An article appeared this past week in the New York Times that finally shows a bookseller and book industry professional doing something about Amazon. Instead of blog posts about the retail giant's underhanded ways or entire three-day conferences devoted to how publishers can bring down the largest online retailer their industry faces, one book shop is going about the … [Read more...] about Should Amazon Play Nice with Hachette, Publishers?
publishers
AAP Says eBook Sales Increased by 3.8%, But Indies Ignored
The Association of American Publishers has released the results of a survey which polled more than 1,200 US publishers on sales data, a hot topic among self-published authors, lately. According to the survey, ebooks sales in the adult trade fiction category increased in 2013 over 2012, up 3.8% to a yearly total of $1.3 billion. The organization says that this is a far cry from … [Read more...] about AAP Says eBook Sales Increased by 3.8%, But Indies Ignored
Is the Publishing Industry Wasting Its Time on Tablets?
One of the anticipated major trends of 2013, at least according to the companies showcasing their platforms at last January's Digital Book World event, was supposed to be online retail stores branded specifically to publishers and authors, essentially letting publishers cut out the retailer altogether when it can to ebooks, audiobooks, and other downloadable content. The move … [Read more...] about Is the Publishing Industry Wasting Its Time on Tablets?
Boundless Continues to Make College Education Affordable For Students
For the educational start up Boundless, the mission objective is simple: to provide college students with textbooks for free. No wonder it has already garnered the support of over a million loyal followers, which can easily be explained by concerns over the ever increasing costs of college textbooks, as the average estimated cost to the student is about $655 per year. While the … [Read more...] about Boundless Continues to Make College Education Affordable For Students
Sage: Academic Libraries Need Publisher Support
While all public libraries have felt the frustration of working with publishers at one time or another, a new report from Sage on the importance of publishers working with strictly academic libraries revealed some of the interesting points behind that frustration. The report, based on a six-month study and commissioned by an academic publisher, demonstrated that the areas … [Read more...] about Sage: Academic Libraries Need Publisher Support
HP and Mass-Market Print-On-Demand
The early predictions for almost every facet of digital publishing have proven to be as beneficial as once believed, especially in the areas of digital textbooks, widespread access to self-publishing possibilities, and even the gains made in ebook library lending. But one of the earlier promises for digital publishing was the concept of the stand-alone kiosk-based book printer, … [Read more...] about HP and Mass-Market Print-On-Demand
Korean Publishers Return to Bookselling Through Cafes
Like many well-known publishers did before them, publishers in Korea have taken to opening their own bookstores to sell their titles, especially in storefront cafes reminiscent of the coffee house bookstores in the US. An article for Publishing Perspectives details how these consumer-savvy publishers are cutting out the booksellers and marketing their titles to the public on … [Read more...] about Korean Publishers Return to Bookselling Through Cafes
Publishers Agree to Agency 2 Pricing Model
Many book retailers were put out by the requirement to write all new contracts with the publishers following the Department of Justice settlement with a handful of the Big Five, but it looks like a viable pricing model may have been found. Since those publishers were forced to abandon the "agency pricing" model, in which the publishers dictate to the retailers how much the book … [Read more...] about Publishers Agree to Agency 2 Pricing Model
UK Looks to Mandate eBook Lending
In July of this year, GoodeReader reported on a special task force that had been appointed in the UK to oversee the adoption of ebooks for library lending. The summer initiative worked well for the libraries, with about 70% of UK libraries offering some form of ebook lending, even if the catalog of titles is sadly limited. Now, the government is looking into mandated ebook … [Read more...] about UK Looks to Mandate eBook Lending
eBook Pricing Report Released by Library
Libraries have been enduring the frustration of being relegated to the back of the line when it comes to working with many major publishers to provide digital editions for their patrons to check out. Everything from artificial check-out limits to outright refusal to provide ebooks to libraries has had many borrowers and librarians struggling to come up with a solution that … [Read more...] about eBook Pricing Report Released by Library