Between the Covers

Self-published author sells 1 million ebooks on Kindle

He has hit a milestone however you slice it: John Locke, author of Saving Rachel, Vegas Moon and Wish List, is the first self-published author to sell a million ebooks on Kindle, according to Amazon.

He's in some pretty heady company. Other members of the Kindle 1 Million Club? Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child, Suzanne Collins and Michael Connelly.

In a press release about his success, Locke said: “Kindle Direct Publishing has provided an opportunity for independent authors to compete on a level playing field with the giants of the book selling industry. Not only did KDP give me a chance, they helped at every turn. Quite simply, KDP is the greatest friend an author can have.” 

 

Barnes & Noble offers new $139 e-reader

It's not fancy. But it's cheaper. And sometimes that makes the difference.

Barnes & Noble has announced a new, scaled-down version of its Nook called the Nook Simple Touch, which comes with no apps, no swanky colors, only a few buttons - and a competitive cost of $139. The device features a 6-inch touchscreen and weighs 7.5 ounces, one ounce less than the Kindle (size matters). No 3G, Wi-Fi only; batterly life is allegedly up to two months on just one charge.

You can read more about the Simple Touch here.

E-book sales: Rocking like a hurricane

You can like 'em or you can think they're the sign of the End Times, but one thing is for sure: ebooks are selling.

Sales in February increased at a faster rate than they did in January, PW.com reports. Ebook sales jumped 202.3 percent, hitting $90.3 million, at the 16 publishers that reported results to the American Association of Publishers. The organization, says PW, speculates that the sales were fueled by the owners of relatively new e-readers - thanks, Santa! - downloading plenty of new stuff to read.

The bad news, if you're a print fan: sales continued downward for print books, with adult hardcovers down 43 percent. I'm going to have to start looking at those Nooks/Kindles/Sonys, I suppose...

Digital buyers: We'll shop at indie bookstores

Good news for the independent bookstores? A study by Verso Digital and Digital Book World indicates that readers are more than willing to buy e-books from indies, Publisher's Weekly reports. Almost 81% said they'd buy e-books from indie sources if they were priced competitively. Of course, the study goes on to say more people say they buy from independents than actually do, so take it all with a grain of salt.

As for who's selling the most e-books? Kindle has 28 percent of the market share; Nook has 15%. 

In other digital book news, Apple reports that it has sold 7.3 million iPads in the quarter that ended in December. A November consumer study by the Codex Group says 67% of iPad owners use their tablets to read. Sounds like bad news for Amazon, which has only sold 4.4 million Kindles. But here's the thing: the Codex survey reveals that only 29.4% of the books being read on the iPad are from the iBookstore; 40.3% were purchased through the Kindle store.

Google Editions: Savior or not?

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal reported that the time was almost at hand for the launch of the long-awaited Google Editions, the e-book adventure that's been on hold for months now. It was originally supposed to launch last summer; now we're hearing by the end of the year.

The idea is that users will be able to buy books directly from Google or online retailers (including independent bookstores), download them to a library with a Google account and read them on pretty much any web browser. It's an ideal plan for readers who don't want to be locked into using one specific device to read.

But will independent bookstores also be winners here? Depends on who you ask.

Michael Tucker, president of the independent American Bookseller's Association, says the launch will be a great thing: "It puts us on a level playing field with Amazon and Apple," he told The San Francisco Chronicle.

But Lydia Dishman of Bnet (the CBS interactive business network) is skeptical, citing questions about pricing and Google's terms with publishers. Her plan? To take a wait and see approach. Click here to read her column.

 

PCWorld: You don't need an e-reader

We know you gadget-obsessed types want one. They're getting cheaper - and they're getting color

But PC World says you don't need an e-reader. Here's why.

B&N unveils Nookcolor

Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new color e-reader.

A year after it released its Nook, Barnes & Noble unveiled its $249 Nookcolor, with a seven-inch VividView color touchscreen. With it comes Nook Kids, which will feature 12,000 chapter books and 130 pictures books for (who else?) young readers. Because kids like color. And so do magazine readers...and readers of graphic novels...

Not surprisingly, the Nookcolor begins shipping Nov. 19 - just in time for the holidays. It'll be in B&N stores in late November, as well available at Walmart and Best Buy

Click here to read more.

Amazon to launch "lending" for Kindle

Remember how you griped when you couldn't lend your favorite Kindle download to your cheapskate friends? Never again. Amazon announced it will soon be launching a "lending" feature in which each book can be loaned once to a friend for a 14-day period (the lender can't read the book during that time). And not every book will be lendable; that's up to the publisher.

Amazon's also making newspapers  and magazines readable via free Kindle apps in the coming weeks, the company reports.

Click here to read more.

What's new in the (digital) reading world

Publisher's Weekly reports that after announcing it would sell the Barnes & Noble Nook at its stores, Walmart will also begin selling the Kobo wireless e-reader next week at 2,500 stores.

There's a new rumor afoot about the Nook, too: Tech site CrunchGear reports whisperings that next week B&N will announce a full-color, 7-inch screen Nook that will sell for $250. The Nook Color would allegedly run Android. Is it true? Hard to say, but as crunchgear points out, a new Nook could help B&N combat cheaper e-readers.

Meanwhile, Amazon reports that its newest generation of Kindles is the fastest-selling yet, according to PW. The number of e-books available at the Kindle store rose to 720,000 in the last quarter. Amazon also reported that sales of digital and print books grew in the third quarter.

 

NYT: Two e-books cost more than hardcovers

Kindle downloads that cost more than the traditional print book? HERESY!

The New York Times reports on the backlash that occurred when two e-books (Ken Follett's whopping Fall of Giants, which is so long it makes Infinite Jest look like a novella and James Patterson's Don't Blink).

Why did this happen? Writes the Times: "The skirmish over prices is possible because of deals that publishers negotiated with Amazon this year that allowed the publishers to set their own prices on e-books, while Amazon continues to choose the discount from the list price on hardcovers."