Rubrica semanal de notícias e artigos relacionados com a edição de livros digitais.
A survey of ten German editors looks at how the responsibilities of editors have changed, how e-books are influencing the editorial process, and how the very concept of the book is evolving.
The problem with unfettered choice is that it is impossible for readers to wade through the 1 million new titles that are published each year to find the 50 or 100 or even 250 ebooks that a reader can physically read in a year. I suspect that even if a reader made it his or her full-time occupation to peruse published ebooks to find the 250 ebooks to buy and read that they couldn’t do much more than toss a pebble into the ebook flood. What ebooks have done is inverted the pyramid. Rather than having a system to narrow choices to a manageable number, it has widened the choices to infinity, an unmanageable number.
Last week, both Nielsen BookScan and the Association of American Publishers reported that print sales in the USA continue to fall as e-book sales are rising. The AAP figures showed that print sales declined by 25% across all segments in the first two months of 2011, while e-book sales rose by 18.4%. Nielsen BookScan reported that mass market paperback sales fell 26.6% in the first quarter of 2011. The full impact of Borders store closings has not yet taken effect, but publishers can expect to see further print sales decline over the coming months.
Amazon.com has announced a new service allowing Kindle books to be borrowed from US libraries.
The internet retail giant has linked up with Overdrive, which provides digital content to 11,000 US libraries and educational institutions, to create the Kindle Library Lending service. When the service launches later this year, customers will be able to check out a Kindle book from their local library and start reading on any Kindle device or free Kindle app. The service also allows loaned Kindle e-books to be annotated on their e-reading device. The next time the e-book is checked out by the same user, their margin notes will have been saved and appear again.
As Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at Publishing Technology, a digital publishing services company, Randy Petway leads the firm in its strategic development to ensure continued growth and market leadership, and is responsible for international business development. Recently Publishing Perspectives spoke with him to discuss future trends in publishing.
More than three years after it was introduced in North America and eight months after the UK become the first country outside of the US to get a dedicated Kindle store, Germany has followed suit. The German Kindle store was launched on Amazon.de today (21st April), boasting the largest selection of any e-bookstore in the German-speaking countries.
Brazil is a country of continental dimensions — spreads across 50% of South America, has 5,565 cities and 190 million people. However, when it comes to bookstores, the country is woefully underserved, with just 3,000 providing for the entire population and most of them are concentrated in urban centers. To reach areas not served by stores, publishers rely on door-to-door sales, which represent 17% of the market (up from 5% in 2006).
Meanwhile, for people who love browsing – that most traditional book lover's pleasure – the squeeze on the high street is very unwelcome. How can you immerse yourself in the world of books – trawling shelves, leafing through volumes, thumbing pages, discovering an author you never knew you wanted to read until they fell into your hand – if a visit to a well-stocked shop becomes a rare luxury?
New York Times E-Book Best Sellers
These lists are an expanded version of those appearing in the May 1, 2011 print edition of the Book Review, reflecting sales for the week ending April 16, 2011.
1. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, by Sara Gruen
2. THE LINCOLN LAWYER, by Michael Connelly
3. CHASING FIRE, by Nora Roberts
4. THE FIFTH WITNESS, by Michael Connelly
5. SOMETHING BORROWED, by Emily Giffin
1. BOSSYPANTS, by Tina Fey
2. HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent
3. UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand
4. I'M OVER ALL THAT, by Shirley MacLaine
5. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, by Rebecca Skloot
