TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for the ‘Jane Litte’ Category

By David Rothman

“Recently, I learned about a new e-book program dedicated to kids called kidthing.com. Kidthing is a digital media platform that is designed to bring interactive books, movies, and games to children. Kidthing, in conjunction with Dr. Seuss Enterprises and NEA’s Read Across America, is giving away an animated version of Horton Hears a Who, one of my daughter’s favorite stories. I downloaded the program and the free ebook. It was a great experience.” - Jane, at DearAuthor,  writing on the glories of freebies and suggesting that romance publishers experiment with them.

The TeleRead take: Speaking of trying and buying, later this today we’ll be publishing an essay by U.K. novelist Richard Herley—on the Net’s effect on author-agent-publisher roles. Richard recently posted his books online as shareware.

Update, June 28, 2008: The Horton book itself is no longer free at Kidthing, alas, though the player still is.

Technorati Tags: Dr. Seuss,NEA,Read Across America,Kidthing

By David Rothman

The Kindle is a library-friendly machine not—since you can’t use your books on more than one device, unless the same account is involved. And even then, catches abound. But that hasn’t stopped the public library in well-off Sparta, New Jersey, 50 miles from NYC.

It’s bought two Kindles, as reported by Library Journal to lend to patrons (thanks, Mike Cane). The first downloaded book is on the house, the library system; patrons must pay for extra downloads.

At least patrons will be able to benefit from the books already downloaded by other library users. Meanwhile LJ says: “After posting a notice, ‘May we Kindle your interest?’ the library soon gained 22 reserves for the device, which are to be loaned for a week” (started December 13).

Libraries, the Kindle and The F Word

That said, I hope that public librarians and others will be tigers on e-book format and DRM issues, lest they indulging in massive purchases of Kindles—only to lose convenient access to content in Amazon’s proprietary Kindle format if the machines die. Not to mention other risks.

Can anyone spell G-e-m-s-t-a-r? Actually Sparta has tried e-book readers before. So maybe some past lessons will help. In terms of big buys, just say no to Jeff and friends unless they get really serious about .epub for the Kindle—and also commit to the IDPF’s plans for interoperable DRM.

It isn’t just the tech details that libraries should be worried about, but also grubby matters such as terms of service. Just what to make of this gem in the TOS? “…display such Digital Content…solely for your personal, non-commercial use.” And that’s the abbreviated version of the legalese. Does Amazon consider library use to be “personal”? Or has it granted Sparta an exemption?

Winking an eye—with the library market in mind?

Perhaps Jeff Bezos and friends have major ambitions for the library market and will just wink an eye at the doings in Sparta. Even so, it wouldn’t be such a a bad idea for the Sparta librarians to check in with Mary Minot, a library law specialist who enjoys her Kindle but is concerned about the legal ramifications and has also taken an interest in format matters.

Also see Kindle-related thoughts from Karen Schneider, a library tech expert, who, like Mary and me, doesn’t want fair use to die off. “If the Kindle’s DRM model becomes standard,” Karen has written, “you can kiss libraries goodbye.”

Not the only library buying the Kindle

In Wisconsin, Rochelle tells me her library in La Crosse has a Kindle on order, and that at least one other system in the state has or has gotten the K machine. As with the Sony Reader, a little experimentation is great. But let’s not overdo it. Variants of the open OLPC machine, with the right software, might be a better way for libraries to go in many cases.

Yes, the XO has wireless and could be one inducement for more cities to experiment with muni-WiFi—well, assuming that OLPC is smart enough to see the domestic possibilities and can design library-optimized versions.

