Simon & Schuster ebooks selling better than expected; new VP appointed
By Paul Biba
Publishers Weekly is reporting that due to the unexpected increase in sales of ebooks, Simon & Schuster has appointed Mark Gompertz to the newly created position of executive v-p, digital publishing. PW says: Gompertz will bring an editorial perspective to digital publishing in his new role, helping to develop new business models and dealing with problems as the company broadens its digital operations. Gompertz will also originate and acquire digital content.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 am
S&S has to have some of the worst ebook pricing and format support out there.
What was once one of the best publishers out there for ebooks has gone way down hill in the last six months or so. Ever since they launched their ‘new’ website they have dropped most ebook formats and have raised prices to above that of the pbook equivalent. eBooks that have a mass market paperback equivalent used to be priced about 30% less than the pbook and now cost around $2.00 more than the pbook ($7.99 pbook = $9.99 ebook). When asked about this they don’t even bother with a response, and they used to always answer emails.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 am
Consistently MORE? That’s bananas. Sounds like a change of manager?
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Hmm, if what Brian says is correct, and sales have still gone up, then the people who are buying S&S ebooks must care about different things. Maybe the marketing has improved to the point that it overshadows the faults?
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Remember, e-book sales have skyrocketed for most everyone. Perhaps with better pricing and improved customer service, S&S could do still better. Thanks. David
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
A quick, random sample check (about a dozen titles) at Amazon showed Simon & Schuster ebooks at a lower price than the current hardcover or paperback.
A similar check at the Simon & Schuster site showed most ebooks at the same price as the paperback, though there was at least one Star Trek book that cost a few bucks more for the ebook version.
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:22 am
Then obviously, S&S is out to screw romance readers, because that’s where the most offensive prices are. A book that I bought at their site a couple of years ago (when prices were most reasonable) is now selling for $4.00 more than the mass-market paperback price. And it’s the same with the others. I haven’t bought a romance book from them in quite some time and I won’t unless their prices become more reasonable.