Digital Books for One Dollar

“Selling an ebook for $27.99 – unless it is an archaic text that had to be transcribed by hand, translated from ancient Sanskrit and read upside down – it’s greed pure and simple,” wrote GalleyCat reader Lisa Amrine in the e-book pricing debate yesterday.

While different vendors ponder fair prices for digital offerings, one company now offers e-books for a dollar. Every month, Hachette Book Group’s science fiction and fantasy publisher, Orbit Books, will offer selected titles for one dollar. At the end of the month, the price returns to normal, replaced by a new sale book.

While publishing could never survive with dollar books, these limited engagement prices could spur sales. Over the next few months, one dollar books will include The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks, Empress by Karen Miller, and Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks.

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