Other news:

• Could OCLC’s NetLibrary, whose interface and selection disappoint many a public library patron, be in for some major changes for the better? OCLC, NetLibrary’s owner, has hired Andrew Pace, an e-book booster with a healthy interest in such issues as format standards. His new job will be director of Networked Library Services, according to LJ. Also of possible significance is OCLC’s hiring of Cindy Cunningham, an Amazon alum, from Corbis? She’ll be director of partner programs? At Amazon, she was U.S. catalog librarian/program manager. Might some Amazon-OCLC deals be ahead in the future?
• DearAuthor is fed up with “fly-by-night” small e-presses and will no longer be dropping by their sites and buying their books to check out. Good move, Jane. When the TeleBlog spots a great newcomer like Drollerie Press, which you also like, we’ll happily write about it. But why spend so much time looking for winners amid sites that look as if third-graders threw them together? Jane’s commenters seem to agree.
• Speaking of good little e-publishers, congratulations to TeleBlog regular Rob Preece of BooksForABook on the Eppie success of his author Kristina O’Donnelly, whose historical novel (Korinna) has made it to the finals.

Technorati Tags: Sparta Public Library,Andrew Pace,Cindy Cunningham,NetLibrary,OCLC,DearAuthor,BooksForABuck,Rob Preece,Eppie,Eppies,Drolerie Press

By Jane Litte

Moderator’s note: BooksOnBoard fears that Amazon may be trying to drive it and other e-indies out of business via its Kindle Store. Later this week, while remaining neutral on the issue of possible anti-trust violations, we’ll publish more details from BooksOnBoard’s side. Amazon has declined comment on business and format issues. Meanwhile big thanks to DearAuthor’s Jane for the Kindle-related item below. - DR

Amazon’s pricing for at least some mass market books has suddenly gone full retail, no discount since the release of the Kindle. When questioned in Newsweek about the low pricing, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said: “Low-margin and high-volume sale—you just have to make sure the mix [between discounted and higher-priced items] works.” It looks as if Bezos is hoping to make more money off the high-volume of sales from those mass market purchasers. Like romance readers who account for 21% of the retail book industry.

A sharp eyed reader emailed me the blog post of author Natalie Damschroder.

You know how I said, below, that my book Brianna’s Navy SEAL is selling at Amazon for $15.00 in trade paperback? Last month I paid $10.20.

Doing a random selection of mass markets to be released on Tuesday, it shows that the discount for at least some paperbacks has disappeared.

• Blood Brothers (Sign of Seven Trilogy, Book 1) by Nora Roberts: $7.99
• The Down Home Zombie Blues by Linnea Sinclair: $6.99
• Midnight Awakening (The Midnight Breed, Book 3) by Lara Adrian: $6.99
• Magic Bites (Kate Daniels Series, Book 1) by Ilona Andrews: $6.99

I guess this is one way of forcing readers to purchase the Kindle. If Kindle success rises or falls on the backs of the mass market purchasers, this is going to be ugly because I see a whole bunch of Amazon purchasers being pretty upset about this turn of events.

By David Rothman

“I love the EVDO access. I love being able to download books on the fly, being able to get my latest issues of the newspaper, anything else…pushed to the device wirelessly—awesome. I just wish it had come in black and they had hired an Apple design engineer….” - Benjamin Higginbotham of Technology Evangelist in a funny, informative video comparing the Kindle with the Sony Reader and the iLiad. Thanks to Mike Cane for finding this gem.

Related: E-book skeptic Ed Kohler of TE on Why the Kindle will fail with business book readers. Kohler doesn’t get it. He writes that you can find books at the airport shops—but so what, Ed. It’s the right book that counts. Do you think little newsstands can carry everything, particularly specialized business books?

And last but hardly least: The Amazon Kindle Book Availability Deceit and Other Oddities by Jane at Dear Author. Note to Jane, who quoted me (I’m sure accurately): At this point I’m giving up on saying which is the most popular commercial format in terms of title counts. Might still be PDF rather than Mobi (or, now, Kindle), depending on how you define a book.

I highly recommend Jane’s piece for her own take on book prices and inventory comparisons between Amazon, Fictionwise and BooksOnBoard, by the way. Meanwhile see the TeleBlog’s Best-seller price wars on the E front: Amazon Kindle store vs. Sony Connect, Fictionwise and BooksOnBoard, Fictionwise on e-book price wars: Heftier discounts go far beyond best-sellers and BooksOnBoard: Amazon’s risking anti-trust action, and Macmillan is favoring Amazon and Sony stores in e-book wars.

