- Random House tries to pull a fast one with electronic rights (the Authors Guild is not amused)
- Author Stephen Covey takes back the rights (and sells them to Amazon)
- Author Stephen King writes a mystery titled U/R exclusively for Amazon's Kindle (<$3.00 to purchase for your e-reader)
- Coming soon: an ebook that opens like a regular book (eDGe) with two screens so you can read a book AND browse the web simultaneously
- B&N gets into the act with the Nook
- Philips Electronics develops e-skin technology to rival e-paper
Get the picture? No wonder the publishing industry is embattled...poor fat cats are losing money, and while it means authors are also losing money (think of the music industry a few years ago), I have to say I kind of enjoy the way Interweb technology makes profiteers scramble. In the meantime, if you find yourself feeling antsy, you're not alone. Here's a little primer on e-book rights. Might as well get familiar now.
1 comment:
This is my fourth holiday season working at an independent bookstore. And it's the worst season I remember for BACKORDERS. Every single damn book anyone asks for -- because they heard about it on NPR, usually -- is unavailable. What up? Bad economy leading to smaller print runs, probably. But it also serves to shove people toward ebooks, which are never backordered....
Goodbye, job...
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