Amazon continue their active and aggressive strategy with the Kindle e-reader this morning with the announcement of the Kindle Development Kit. This kit will give software developers access to programming interfaces, tools and documentation to build application and active content and allow them to sell it in the Kindle Store. Developers can go here and…
Amazon Agree Settlement in Booklocker.com Antitrust Lawsuit
Amazon has agreed a settlement in the lawsuit filed against them by Booklocker.com in 2008. The lawsuit was taken against Amazon by Booklocker.com following the giant e-retailer’s strong-armed attempt to force publishers using POD printers for their book lists to switch to paying Amazon’s own POD printer, Booksurge (now subsumed into Amazon’s CreateSpace). Booklocker.com took the lawsuit…
Amazon Announces New 70 Percent Royalty Option for Kindle
Amazon announced plans today to offer Kindle authors and publishers a 70% royalty option from June 30th, 2010. The aggressive move is seen as a preemptive strike by the giant e-retailer ahead of next week’s announcement on the new Apple Tablet. The expectation is that Apple will also be offering a similar royalty deal. The is excellent news for…
HarperCollins Restructure Sees Launch of HarperCollins Digital
HarperCollins Chief Digital Officer, Charlie Redmayne announced to staff yesterday, through a memo, the creation of a new unit within the HarperCollins Group aimed at growing their authors’ reach and revenues in the global digital marketplace. The focus of HarperCollins Digital will be to create electronic products, communities and wider consumer knowledge. The new digital…
Why People Publish – Publishing Basics
I read quite a few newsletters on self-publishing and one of my favorites is Ron Pramschufer’s Publishing Basics. He has written an article in this months edition entitled Self-Publishing and the New Millennium plus 10. Though it is another great article from Pramschufer, I would tend to disagree with this particular view of why people publish. “Seriously, all…
2010 May Be The Time For Lulu To Drop The Self From Self-Publishing
Lulu are looking to continue in 2010 where they left off last year with a sustained attempt to address and improve all facets of their website and publishing services, and perhaps gain back some ground they lost to their rival competitor CreateSpace. Though Lulu did strengthen their marketplace in-house and with outside affiliations, as well…
Book View Cafe Partner With Smashwords
One of the more interesting developments in the world of independent publishing is the rising popularity of what are described as book or writer cooperatives. These are not just random workshop collectives of writers from across the literary and film world, but often comprise of serious and professional writers independently-minded with clear career objectives. Two…
Xerox Weigh In Behind On Demand Books’ EBM With Technical & Global Strategy
Xerox has formed a worldwide agreement with On Demand Books, the company who developed and patented the Espresso Book Machine (EBM). The new partnership will provide global sales and marketing for the Espresso Book Machine, now integrated with the Xerox 4112 Copier/Printer. This enhanced book solution will now be capable of printing, binding and trimming…
Still Trying To Beat The Slush Piles?
The Wall Street Journal took a look at the infamous slush pile in the publishing and film industry over the weekend. It makes for depressing reading but does highlight the trend of modern authors no longer even bothering to jump on the submission/literary agent bandwagon, and choosing instead to go straight to self-publishing. The article…
New Irish Self-Publishing Service On The Block
There is a new Irish kid on the self-publishing block – The Author’s Friend. We spoke some days ago here about the lack of publishing news and concerted focus on the industry in Ireland when Eoin Purcell launched the much needed Irish Publishing News. Up until now, there really has only been three author solution…