By David Rothman

That’s the word from the hard-working Jane at Dear Author, who’s been phoning around.

Related: Amazon loves exclusivity for Amazon Shorts—different from books, of course. Shorts, by the way, are available in PDF, HTML and plain text. I wonder when the Kindle’s AZW format will be mentioned in the guide for Shorts customers.

By Jane Litte

Simon & Schuster—cofounders in photo— is posting a great profit this year despite spending developmental dollars digitizing its entire backlist.

Helped by the sales of self help book by Joel Osteen, Become a Better You, and Rhonda Byrne’s powerhouse, The Secret, sales were up at Simon & Schuster in all divisions resulting in a 9% gain in total revenue ($214.2 million).

Simon & Schuster expects that an estimated 13,000 titles will be converted to digital format by the end of 2007.

Oh, Simon & Schuster, how do I love thee? Converting all of your titles and making them 35% off? You go on with your bad self. Simon & Schuster has had a fantastic year with sales up 16% and operating profits up 90%.

It would be great to see Simon & Schuster drop the DRM and truly be a leader in the e-publishing movement, but I’ll take the digitization of 13,000 titles as a step in the right direction.

Via Publisher’s Weekly.

Moderators note: Also see PW’s report on HarperCollins, which suffered a bad quarter but hopes to do better later in the fiscal year. By the way, the cofounder on the left is Richard L. Simon, singer Carly Simon’s dad - DR

By David Rothman

Remember eBbookAd, the retailer, distributor and infrastructure-provider? How solid the company seemed?

Then we heard of eBookAd’s sleazy treatment of writers and publishers—owned tens of thousands. Finally the site vanished, including backup copies of books people had bought.

So readers, not just e-book writers and potential writers, may be interested in What Authors Should Look for in an E Publisher, from Jane at DearAuthor.com. No, eBookAd wasn’t quite a publisher in the usual way, but many of the same concepts apply. Elibron, by the way, is another name for buyers to be wary of.

E-book houses’ special risks

“If you have been paying attention this last week,” Jane writes, “you will have read some eyebrow-raising posts from and about e-publishers, unfortunately, few of it good. The fact is that because of the low entries to barriers in the e publishing industry (i.e., lack of funding), many e-publishing companies are started by individuals with little to no business experience, let alone editing or publishing experience. Authors who find themselves in the unfortunate position of having submitted books to these shaky publishing ships often end up not getting paid and being shamed by ‘friends’ of the publisher into not speaking up. (more…)

By Jane Litte

HarperCollins is making iPhone compatible e-book content available.

iPhone users can go here to view the first 10 pages of chapters one and two of 14 books released in August and September. There will be a link to pre-order/order the book from a list of retailers.

Titles to be made available include:

• The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh (HarperOne)
• Beyond the Body Farm by Bill Bass (William Morrow)
• The Burnt House by Faye Kellerman (William Morrow)
• The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel (Zondervan)
• Ike: An American Hero by Michael Korda (HarperCollins)
• A Killer’s Kiss by William Lashner (William Morrow)
• Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers (HarperCollins)
• Love Is a Many Trousered Thing by Louise Rennison (HarperTeen)
• Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury (William Morrow)
• Obama: From Promise to Power by David Mendell (Amistad)
• Soul Catcher by Michael C. White (William Morrow)
• Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson (William Morrow)
• When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg (Zondervan)
• Winning by Jack Welch & Suzy Welch (Collins)

Unfortunately, you cannot order the e-book version of a book and download it to your iPhone for reading. Nor is the content actually optimized for the iPhone. I picked Obama’s book and the first three pages consisted of his picture (the cover), a dark background of the flyleaf of his book that was virtually unreadable because of the tiny text size, and the title.

