By Kelly Faircloth 9/07/12 3:30pm

The Future of the Ebook

Now is the part where I throw my head back and laugh. (Photo: flickr.com/oreilly)

Ebook Prices Cleared to Take a Nose Dive After Judge Approves Settlement

Good news for cheapskates, bad news for traditional publishing: “Agency pricing,” which many in the book business had hoped would prove a defense against Amazon’s discounting every new book to $9.99, is pretty much finito as of today.

A bit of background: At issue is the agency model, which first came into play when Apple debuted the iPad and began talking to publishers about ebooks. Apple liked the sound of an agency model, where publishers would set the price and and Apple would merely act as agent, taking a cut of the transaction. This looked like a way of finally breaking Amazon’s iron-fisted insistence on charging $9.99 for a standard new release, which would otherwise go for $25.00 in print. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 9/06/12 3:00pm

The Future of the Ebook

"But I really like the wall scrolls feel in my hands." -- Cicero. Not you. (Photo: flickr.com/irishwelcometours)

Gadget? What Gadget? Amazon Doubles Down on Content, Looks to the Really Long Term

Were you watching closely during Amazon’s Kindle press conference? Because if you were, you just saw Jeff Bezos make one of those centuries-long bets his friends are always talking about. Behold, the literary equivalent of the Clock of the Long Now–a bet on a future where ereaders are about as out-of-the-ordinary as a tea kettle or a wristwatch.

There were several interesting details in the publishing portion of the announcements. The good, old-fashioned Kindle ereader got several updates, including a paperwhite background, more fonts, and a backlight that’ll go eight weeks without a charge. All that’ll now set you back a mere $69. The company’s publishing arm also debuted a brand new form, between the single and the full-length book: Kindle Serials, at $1.99 a pop and seamlessly, automatically updated with each new installment.

Charles Dickens would be so proud. (He’d also probably write a great serialized novel about people who work in Amazon fulfillment centers.) Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 9/03/12 9:04am

Linkages

Good morning, sunshine! (Photo: flickr.com/globochem)

Booting Up: Turns Out Tech Companies Love Cities Edition

Bloggers: If you must accept a free plane ticket, be sure to get an old-fashioned, non-refundable paper return ticket, too. [The Next Web]

Wolfram Alpha now offers personal Facebook analytics, for the ultra-obsessed and the assiduous builders of their personal brands out there. [The Verge]

Okay, who told Richard Florida about Silicon Alley? Now we’ll never hear the end of it. [Wall Street Journal]

Good news: If you’re an ebook buyer, you’re eventually going to get a tiny refund. Bad news: It’ll be about 25 cents per book, and it’ll likely take years. [Paid Content]

The founder of The Pirate Bay has reportedly been arrested in Cambodia. [TorrentFreak]

By Kelly Faircloth 7/19/12 12:50pm

The Future of the Ebook

One of the books at issue.

Ebook Authors No Longer Hot for Harlequin, Slap the Romance Publisher with a Lawsuit [UPDATED]

Three romance novelists have filed a class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against juggernaut Harlequin Enterprises, alleging that the publisher is not coughing up the ebook royalties they were promised.

Broken Promises–now that sounds like something that would catch our eye while browsing the bookshelves.

First, a bit of context: Harlequin Enterprises is the world’s largest publisher of romance novels. In the U.S. alone, that’s a billion-dollar market. As the suit points out, the company churns out books for 114 international markets, in 34 languages, to the tune of more than 100 books a month.

Second (and this is why Betabeat gives a damn), Harlequin has embraced digital formats in a big way, going all the way back to the pre-Kindle Dark Ages. And in 2010, the company even launched Carina Press, its own digital-only subsidiary. Carina, it should be noted, eschews the traditional advance model and promises higher royalties. (None of the books at issue were published by Carina, however.) Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 7/05/12 1:00pm

Juicy

We detect a spot of photoshop. (Photo: vanityfair.com)

Juicy Vanity Fair Takedown Chronicles That Time Steve Ballmer Called Eric Schmidt ‘A Fucking Pussy’

Don’t be dissuaded by the sight of Alec Baldwin’s smug mug on the cover: Vanity Fair‘s August issue contains a dishy doozy of a Microsoft story, chronicling rampant infighting and embarrassing strategic blunders. It’s not online yet, but we found a physical copy at this thing called a “newsstand.” And it’s a pretty handy gloss on how Microsoft managed to find itself embarrassingly far behind in anything remotely resembling mobile and, more importantly, how the company frittered away its King of the World status.

The article (which is worth reading in full and best enjoyed with a tub of movie popcorn) painstakingly outlines Microsoft’s flailing in mobile, search and–ouch–operating systems. Turns out a lot of those stereotypes about big, slow-moving companies are dead-on.  Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 6/29/12 5:00pm

The Future of the Ebook

JEFF BEZOS KNOWS.

Amazon Knows How Many Times You Read that Sex Scene, You Pervert

It’s a common refrain (one that’ll be especially familiar to, let’s say, romance fans): Hey, isn’t it great that, once you get a Kindle/Nook/iPad, no one can see what you’re reading? Now we’re forever free from those awkward subway moments when we pull out our trashy novel and realize it’s a little too lurid for the L train on a Saturday night.

Well, a bit of bad news for the bookish and private. The Wall Street Journal would like you to know that whoever sold you that ebook–whether it’s Amazon, Apple, or whoever–actually is paying attention to what you read. For one thing, maybe be careful what you highlight? Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/30/12 12:41pm

The Future of the Nook

Barnes and Noble's flagship. (flickr.com/edenpictures)

Barnes and Noble’s Ebook Business Gets A Cash Infusion–From Microsoft

Things have been looking awfully upbeat for Amazon lately, with the DOJ taking exception to the $9.99-price-point-busting agency pricing model,  which was designed in part to give publishers more leverage with the online bookseller. But for once, this morning brings some potentially positive news for a beleaguered competitor: Barnes & Noble will partner with Microsoft in the creation of a new subsidiary formed from its digital and College businesses. What’s MSFT bringing to the table? Cash money, honey.  Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/24/12 6:42pm

Digital Publishing

Tor Logo sm_0

Publishers Begin Bailing On Ebook Copyright Protection Technology

It’s long been a thorn in the side of ereader owners, but major publishers–one eye fixed firmly on the fate of the recording industry–have insisted that ebooks come fully loaded with digital rights management technology. But that’s starting to crack. Today Macmillan subsidiary Tom Doherty Associates (home to beloved scifi imprint Tor Books, as well as Forge, Orb and others) announced its entire ebook catalog will be DRM-free by July 2012.

In a statement at the company blog, president and publisher Tom Doherty tipped his hat explicitly to future-enthused fans and authors: Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/11/12 2:26pm

Legal Troubles

Mr. Bezos.

DOJ Alleges Stylishly Shady Collusion To Fix Ebook Prices

Ever since the advent of the agency model for ebook pricing–the oh-so-valuable wedge publishers needed to fight Amazon’s $9.99 price point–it’s been the big question: Are they actually going to get away with this? Today we have our answer: Not if the Department of Justice has anything to say about it! Alleging collusion to fix prices the agency has filed an antitrust suit against Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, Simon & Schuster and Apple itself.

The allegations are awfully cloak-and-dagger. If true, they suggest the publishing industry has carried over a certain old-world stylishness into the digital age. From the filing (courtesy of the Verge): Read More