Tag Archives: Sony Reader

Taking on E-Book Bestsellers

In November, the New York Times announced that it would begin publishing e-book bestseller lists (fiction and nonfiction) in early 2011. “We wanted to be able to tell our readers which titles were selling and how they fit together with print sales,” said Janet Elder, NYT Editor of News Surveys and Election Analysis. The tracking…Continue Reading

Holiday Books Survey Results Are In

For more results from this survey, check out Book-Giving Etiquette Guide and I Love You, Keith Richards. “My siblings assume that every book I get is free, so they expect books AND a ‘real present.’” “Any time I give a book, I fear it will be assumed that I did not pay for it, so…Continue Reading

Distribution 2009

Though nobody’s immune to the bad economy, distributors haven’t taken as much of a hit as other groups in publishing this year. “It’s easier in this economy to be working with a large distribution group,” says Eugenia Pakalik, Director of Sales and Marketing Distribution Services at Norton. The ideal IPM client, says Jane Graf, Director…Continue Reading

Netflix for Books?

It’s hard to remember a time when Netflix didn’t seem like a good idea. The company opened its first distribution center, in San Jose, CA, in 1998, and initially aimed to create the typical Blockbuster experience: Each rental was $4, plus $2 for postage, and there were late fees. In a 2002 interview with Wired…Continue Reading

Trendspotting 2009: David Rothman’s Predictions

David Rothman Founder, Teleread.org Sure, Oprah loves the Kindle, Amazon’s gizmo for reading electronic books, even if it looks a bit like a Soviet-made adding machine. And a second model probably will be on the way—in fact, perhaps two. We just might see an econo-Kindle and a large-screened version for students. Forbes is so excited…Continue Reading

Here Come the E-Readers

They’re not yet ubiquitous on the subway. And the “paperless office” is still a dream at this point. Our second annual industry survey of industry professionals found that 70% of respondents had never read an e-book. It’s unlikely that entry-level employees will receive shiny new Sony Readers with their company handbooks any time soon. Still,…Continue Reading

Second Annual Publishing Industry Survey

It’s polling season, and PT’s not exempt! This year, 385 people who work in publishing took our survey; 86.5% completed it. The largest group of respondents were literary agents (26.8%), while the majority of respondents at publishing houses work in editorial (40.6%), followed by rights (6.3%) and sales (5.7%). 10% are 22–27, 25% are 28–35,…Continue Reading

Someone's Using the Sony Reader

While eagerly awaiting Kindle, netGalley, and all the other cool launches in 2008, some publishers are working with what we have in the here-and-now: the Sony Reader. Simon & Schuster started giving it (officially, The Reader Digital Book) to sales reps, so that they could download manuscripts at will, and carry the Reader on their…Continue Reading

Will iPhone Kindle eBook Interest?

So now there are two more e-book devices going head to head with Sony’s Reader, and neither of them is talking about it. Yet. First there is the iPhone, which some see as the publishing industry’s first viable ePhoneBook, though Apple’s interest appears to be nonexistent. Still, when it was first introduced, the CNET editors…Continue Reading

Full Cast vs. Podcast: Digital Audiobook Update

It’s over, tape worms. Audio Renaissance published its last cassette this year: Janet Evanovich’s Lean Mean Thirteen. Random House Audio reports a format breakdown of 85% CDs and 15% digital downloads, with tape sales negligible. Retailers don’t sell cassettes, duplicators don’t duplicate them, and publishers don’t produce them anymore. Audible.com, often considered the benchmark of…Continue Reading