Paid Content offers some interesting factoids in book publishing, this year. It’s all about the rise of E-Books.
- E-Books 20% of book sales. The big-six publishers this year, as with other publishers, are expected to reach that point soon. Companies without a plan for the digital shift included bankrupt bookstore chain Borders.
E-readers below $100. In the last quarter of this year, e-ink readers sold for under $100. The ad-supported Kindle 4 is $79, while the Kindle Touch with Special Offers is $99. The ad-supported Kobo Touch with Offers is $99.99 and Barnes & Noble’s ad-free Nook Simple Touch is now $99. The e-readers’ sub-$100 prices move them into impulse-purchase territory. Amazon’s $199 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet has emerged as the first credible iPad competitor.
- Birth of E-singles. Newspapers, magazines, book and website publishers, started publishing e-singles this year – longer than typical articles but shorter than full-length book, It remains to be seen whether e-singles priced at $1.99 or $2.99 can bring publishers a significant source of revenue,
- E-book pricing debate. A class-action lawsuit against Apple and other publishers are centered around the price that Amazon charged for a New York Times bestseller before big-six publishers adopted agency pricing, which allows them to set their own e-book prices.
- Publishing imprints launched. Amazon bought from children’s publisher Marshall Cavendish. The books provide the basis of Amazon’s new NYC-based children’s publishing imprint; all will be available in digital format as well as print.
Paid Content has more Highlights Of 2011
e-book articles on Dailywireless include; Barnes & Noble Introduces $249 Media Tablet, Nook Tablet: $249, Kindle: Ignition Point, Television 3.0, Pocket Supercomputer, New Kindle File Format, Apple Vs Amazon on Subscription Services, E-Book Judgement Day, Nook Color Updated for Android Apps, Kindle Library Lending, Adobe: Tablet Publishing for Android, Google Editions: Web eBooks Readied, Bookstores: Preparing for E-Books?, e-Publishing: The New Normal, Here Come the Tablets, 2010: 11 Million Tablets, WiFi Nook: $149, Starbucks: Free WiFi + Free Content, Scribd Does HTML 5 Magazines, Kindle Announces 70% Royalty Option, Media’s Primordial Soup: Tablets, Tablets, Tablets, Tablets, E-Magazines: Pay Once, Play Anywhere, The $99 Android Tablet, Barnes & Noble: Self Publishing this Summer, Apple Sells 1M iPads, Battle of the eBooks and Tablet Revolution!