Scanned in, apparently—not digitized

The pages of the book appeared to be scanned-in and not digitized. The pages do not respond to the double tap feature which allows a user to double tap a column of text and have that column of text be resized to fit the screen. There were significant margins on either side and the text did not reflow to the screen. When I pinch expanded the screen to increase the font, for example, the text did not re-order to fit the screen. It merely got larger so I had to scroll from side to side to read the sentence.

While this is a neat idea, it’s very poorly executed. I don’t find it usable at all.

Update, 11:12 a.m.: More stories via Techmeme and Google. Turns out that LibreDigital is handling the technical side of HarperCollins’ new service. Also see Peter Brantley’s commentary. - DR

(more…)

By Jane Litte

While perusing the deals today in Publishers Marketplace, I came across a sale by agent Bob Diforio to HarperCollins for three erotic novellas penned by Delilah Devlin. The wording of the deal was so different that I wondered if it meant what I thought it meant.

Delilah Devlin’s three erotic novellas, again to May Chen at Harper, for immediate e-book publication, in a nice deal, by Bob Diforio at D4EO Literary Agency (World).

After a confirmation e-mail from Mr. Diforio, it comes to light that HarperCollins is indeed going to offer these books as e-books first, with print options to come later. This makes a ton of sense because e-book publication overhead is so much lower than a print publication. I advocated for this back in November. Dave Rothman, of this blog, has also been a proponent of the e-book to print workflow. An author can build on an online following, like Lora Leigh’s, that can be leveraged into large print sales.

Having a giant like HarperCollins enter the e-book publishing industry makes me wonder what will happen to e-publishers such as Ellora’s Cave and Samhain. My hope is that it raises the standard of what is going to be published while not diminishing the diversity of offerings.

This can be a win-win-win for readers, authors and publishers. Kudos to Harper Collins for taking a bigger step forward into the digital age.

By David Rothman

I gave Adobe Digital Editions a quick spin and assumed that the company would address such issues as font size choices in the final version—I couldn’t get “increase” and “decrease” enabled within a menu while I was testing Michael Crichton’s State of Fear on a beta. As you can see, they’re grayed out.

Now, what if the results won’t be so great in the final version, either? Jane at DearAuthor.Com tried the reader on a different book and complains of being able to choose from just “four font sizes. You can’t type in the percentage you want, it has a small a and a large a and that controls the font size for the book.” On top of everything else, the sharp-eyed Jane found the following in the FAQ: (more…)

By Jane Litte

No ifs about it. E-books could benefit from the New York Times’ ongoing migration to the Web. The more uses for a reading device, the more readers for e-books.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Times owner and chairman, told the Haaretz news that in five years, the print version of the Times would be relevant no longer. The profits for Times have been shrinking for the past four years and its market share is, too.

In today’s world, Sulzberger said last Thursday, the Internet is where it is at. While print revenues are down, Internet readership is increasing. The Times has more online readers per day than it has print subscribers: 1.5 million online v. 1.1 million subscribers. (more…)

By Jane Litte

Penguin is experimenting with a group-authored book based on the Web technology behind Wikipedia.

A Million Penguins is an experiment in creative writing and community. Anyone can join in. Anyone can write. Anyone can edit. Let’s see if the crowds are not only wise, but creative. Or will too many cooks spoil the broth?

This isn’t the first time Penguin has tried to involve its customers in creating product. Last winter, Penguin announced the release of classics with blank covers encouraging readers to send in photos of their personalized books. It resulted in some amazing reader artwork. Now if only Penguin would get its act together with e-books, such as allowing readers to know which books will be released in e-book format and when. More importantly, isn’t it time for Penguin and other majors to release DRM-free e-books?

Related: See A million penguins: a wiki-novelty, from Ben Vershbow at if:book.

Also of interest: Steve Jobs’ offer to open up iTunes to non-iPods if the record labels will stop insisting on DRM, via AP.

Via Yahoo News.