Publishers are working to evolve their industry models as fast as the technology of reading keeps changing. One of the ways that Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, has found to keep up with the trends is to offer readers the value of an ebook and a print edition at the same time.
Working with Impact Mobile, Atria is enabling its authors to distribute ebook editions of their books at author events or via third-party vendors, even while signing print editions of their books. The system relies on both digital vouchers for readers to claim their books, and traditional email to send codes to readers.
“We’re pleased to work with entrepreneurial authors like Gary Schwartz on new ways to distribute and sell eBooks,” says Judith Curr, President of the Atria Publishing Group, in a press release on the new technology. “While readers can go to eBook storefronts and purchase copies of the book, there is no cross-storefront mechanism to allow for an author to sell thousands of copies of eBooks at an event. The digital voucher system, devised by our colleagues at Simon & Schuster Digital, gives our authors an edge in a competitive landscape.”
Algonquin experimented with bundling with one of its titles, When She Woke by Hilary Jordan, which called on independent bookstores to fund the ebook edition and provide the downloads to customers who came into the bookstore to purchase the print. Atria’s option does allow sponsors of book events to fund the purchase of the ebook editions to distribute to event attendees.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
