HarperCollins Clarifies eBook Delays, Plans Free, Enhanced eBooks

Following up on this morning’s post on HarperCollins’ announcement that it would delay the eBook release of some frontlist title, eBooknewser had a brief email exchange with Erin Crum, head of Corporate Communication for HarperCollins.

Here is what she said: “We plan to window standard eBooks beginning this winter. We are targeting to delay 5-10 books per month. At the same time, we are planning to introduce some of these titles, simultaneous with the hardcover, as enhanced eBooks to be priced more in line with the hardcover. In addition, we will be testing very low-price and free eBooks to gauge consumer appetite for a variety of digital price points and formats.”

The news of enhanced and especially free eBooks represents a more aggressive stance on the part of HarperCollins toward taking advantage of what eBooks can do that print books can’t. It will be interesting to see what titles are made available for little or no money and in what formats for which devices. The idea of releasing enhanced versions of some books along with the hardcovers also raises the question of whether these editions will compete with the hardcover.

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