For those authors who choose to participate in Kindle Select, the payment arrangement is changing. Instead of paying based on the number of times a book is borrowed, they will now pay based on how many pages are read. Some say this means you should write longer books in order to earn more… But this doesn’t take into account reader interest—if a reader isn’t interested continuing to read a lengthy but boring book, she is likely to just return it and borrow a new one. So what this means, to me, is that you should write more interesting books which keep the reader engaged to the very end!
Archive of posts filed under the eBook News category.
Sony to Shutter Its eBook Store in US and Canada in Favor of Kobo
Sony is giving up on the eBook market in North America, and transferring all of its clients to Kobo in March 2014. Could this provide the extra boost that Kobo needs to become a major player? We’ll see!
BISG Report – A Few More Ebook Stats
The below-linked article summarizes the report Consumer Attitudes Towards Ebook Reading and presents slightly different data than my clients have anecdotally reported for their sales (most say that their sales come almost exclusively from Amazon, with virtually (or literally!) no sales elsewhere). It gives Amazon (including both the website and the app) as the clear leader with 67% of the market share, followed by “all other sources” at 12.8%, Barnes & Noble at 11.8, and Apple (the iTunes bookstore) at 8.2%.
Barnes & Noble Continues Android Tablet Fire Sale
After offering amazing prices for the week before Father’s Day, Barnes & Noble has continued their sale, offering their eReaders and tablets at astoundingly low prices—it seems they must be taking a loss on them. Michael Kozlowski of goodereader.com suggests that perhaps they are trying to get out of the tablet market entirely.
Publishing Experts Say eBook Sales Slowing
There have been a number of articles about Adweek’s article which claimed that “the e-reader business is shrinking,” and I was going to post a link mocking it, but then I read this article, someone beat me to it. 
Read the article at examiner.com.
Amazon Reportedly Sets June 7 Launch For Kindle Devices In China
Amazon is apparently set to release the Kindle in China on June 7. The prices for the devices appear to be slightly higher than the at-cost price for which they are sold in the U.S.
Read more about it at techcrunch.com.
eBook Sales Plateauing: BookNet Canada Reports
This is a rather deceptively titled article—it implies that eBook sales are leveling off, simply due to a dip in percentage sales during the fourth quarter of 2012… but then specifically mentions that the source, BookNet Canada, suggests that book sales are strongly linked to gift-giving. Well, duh… isn’t that a ground-shaker? 😛
Read the article at timescolonist.com.
Amazon Fights to Keep Secrets in eBook Trial
In regard to the Apple price-fixing trial, Amazon is seeking to have sensitive information—including “potentially embarrassing” data related to profitability, pricing, and contract terms—redacted from evidence. This is rather interesting, as Amazon has never disclosed this information to the public before, so we are all kept in the dark regarding its actual profitability and market share. I’m split on whether I think they should be able to keep the information private—I really want to know, but they’re a private company, and as a business owner, I don’t think it’s really anyone’s business but their own.
Read more about it at publishersweekly.com.
Amazon Buys Samsung’s Color e-ink Company
It’s possible that there will be a color “regular” Kindle in the (near?) future, as Amazon has just purchased Liquavista, an e-ink company with color technology, from Samsung. As usual, Amazon is close-lipped about the details.
Read more about it at cnet.com.
Amazon Kindle Store Opened in Brazil
Amazon has introduced the Kindle to its Brazil site, making available to customers there more than 1500 free Portuguese books (they are free to everyone else, as well). They have also created a Portuguese version of the Kindle app for various platforms.
Read more about it at pcmag.com.