“Why do publishers fight digital?” This question, asked by many, is answered by Hugh Howey: “Largely due to the fear that they’d lose control of distribution”. Describing how difficult it was for the music industry to adapt to e.g. iTunes, Howey sums it up: “They were right to be worried, of course. These things came…
Oyster to Shutter Operations by 2016
Oyster, a leading e-book subscription service launched in 2012, has announced it is to ‘sunset’ its operations by 2016. The company communicated the news in a blog post yesterday and said it will begin contacting account holders over the coming weeks. As we continue on, we couldn’t be more excited about the future of ebooks…
It’s All About SELF-e
Earlier this month Porter Anderson guest posted over on Jane Friedman’s website about an opportunity and program for authors to gain access into the library market in the USA. The program was originally launched by BiblioBoard in conjunction with Library Journal. It’s called SELF-e and it offers indie authors the chance to place e-books in front of…
Scribd: Does My Romance Bum Look Big in This?
Scribd is an e-book subscription service and there is no doubt that the e-book subscription model is a growing path of book discovery for avid readers. In essence, the reader agrees to pay a monthly set subscription fee and this allows them to download and read an unlimited or prescribed number of books over a…
Top 7 Tremendous iPad and iPhone Apps for Booklovers – Hilda Simpson | Guest Post
If you have a great passion for both reading and gadgets, then you should use your iPhone or iPad to its fullest ability to read e-books and news. Having a mobile gadget allows you all the benefits of reading wherever you are: in a train, on a plane, standing in a line for a cup…
Draft2Digital Adds Oyster Subscription Service to Its Distribution Channels
Digital distributor and self-publishing service provider Draft2Digital has added Oyster to its distribution channels. Oyster is a growing e-book subscription service with more than one million titles in its library. Draft2Digital itself has shown substantial growth in the e-book services and distribution market over the past year considering it is up against competitors like Smashwords and Bookbaby.…
Smashwords Introduces Assetless Preorders
Self-publishing platform Smashwords has introduced what it calls ‘Assetless Preorders’ for e-books. While the platform has allowed authors and small press publishers a preorder feature for nearly two years, it required the load up of finalised e-book files. Smashwords founder Mark Coker revealed in a blog post last week that fewer than 10% of e-books released on…
New EU VAT Law Hurting Self-Published Authors
This week the Guardian UK highlighted the effects of a new European Union (EU) law which was introduced in January this year across all 28-member states. The law addresses VAT paid on e-books and other digital services (including broadcasting and telecommunications). Up until last year VAT rates on digital services and products were applied according to the VAT rate in the country where the…
10 Essential Rules for E-Publishing – Haley Osborne | Guest Post
In these days of having technology no more than an arm’s length away, more and more books are finding their way into people’s pockets, purses and briefcases. Entire anthologies and series are often hidden away and pulled from nowhere on public transportation and coffee shops, like novice magic tricks. The key to being read now…
Wattpad: The Hills Are Alive with The Sound of Music
A couple of weeks ago Wattpad added a new feature to its platform — the ability to add sound clips to uploaded stories. Users can now add sound clips and effects from the SoundCloud library or upload their own sound files. You can find some example of stories/books on Wattpad using the new sound feature…