Apr 9 2012
Monday Midday Links: Sourcebooks Launches a Subscription Service and Ebook Store
Romance Ebook Club from Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks has launched a new subscription based romance reader book club. The cost is $9.99 for six months. You are entitled to one book a month from a pre-selected group of four. That works out to be less than $1.67 per book. In addition, you get up to 40% off any book in the Sourcebooks romance store. The books are DRM free. I’m signing up today. Scroll to the bottom for a Giveaway Link Sourcebooks
DiscoverANewLove.com officially launches at 9:00 a.m. CST officially Tuesday, April 10, in time for the RT Book Lovers Convention in Chicago. The featured titles for the month of April are: One Hot Cowboy Wedding by New York Times bestselling novelist Carolyn Brown, Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal by New York Times bestselling novelist Grace Burrowes (released one month early to members), Tempted by Elisabeth Naughton, and Mariana by New York Times bestselling novelist Susanna Kearsley.
I asked how authors would get paid and was told “Readers prepay for their monthly selections, and their payment is attributed to whatever book they choose as their pick for the month. This isn’t a subscription program. Authors are paid their regular ebook royalty.“
‘PW,’ Vook Team Up for Self-Publishing Package– Not sure how I feel about this but a review + epub production service in one seems like a good deal for authors. Publishers Weekly
“Publishers Weekly and Vook have reached a deal that will let self-published authors get access to Vook’s new e-book creation tool as well as participate in PW Select’s listing and review service. Under PW Select+, authors will receive all the benefits of PW Select as well as a host of options for using Vook’s e-book creation and publishing platform. Those benefits include conversion of authors’ manuscripts to an e-book format acceptable to B&N.com, Apple iBooks, and Amazon.com; automatic distribution within those three sales channels including full reporting; a distribution-ready EPub file for the author’s use in his or her own channels; an ISBN number (if needed); and seamless registration and integration into both PW Select and Vook. The price is $199.”
Apps Join Baseball Cards in Topps Lineup – NYTimes.com – This is pretty fascinating. Michael Eisner has bought Topps, one of the most revered names in collectible trading cards. The goal of Eisner is to bring collectible trading cards into the digital age. There is something to be gleaned here for authors. New York Times
“The apps are Topps Pennant, a data-based platform for statistics fans, and Topps Bunt, an interactive game with many of the characteristics of fantasy leagues. Currently, the apps are available only for iPads and iPhones, but they will eventually be introduced for Android phones and tablets, the company said. They represent important pieces of a larger strategy intended to slowly expand the fading baseball card business into a broader media company complete with digital offerings, and potentially shows, movies and clothing lines.
19 Regional Words All Americans Should Adopt Immediately – Mental Floss – A couple of weeks ago, we had a fabulous post from a group of Australian and New Zealand authors about how they had to steer clear from using some phrases and words in order to make the story sound more “American”. However, this blog post from Mental Floss shows how regional dialect can be just as foreign. Can you guess the meaning for words like jasm, larruping, or faunch? Mental Floss
Sourcebooks is offering one of our readers a free 6-month subscription. To enter, fill out this form with your email address. This giveaway will end on Saturday 10 PM CST.
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Apr 09, 2012 @ 10:40:27
I am having issues during checkout… grrr … going to switch to another browser, it’s annoying me.
Apr 09, 2012 @ 10:44:27
Ahh, the good ‘ole wapatuli. I’ve seen them made in 55gal barrels, bathtubs and sinks. Usually everyone coming to the party would bring a bottle of liquor and the host would start it out with the fruit punch/Sprite/juice, and chopped fruit, and at least a bottle of liquor.
But I’ve never heard of whoopensocker! LOL. I’m feeling geeky enough to want to page through that dictionary.
Definitely going to be looking at the Sourcebooks ebook club. I’m loving the idea!
Apr 09, 2012 @ 10:47:54
Sorry, I got overtly excited. The issue was with payment with Paypal. I placed the order using my credit card and it went through.
Mireya
Apr 09, 2012 @ 10:48:48
@Mireya: My problem was the same. I couldn’t check out using Paypal. Now my big problem is actually using the credit. It doesn’t recognize me as a member and doesn’t offer the use as a credit.
Apr 09, 2012 @ 10:52:48
@Angela: I’ve always heard it called “Purple Passion.”
Apr 09, 2012 @ 10:56:43
@Jayne: I’ve heard of the ‘Purple Passion’ before, but didn’t realize it was the same thing!
I think I’ll definitely wait until I’m at home to do the Club if there are payment problems.
Apr 09, 2012 @ 11:13:30
I don’t know that I will sign up for the Sourcebooks thing. It seems like all the the books I’ve gotten from them over the last year or so were either free or on sale for .99 already. They usually have pretty good sales.
Apr 09, 2012 @ 11:17:42
I like the idea of a subscription and will likely sign up. I am really curious about what happens after the “introductory price” is up. Any information on that?
Apr 09, 2012 @ 11:29:10
@Jane: Oy. Did you get the email confirmation when you registered? My experience with Sourcebooks’ customer service has been very good, so if all else fails, I’d recommend that you contact them.
Apr 09, 2012 @ 11:41:50
I am not sure wheter or not I’ll sign up for Sourcebooks. Yes, the discounts are good, but most of the Sourcebooks I have read have either been severly discounted, or free. ( Either thanks to Sourcebooks, or an ARe coupon.)
Apr 09, 2012 @ 11:53:16
I still remember my ‘what the…?’ feeling when I came across the word ‘copacetic’ in a USA author’s erotic novel. As an Australian I think I would say ‘it’s all sweet’ in it’s place?
Apr 09, 2012 @ 11:59:48
I’m definitely interested in this subscription service!
@Heather Greye: Curious also about what will happen after the “introductory price” is up.
Apr 09, 2012 @ 12:35:14
PayPal issues have been resolved. Thanks for letting us know!
Apr 09, 2012 @ 14:34:16
If this first foray in subscription goes well, maybe Sourcebooks will open up similar for their other authors. Michael Malone is one author whose books I’d love to have in digital format since I already own them every other way.
Apr 10, 2012 @ 06:06:43
I find the subscription model interesting and wonder if other publishers will follow. It’s certainly a step toward taking back some readers from third party retailers, but I think one major element could be missing. (I didn’t sign up, so I don’t know if this is true, but I’m assuming this from the FAQ). Buyers would still have to sideload books onto their ereaders. It might be a more inciting program if the books were pushed directly to the device. I do think that the simplicity of shopping directly from either the Kindle or the Nook is still attractive enough to keep many readers from bothering to go elsewhere. But a subscription program that sends directly to the device might do it.