eBooks

Yesterday Penguin revealed that they will no longer offer eBooks to libraries through OverDrive, “due to new concerns about the security of our digital editions.”

Meanwhile, librarians around the country have debated the issue. San Rafael Public Library acting director Sarah Houghton posted a free sign in Google Docs for librarians to share with patrons. We’ve embedded the pointed sign above–what do you think?

Here’s more from the library’s blog: “Sadly, unlike a regular person, a library cannot pay Amazon or Barnes & Noble for an eBook and then lend it out to people.  We can buy a printed book from these companies, stick it on the shelf, and lend it out–but digital content is treated differently by the publishers and the companies who manage digital content licensing.  We desperately want to offer you these eBooks. But the companies won’t let us.  As your library, we commit to continuing advocacy for change in these policies.”

Read more

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.

Lagardere Publishing, the corporate parent of Hachette, reported that eBooks composed 20 percent of US adult sales in the final quarter of 2011.

Worldwide, sales were down 5.9 percent for the publishing arm of the media conglomerate, publisher of Stephanie Meyer and Nicolas Sparks.

Here’s more from the release: “United States activity grew strongly (+12.8%) on the back of new bestsellers (The Best of Me by Nicolas Sparks, Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres), despite problems with distribution networks (bankruptcy of Borders) that lingered on into the fourth quarter. The e-books growth continued in the fourth quarter, mainly in English-speaking countries: in the United States and United Kingdom e-books accounted for 20% and 10%, respectively, of Adult Trade at the end of December 2011.” (Via Jose Afonso Furtado)

Would you buy indie eBooks in bundled together if you could help set the price for the digital books?

Video game sites like The Humble Bundle have changed the way people buy games for their mobile devices–bundling a few games by independent artists in a single download and allowing gamers to pay what they want for the bundle. Watch the video embedded above to see how it works.

The new StoryBundle site promises to perform the same function with eBooks. Follow this link to sign up for updates–what do you think of this bookselling model?

Read more

Author Andi Buchanan worked with a Swedish musician and YouTube star to craft original music for her upcoming enhanced eBook. 

Here’s more from the release: “Andi had written more than 40 percent of the book when she contacted and started collaborating with Swedish musician and YouTube sensation FreddeGredde. Together they developed the book’s soundtrack including two original songs: ‘Don’t Look Back’ and ‘This Falling World,’ lyrics written by Andi and music composed by Fredde.”

The book will be Open Road Integrated Media’s first original young-adult enhanced eBook. Buchanan’s Gift comes out on March 27th, priced at $16.99.

Read more

On today’s Morning Media Menu, Social Times staff writer Devon Glenn shared three creative ways to promote your book on social networks–advice she collected Digital Book World in New York City.

GalleyCat, eBookNewser and Social Times have covered Digital Book World all week. Follow the links below to read more.

David Houle: “There were more books published this week than there were in all of 1950″

74% Of Book Buyers Have Never Bought An eBook

Take a Look at Copia, a Social Network for Book Lovers

Should eBooks Be Distinguished From Books?

How Will Social Media Affect the eBook?

At Digital Book World conference in New York this week, publishing experts have been revealing some very poignant data. For instance, today, author and futurist David Houle said, “There were more books published this week than there were in all of 1950,” he said.

eBookNewser has been covering the event for the past two days. Yesterday, Kelly Gallagher, VP, publishing services at R.R. Bowker, gave a presentation in which he revealed that eBook sales increased 17% in 2011, a bit less than people might have imagined at the conference last year.

eBookNewser has more: “Interestingly, 74% of book buyers have never bought an eBook, though 14% of these people own either a tablet or an eReader. ‘They may have gotten them as a gift, but haven’t used them yet,’ said Gallagher.”

Apple counted a quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion in an earnings call this afternoon, recording impressive device sales for the quarter that ended December 31st.

Check it out: “The Company sold 37.04 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 128 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.43 million iPads during the quarter, a 111 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 5.2 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.4 million iPods, a 21 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

CEO Tim Cook promised: “we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.” The company also revealed that 58 percent of revenues for the quarter were from international sales.

At a panel this morning at the Digital Book World conference in New York, publishing CEOs discussed the future of publishing. Across the panel, the executives agreed that the digital world offers publishers better insights into the customer point of view.

Dominique Raccah, CEO/publisher of Sourcebooks, pointed out the benefits of having data and analytics in eBooks. Ellen Archer, president of Hyperion, spoke about the benefits of reader feedback in social networks and community driven storytelling. John Donatich, director of Yale University Press talked about the power of the blogosphere and online communities in responding to and affecting works.

While the new digital world offers publishers and authors a whole new world of interaction with readers than it had in the past, the publishers raise a delicate issue. How much influence should readers have on an author’s work?

Read more

NBC News has launched a new eBook imprint called NBC Publishing. The imprint will release enhanced eBooks with videos inside.

The launch follows the media company’s success in the eBook business. Last year NBC worked with Penguin and The Perseus Books Group on various enhanced eBook titles including: JFK: 50 Days, Roots, D-Day:The Battle for Normandy and Berlin 1961.

eBookNewser has more: “NBC has hired publishing veterans Peter Costanzo (a Publishing App Expo veteran) and Brian Perrin to help with the new imprint. Costanzo, previously with F+W Media and Perseus, will work as Creative Director for the new imprint. Perrin, previously with Rodale, will serve as Director of Digital Development. They will both report to General Manager of NBC Publishing Michael Fabiano.”

Digital publisher Open Road Integrated Media has hired Betsy Mitchell to serve as the company’s strategic advisor for science fiction and fantasy.

The publishing veteran will head up acquisitions for science fiction and fantasy titles for Open Road’s “Author Brand Program.” This includes acquiring backlist titles.

In her 30-year publishing career, Mitchell has held positions at Bantam Spectra, Baen Books and Random House/Del Rey. She has worked with many sci-fi writers, including: William Gibson, Terry Brooks, Octavia Butler, Naomi Novik, Timothy Zahn, Dan Simmons, Peter F. Hamilton and Dean Koontz.

Read more