Wednesday Midday Links & Deals: The Bride Sale 70+ books, less than $3.99; Mother Daughter Book Club
Book Deals / Publishing NewsAmazon / ebook-v.-print-publishing / scholastic / Stephen-King10 Comments
Amazon’s markup of digital delivery to indie authors is ~129,000% | Andrew Hyde – “Wait, Amazon pays out the worst? What? This can’t be right! They are the best right? Everyone loves them. I love them. I dig a bit deeper and find this little gem: Avg. Delivery Cost ($) 2.58. So for every $9.99 book I sell I, the author, pay 30% to Amazon for the right to sell on Amazon AND $2.58 for them to deliver the DIGITAL GOOD to your device. It is free for the reader, but the author, not amazon, pays for delivery.”Andrewhy Andre writes a travel book. It’s a big file at 18.1 MB but under the Amazon suggested cap of 50 MB. Kobo made a point of telling me that there were no download fees or hidden costs. I didn’t understand what they meant at the time. I do now. Most text based books won’t find this problematic although someone pointed out that with the move to high res devices, like the iPad, iPhone and now computer screens, that cover images will have to be larger in file size. That could be a problem.
Mother Daughter Book Club | Scholastic – “Start a tradition of reading with your daughter with a Mother-Daughter Book Club! Scholastic’s selections below will help you choose books that you and your daughter will enjoy! Don’t miss the discussion guides and recipe suggestions for hosting a book club with friends.” Scholastic When I was at BEA, I heard about this book club and it sounds pretty awesome. I love the idea of participating in a book club with my daughter and have actually emailed a few moms I know to see if they are interested. This would be the first physical book club I’ve ever participated in.
The Cartland Institute for Romance Research ‘The Cartland Institute for Romance Research’ (CIFRR) is a new art installation exploring the life and work of the celebrity romance novelist, political activist and aviator Dame Barbara Cartland. Inspired by this extraordinary woman, art collective UHC have created a new work which is part sculpture, part shrine, and part romance novel. We have set aside Dame Barbara’s caricatured pink gown and mascara image, choosing instead to explore the author’s record breaking output as a writer, her status as a champion of midwifery and traveller’s rights, her Tatton connections, personal wartime tragedies and perhaps her least known accolade as the co-inventor of the passenger carrying towed glider. From my inbox
CIFRR is currently on show in the grounds of Tatton Park www.tattonparkbiennial.org and features an exact 1/2 scale replica of the glider; the Colditz Cock, which also lends its name to our limited edition novel. The novel is inspired by the works of Barbara Cartland and tells the story of Mary, a British woman trapped in war torn Germany and based on a young Barbara Cartland. After an unexpected encounter with a British airman, they create a daring escape plan echoing the true story of the famous glider built by prisoners of war at Colditz. The story draws on real people and events to create an imagined account of aviation, romance, escape and wartime Tatton. The character of Mary is based on the young Cartland.
You can enjoy the first chapter of this book for free at http://www.tattonparkbiennial.org/detail/4380/ It is also available for purchase from http://tinyurl.com/bwep9f4
Tessie Girl: The Stephen King Universe Flow Chart – “Now, I TOTALLY do not recommend ten year olds reading Stephen King books (messed me up good), but this was when my life long relationship with Mr King began. My love for his books is based around his characters. They are so full. I love Stephen King dialogue. I love his sense of humour. And I love the links and connections between the books. I am the kind of annoying person who likes to know the ‘In Joke’. So, of course, I MADE A FLOW CHART!!!” Tessie Design Company I love people like this.
After 115 Years Together, Turtle Couple Calls It Quits | NewsFeed | TIME.com – “If these turtles can’t make it work, what hope do the rest of us have? Bibi and Poldi have been together longer than most humans have been alive: both are 115 years old, and have known each other nearly since birth. The two giant turtles share a cage at a zoo in the Austrian town of Klagenfurt, where they have been living for the past 36 years. But it looks like that time might be coming to a close, and Bibi is ready to move on.” Time Weak minded womenz, take note. HEA does not exist in real life. LOOK AT THE TURTLES.
Berkley Books Releases Sylvia Day’s Erotically-Charged “Bared To You” With A 500,000-Copy First Print Run. | Virtual-Strategy Magazine – “Already a New York Times and USA Today bestselling eBook, Berkley Books releases Sylvia Day’s “Bared to You” on June 12, 2012 in trade paperback with a massive 500,000-copy first print run.” Berkley Press Release That’s a lot of books. I think it is safe to say that 50 Shades’ success made this happen.
Sainsbury supermarket buys HMV’s aNobii stake to enter e-books — paidContent – “HMV bought a 45.4 percent aNobii stake for £2.1 million ($3.25 million) last year, according to its accounts. Together with digital music retailer 7digital, HMV made a £1 million annual loss from its two digital investments last year. [ UK supermarket chain J. Sainsbury]’s acquisition is for just £1. aNobii’s potential usefulness to HMV was cut short when the latter sold its Waterstones book chain, which had planned to work with aNobii, to alleviate worries around its core music and video entertainment business last year.” Paid Content aNobii was owned (or at least invested in) by HarperCollins, