Every now and then, you have to keep the fires burning. Competing for writing contests is one of the best ways to get your creative juices flowing and expose your work to new audiences. They also can be cash cows.
Below, we list a few of our favorite recent writing contests. Good luck writers.
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books (fiction and nonfiction) below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
1 LEAN IN, by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell. (Knopf.) The chief operating officer of Facebook urges women to pursue their careers without ambivalence and to cultivate a will to lead.
2 BOSSYPANTS, by Tina Fey. (Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown.) A memoir from the former “Saturday Night Live” star and creator of “30 Rock.”
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books (fiction and nonfiction) below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books (fiction and nonfiction) below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
1 SIX YEARS, by Harlan Coben. (Penguin Group.) Six years after the woman he loved married another man, Jake Fisher discovers that neither she nor their life together were what theyseemed, and he sets out to uncover the truth.
2 WAIT FOR YOU, by J. Lynn. (J. Lynn.) Nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten hopes she can escape the tragedy in her past when she goes to college, but she begins to receive threats.
Read More
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books (fiction and nonfiction) below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
1 ALEX CROSS, RUN, by James Patterson. (Little, Brown & Company.) While Alex Cross pursues a Washington serial killer (or killers?), someone is after him.
2 WAIT FOR YOU, by J. Lynn. (J. Lynn.) Nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten hopes she can escape the tragedy in her past when she goes to college, but she begins to receive threats.
New research from Bowker Market Research (United Kingdom) and Enders Analysis proves that physical bookstores are valuable to a healthy, sustainable publishing industry.
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
1 RECKLESS, by S. C. Stephens. (Simon & Schuster.) The success of Kellan’s band poses a challenge to his relationship with Kiera.
2 WAIT FOR YOU, by J. Lynn. (J. Lynn.) Nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten hopes she can escape the tragedy in her past when she goes to college, but threats follow her.
Read More
According to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, national bookstore sales figures increased 5.5 percent in January to $2.13 billion. Sales for retail rose 6.1 percent during that month. Census Bureau bookstore data includes all sales from stores that generate at least 50 percent of their total book revenue.
Source: Publishers Weekly
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
1 CALCULATED IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb. (Penguin Group.) Lt. Eve Dallas must crunch the numbers as she investigates the death of a successful accountant; by Nora Roberts, writing pseudonymously.
2 THE STORYTELLERby Jodi Picoult. (Simon & Schuster.) A New Hampshire baker finds herself in the midst of two Holocaust stories: her grandmother’s story of survival, and the confessions of an elderly German man, an SS officer. Read More
This, folks, is the era of the self-made man. As the Internet continues to disrupt industry strongholds in everything from music sales to college classrooms to television programming, consumers are using their purchasing power to show businesses that they’re comfortable buying products and services online from independent sellers.
Nowhere is the change in status quo more evident than the publishing industry: less than five years ago, self-publishing was frowned upon, used only by lowly rejected authors. That’s not the case today. Now, large publishers scroll the Amazon bestseller lists looking to sign the next big self-published authors (see E.L. James’ $1.3 million a week success story). Since the attitude toward self-publishing has changed so drastically, now may be the best time to go rouge and publish your own book.
But which book printing service is the best? Which book printer is the best option for first-timers? Here, we tell you why Lulu book printing—a web-based self-publishing service—is the best book printer on the market.
Lulu provides online access to the tools authors need to design and publish books, brochures, reports, posters, music, videos and calendars. In addition to basic printing services, Lulu offers some services rarely found. For instance, users can now use Lulu to print vintage books, such as out-of-print books or personal artifacts.
This reason is probably most important to indie authors, since they have to cover the entire costs of designing, editing and publishing their own books. While the cost to print color books through Lulu is significantly more than black and white books, you still save overall. Here’s a breakdown of Lulu prices.
Printing:
Distribution:
Lulu offers guidance on printing ebooks and physical books for newbie authors.
Lulu recently dropped Digital Rights Management (DRM) from their ebook publishing options, much to the ire of many users. While some may protest the move, there are many benefits to ending DRM, since it means the ebooks can now be viewed on many different platforms (before DRM-protected ebooks had to be accessed using Adobe Digital Editions, a downloadable application different from the popular Adobe Reader).
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
1 SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central Publishing.) The arrival of a mysterious young woman in a small North Carolina town raises questions about her past.
2 UNTIL THE END OF TIME, by Danielle Steel. (Random House Publishing.) The stories of two relationships, at different times, intersect unexpectedly.
3 GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn. (Crown Publishing.) A woman disappears on the day of her fifth anniversary; is her husband a killer?
4 PRIVATE BERLIN, by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan. (Little, Brown & Company.) A superstar agent at the German headquarters of a powerful investigation firm disappears.
5 FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) A college student falls in love with a tortured man with particular sexual tastes; the first of a trilogy.
6 COLLIDE, by Gail McHugh. (Gail McHugh.) A young woman who has just graduated from college and lost her mother gives up her thoughtful boyfriend for a rich playboy.
7 SUSPECT, by Robert Crais. (Penguin Group.) A Los Angeles policeman and a German shepherd, both suffering from PTSD, search for the killers of the cop’s partner.
Last week, Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced the six finalists for its 2012 Discover Great New Writers Awards. The fiction and nonfiction winners receive $10,000 and a full year of additional promotion from Barnes & Noble. Second-place finalists receive $5,000, and third-place finalists, $2,500.
Fiction
Nonfiction
This year’s fiction judges are: Lan Samantha Chang, Alan Cheuse and Karl Marlantes. This year’s nonfiction judges include Susan Cheever, Wendy McClure and Touré.
Final winners will be announced March 6, 2013, at a private awards ceremony. Books by the finalists and judges can be purchased online at www.bn.com/discover.
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
1 SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central Publishing.) The arrival of a mysterious young woman in a small North Carolina town raises questions about her past.
2 PRIVATE BERLIN, by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan. (Little, Brown & Company.) A superstar agent at the German headquarters of a powerful investigation firm disappears, and the resulting search reveals many secrets.
3 GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn. (Crown Publishing.) A woman disappears on the day of her fifth anniversary; is her husband a killer?
4 HOPELESS, by Colleen Hoover. (Colleen Hoover.) The man who has been relentlessly pursuing Sky Davis is not who he pretends to be.
5 FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) A college student falls in love with a tortured man with particular sexual tastes; the first of a trilogy.
6 SUSPECT, by Robert Crais. (Penguin Group.) A Los Angeles policeman and a German shepherd that has worked in Iraq and Afghanistan, both suffering from PTSD, search for the killers of the cop’s partner.
7 EVER AFTER, by Kim Harrison. (HarperCollins Publishers.) The witch Rachel Morgan and an unlikely ally battle a demon in order to prevent an apocalypse.
8 FIFTY SHADES DARKER, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) Ana Steele learns more about Christian Grey’s troubled past; the second book in a trilogy.
9 FIFTY SHADES FREED, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) The final book in an erotic trilogy.
10 THE FORGOTTEN, by David Baldacci. (Grand Central Publishing.) The military investigator John Puller probes his aunt’s mysterious death in Florida.
11 THE RACKETEER, by John Grisham. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) An imprisoned ex-lawyer schemes to exchange this information about who murdered a judge for his freedom.
12 SOMEONE TO LOVE, by Addison Moore. (Addison Moore.) A one-night stand turns into love for two college students.
13 THE COINCIDENCE OF CALLIE AND KAYDEN, by Jessica Sorensen. (Jessica Sorensen.) A boy and girl, both with tragedy in their past, come together after a chance encounter.
14 THE FIFTH ASSASSIN, by Brad Meltzer. (Grand Central Publishing.) Tracking an assassin who is recreating the crimes of the four men who murdered presidents, Beecher White discovers that they all were working together.
15 BARED TO YOU, by Sylvia Day. (Penguin Group.) Two troubled people develop an intense, obsessive relationship.
1 PROOF OF HEAVEN, by Eben Alexander. (Simon & Schuster.) A neurosurgeon recounts his near death experience during a coma from bacterial meningitis.
2 FRANCONA, by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.) The manager’s Red Sox years.
3 MY BELOVED WORLD, by Sonia Sotomayor. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) The Supreme Court justice recalls growing up in the Bronx, attending Princeton, working for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and becoming a federal judge.
4 KILLING KENNEDY, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. (Henry Holt & Company.) The host of “The O’Reilly Factor” recounts the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
5 GOING CLEAR, by Lawrence Wright. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) The Pulitzer Prize-winning author examines the world of Scientology.
6 NO EASY DAY, by Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer. (Penguin Group.) An account of the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, by a former member of the Navy SEALs.
7 KILLING LINCOLN, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. (Henry Holt & Company.) The host of “The O’Reilly Factor” recounts the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
8 THOMAS JEFFERSON, by Jon Meacham. (Random House Publishing.) The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer celebrates Jefferson’s skills as a practical politician.
9 CRY SILENT TEARS, by Joe Peters. (HarperCollins Publishers.) The story of a boy subjected to violence and sexual abuse who became mute for several years but eventually escaped his family; originally published in 2008.
10 TEAM OF RIVALS, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. (Simon & Schuster.) The political genius of Abraham Lincoln, revealed in his relationship with his cabinet; originally published in 2005.
11 LADY ALMINA AND THE REAL DOWNTON ABBEY, by the Countess of Carnarvon. (Broadway Books.) The inspiration and setting for the show on PBS.
12 UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand. (Random House Publishing.) An Olympic runner’s story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II.
13 THE POWER OF HABIT, by Charles Duhigg. (Random House Publishing.) A Times reporter’s account of the science behind how we form, and break, habits.
14 WILD, by Cheryl Strayed. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) A woman’s account of a life-changing 1,100-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail.
15 BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS, by Katherine Boo. (Random House Publishing.) A journalist reports on families striving for better lives in a Mumbai slum.
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books below. Use these books as starting points for your book club or personal reading lists.
1 THE BLACK BOX, by Michael Connelly. (Little, Brown & Company.) In a case that spans 20 years, the Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch links the bullet from a recent crime to a 1992 file, the killing of a young female photographer during the race riots.
2 COLD DAYS, by Jim Butcher. (Penguin Group.) Harry Dresden lives, but he’s no longer Chicago’s professional wizard. Now he’s the Winter Knight, Queen Mab’s assassin, and she wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal.
3 NOTORIOUS NINETEEN, by Janet Evanovich. (Random House Publishing.) The New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum joins with Joe Morelli to track down a con man who disappeared from a hospital; meanwhile, she takes a second job guarding Ranger.
4 THE FORGOTTEN, by David Baldacci. (Grand Central Publishing.) The military investigator John Puller probes his aunt’s mysterious death in Florida.
5 THE RACKETEER, by John Grisham. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) An imprisoned ex-lawyer schemes to exchange this information about who murdered a judge for his freedom.
6 MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALEX CROSS, by James Patterson. (Little, Brown & Company.) Detective Alex Cross confronts both a hostage situation and a terrorist act at Christmas.
7 GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn. (Crown Publishing.) A woman disappears on the day of her fifth anniversary; is her husband a killer?
8 THE LAST MAN, by Vince Flynn. (Simon & Schuster.) The counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp searches for a missing C.I.A. asset amid treachery in Afghanistan.
9 LIFE OF PI, by Yann Martel. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers.) A teenage boy and a 450-pound tiger are thrown together in a lifeboat after a shipwreck; originally published in 2002 and now a movie.
10 FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) A college student falls in love with a tortured man with particular sexual tastes; the first of a trilogy.
11 SHADOW’S CLAIM, by Kresley Cole. (Pocket Books.) Prince Trehan, a master assassin, will do anything to possess the beautiful sorceress Bettina — even compete in a blood-sport tournament.
12 THE EDGE OF NEVER, by J.A. Redmerski. (J.A. Redmerski.) A woman impulsively boards a Greyhound bus to start everything afresh, and meets a man with a dark secret.
13 AGENDA 21, by Glenn Beck with Harriet Parke. (Simon & Schuster.) A girl begins to question the authorities who run the Republic, the totalitarian successor to the United States created by the U.N.
14 FIFTY SHADES DARKER, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) Ana Steele learns more about Christian Grey’s troubled past; the second book in a trilogy.
15 THE PERFECT HOPE, by Nora Roberts. (Penguin Group.) The final volume of the Inn BoonsBoro trilogy sees sparks fly between Ryder Montgomery and the innkeeper.
1 KILLING KENNEDY, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. (Henry Holt & Company.) The host of “The O’Reilly Factor” recounts the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
2 PROOF OF HEAVEN, by Eben Alexander. (Simon & Schuster.) A neurosurgeon recounts his near death experience during a coma from bacterial meningitis.
3 THOMAS JEFFERSON, by Jon Meacham. (Random House Publishing.) The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist celebrates Jefferson’s skills as a practical politician.
4 KILLING LINCOLN, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. (Henry Holt & Company.) The host of “The O’Reilly Factor” recounts the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
5 TEAM OF RIVALS, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. (Simon & Schuster.) The political genius of Abraham Lincoln, revealed in his relationship with his cabinet; originally published in 2005.
6 NO EASY DAY, by Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer. (Penguin Group.) An account of the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, by a former member of the Navy SEALs.
7 ANTIFRAGILE, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. (Random House Publishing.) The philosophical essayist and author of “The Black Swan” identifies things that not only gain from chaos but need it in order to survive and flourish.
8 THE SIGNAL AND THE NOISE, by Nate Silver. (Penguin Group.) An examination of predictions, the ones that come true and the ones that don’t.
9 FATAL FRIENDS, DEADLY NEIGHBORS, by Ann Rule. (Simon & Schuster.) The 16th collection in the Crime Files true-crime series.
10 AMERICA AGAIN, by Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Tom Purcell et al.. (Grand Central Publishing.) The mock pundit of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” tells how to bring America back from the brink.
11 THE LAST LION, by William Manchester and Paul Reid. (Little, Brown & Company.) A biography of Winston Churchill, reaching from World War II until his death in 1965.
12 UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand. (Random House Publishing.) An Olympic runner’s story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II.
13 FAR FROM THE TREE, by Andrew Solomon. (Scribner.) The difficulties and triumphs of families dealing with exceptional children.
14 ROLL ME UP AND SMOKE ME WHEN I DIE, by Willie Nelson. (HarperCollins Publishers.) The musician muses on family, friends, Texas and life on the road.
15 WAGING HEAVY PEACE, by Neil Young. (Penguin Group.) The rocker’s memoir ranges over his personal life and his music.
The infographic below comes from 500friends.
View this week’s New York Times bestselling books below. Use these books as starting points for your book club.
#1 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Synopsis: A woman disappears on the day of her fifth anniversary; is her husband a killer?
Crown Publishing
#2 The Racketeer by John Grisham
An imprisoned ex-lawyer schemes to exchange this information about who murdered a judge for his freedom.
Knopf Doubleday Publishing
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). Use these books as starting points for your book club.
#1 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel
by Jeff Kinney
Amulet Books
Buy now for $1.00
#2 Elf on the Shelf
by Carol V Aebersold
CCA
Buy now
#3 Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot
by Bill O’Reilly, Meg O’Reilly, Martin Dugard
Henry Holt & Company
#4 Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust
by Ina Garten
Clarkson N Potter Publishers
#5 Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition [With Light Girl Doll]
by Carol V Aebersold
CCA
Buy now
#6 Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Into the Afterlife
Eben Alexander, Author
Simon & Schuster
#7 Threat Vector
by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney
Putnam Adult
#8 Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever
by Bill O’Reilly and Martin D
Holt
#9 Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
by Jon Meacham
Random House
#10 Racketeer
by John Grisham
Doubleday Books
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). Use these books as starting points for your book club.
#1 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel
by Jeff Kinney
Amulet Books
Buy now for $1.00
#2 Elf on the Shelf
by Carol V Aebersold
CCA
Buy now
#3 Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot
by Bill O’Reilly, Meg O’Reilly, Martin Dugard
Henry Holt & Company
#4 Black Box
by Michael Connelly
Little Brown and Company
#5 Notorious Nineteen
by Janet Evanovich
Bantam
#6 Cold Days: A Novel of the Dresden Files
by Jim Butcher
Roc
#7 Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust
by Ina Garten
Clarkson N Potter Publishers
#8 Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
by Jon Meacham
Random House
#9 Forgotten
by David Baldacci
Grand Central Publishing
#10 Racketeer
by John Grisham
Doubleday Books
Janet Reid is a literary agent with FinePrint Literary Management in New York City. Reid writes about the book industry on her blog, “Janet Reid, Literary Agent.” In her recently published article “some hard numbers,” Reid answered many industry questions for writers who want to transition from print to mainstream publishing. Read parts of her article below.
My query in-box has a new category these days: authors who’ve self published with the goal of a larger publisher noticing. There have been some amazing stories in the news about authors who’ve done just that.
We watch those stories very carefully of course. We’re in this biz for money, not love, and if there’s a place to find projects we can sell, you bet we’re there. If you’re thinking of doing this, here’s what to consider:
1. To get noticed, you have to sell a lot of books. By a lot I mean more than 20,000.
If this number doesn’t daunt you, ask yourself this question: have you ever sold 20,000 units of anything?
If the answer is yes, ask this next question: Have you sold something to 20,000 people, one by one?
If you self publish you are no longer just the author, you’re the salesperson for your book. Do you have any experience selling? Did you love selling Girl Scout cookies? Do you like calling people and asking for money (as in fund raising?) Do you gladly spearhead the fundraising drive at your school, synagogue, church?
No?
Be realistic. 20,000 units is a huge number of books. It’s a hard number to reach even if you’re published by a big publisher, with an accomplished sales force and established avenues to the retail market.
“But but but!” I can hear you sputtering–X did it, and Y too. And let’s all pause for a moment and consider 50 Shades of Lovely Lolly. Yes. All that is true. And yes, some people win the lottery twice. Your odds are worse.
This post is not to dissuade you from self-publishing. Have at it with all your might. BUT be realistic about what self-publishing is, and what it can accomplish. And more important what it can NOT accomplish.
2. There is no number two.
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). Use these books as starting points for your book club.
#1 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel
Jeff Kinney, Author
This Week Only: Buy for $1.00
#2 Notorious Nineteen
Janet Evanovich, Author
Deal: Buy Now for $13.47
#3 Elf on the Shelf
Carol V Aebersold, Author
On Sale Now for $ 3.99
#4 Agenda 21
Glenn Beck, Author, Harriet Parke, Author
Buy New for $13.98
#5 Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot
Bill O’Reilly, Author, Meg O’Reilly, Author, Martin Dugard, Author
New Copies on Sale: $12.07
#6 Forgotten
David Baldacci, Author
Buy New $9.00
#7 Merry Christmas, Alex Cross
James Patterson, Author
Buy Now $13.90
#8 Racketeer
John Grisham, Author
Buy New $14.00
#9 Last Man
Vince Flynn, Author
On Sale $10.22
#10 Heroes of Olympus, The, Book Three: The Mark of Athena
Rick Riordan, Author
Buy New $12.34
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Science fiction writer James E. Tyler, Jr. understands the publishing world more than most. As the owner of Zodiac Gifted Publishing, and author of the books “REG Aftermath” and “The Girl Who Stole From Fire,” Tyler help others create, edit, and market fiction books of their own. Below, Tyler offers his take on getting published as a black science fiction writer.
Writing a science fiction novel was an experience unlike anything I’ve ever done before. I’ve been writing stories since I was a young child and I’ve always enjoyed pushing my imagination and creativity beyond their normal boundaries.
Being a black author, I constantly have to encounter the social stigma that “blacks don’t read science fiction.”
In writing a science fiction novel, I was able to accomplish that and so much more. It was exciting to both visualize the impossible and to express the unbelievable in a way that readers are actually able to understand. There was not one dull moment as my mind journeyed to fictional places of adventure, excitement, danger, and so much more.
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). These books can be great starting points for book club reading lists.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel
Jeff Kinney, Author
Amulet Books
Last Man
Vince Flynn, Author
Atria Books
Eric Asimov is the chief wine critic of the New York Times, where his weekly column appears in the Dining section. He is currently promoting his book How to Love Wine. He is married to Deborah Hofmann, has two sons, Jack and Peter, and lives in Manhattan.
Thursday, November 15
Eric Asimov will be promoting How to Love Wine
KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANT
1605 San Pablo Ave Berkeley, CA 94702
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). These books can be great starting points for book club reading lists.
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). These books can be great starting points for book club reading lists.
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). These books can be great starting points for book club reading lists.
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). These books can be great starting points for book club reading lists.
In a recent episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart discusses Flowers for Algernon, then tells his audience to read a fucking book. Read people!
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). These books can be great starting points for book club reading lists.
The Tyee (out of Canada) recently did a bit of research on ebook pricing, finding that there are a few ways to discover cheaper versions of ebooks. View their findings:
Parade’s End is one of about a million copyright-free texts available online, and that wealth of free content has led to a host of eBook publishing companies that package classic books for under $3. Since the content is free, they’re charging you for the convenience of easy access to a book tailored for your eReader.
So as a consumer on the hunt for Parade’s End, I had the option of getting a free PDF copy via Project Gutenberg, a neatly packaged iBook via Vigo Classics, or the Random House Digital version of the novel, connected to the paperback tie-in with the mini-series.
PDFs don’t read smoothly on my iPod, so I passed on the freebie. Vigo packages the book for iGizmos for $2.99 and was easy to find in iTunes. Meanwhile, Random House Digital had two prices in iTunes — $8.99 or $13.99 — for exactly the same book Vigo sells, albeit with nicer covers. Over at Amazon.com it cost $15.92 to read the Random House version on a Kindle.
…
When it comes to rare and antiquarian books, the artifact itself is the prize. Prices for a first edition, a rare misprint, or a signed copy — even just a pristine dust jacket — remind us that the copy is almost irrelevant in book pricing. In the case of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, the copyright-free eBook is widely available free; a first edition of the hardcopy book in good condition will bring $7,000 to $10,000 at auction; and that rare dust jacket earned a seller $180,000 in 2009.
In theory, eBooks ought to reinvigorate the literature business much the way radio gave the music business a boost. Although not until musicians got over the idea that broadcasting their concerts was somehow stealing from them. Book publishers have a wonderful opportunity to shake off the shackles of high distribution costs and concentrate on delivering a wider, more interesting range of books. While nothing beats a blockbuster in any format, they could also profit from repackaging classics at a reasonable price (as Vigo does) and producing a wealth of long-tail books from their own back catalogues.
What do you think? Have you found cheap ebooks?
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). These books can be great starting points for book club reading lists.
View this week’s bestseller list below (via Publishers Weekly). These books can be great starting points for book club reading lists.
