Digital Publishing
British Library expands eBook collection
The British Library has launched a new app that allows readers to browse 45,000 eBooks.
The British Library 19th Century Historical Collection App for iPad
was announced in June with an initial offering of a thousand 19th century books. This week, the library confirmed it now contains 45,000 books with a target of 60,000 by the end of the year.
Ebury launches digital shorts
Another leading publishing house has launched a range of digital shorts.
Ebury's new "Lives Less Ordinary" series will initially focus on ten abridged versions of existing non fiction titles. Long term plans include original content and a possible spread to fiction.
The titles range between 3,000 and 20,000 words, and are priced under £1.99 on a sliding scale, according to length.
Amazon numbers down despite eBook success
Amazon has reported disappointing sales figures despite the growth in eBook and Kindle sales.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos remained positive, pointing to North America segment sales which logged in at $5.41 billion, up 51% from 2010. Overall, however profits were down 8%.
“Low prices, expanding selection, fast delivery and innovation are driving the fastest growth we’ve seen in over a decade," he said.
Authors get to sign Kindle eBooks
Authors can now sign Kindle editions of their books thanks to the Amazon Kindlegraph.
The software developed by Evan Jacobs allows writers to post a digital signature along with a personalized message directly to a Kindle device or app.
Readers make a request on KindleGraph who in turn notify the author by email. Authors sign the book with the electronic signature technology from DocuSign and the autograph appears as a separate document on the Kindle.
Kobo offers support to Borders eReaders
Global eReading service Kobo has confirmed former Borders customers will not lose access to their eBooks following the collapse of the retail chain.
Yesterday, the company moved to clarify misconceptions about Kobo that it said had been "inaccurately reported by the media and misunderstood by consumers".
For some time, Kobo and Borders have been switching Borders eBook accounts to Kobo. There was a fear that users who had not already moved over would be locked out.
Rowling sides with Google for Pottermore
Google is to partner with J.K. Rowling's Pottermore website when it swings into production this autumn.
Japan showcases eBook vending machine
A machine that encourages readers to pay for eBooks away from their computers, phones or Kindles went on show in Tokyo last week.
Japanese technology company Glory put the prototype machine on show at the annual Tokyo Ebook Fairand picked up favourable press with some suggesting this was an ideal device for airports or stations.
Readers can browse catalogues, make a selection and pay. They receive a receipt with all the information needed to download the book to their preferred device.
Should publishers care about social media?
.jpg)
99.5% of social media experts are clowns, according to Gary Vaynerchuk (a bit of a social media expert himself) interviewed on TechCrunch. As someone who lives in Brighton, with its thriving new media community and unfortunate penchant for trendophilia, I have to confess that his statement has a ring of truth about it.
Google Books judge grows impatient
A Manhattan federal judge set a September 15 deadline for Google Inc, authors and publishers to come up with a legal plan to create the world's largest digital library, expressing frustration that the six-year-old dispute has not been resolved.
BookLamp: Recommendations based on content and style
BookLamp is a website that aims to make life easier for upcoming authors. Recommendations are based not on sales data but on content and writing style.
“At times, being able to ignore the marketing data can be good for the recommendation,” explains BookLamp CEO Aaron Stanton.
