sales by selling ebooks directly or through third parties such as Amazon.
Someone within the TOR organization told Good e-Reader that they have decided that library sales may be negatively impacting their retail sales and are changing their business model to determine the impacts of libraries on the book market and sales, especially regarding eBooks.
In the past TOR submitted ebooks to the library as soon as they became available and this resulted in less retail copies being sold, because people will just put themselves on the online waiting list. It remains to be seen if TOR can generate more revenue with the delay.
Update: The Canadian Library Council sent a letter to TOR about this.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
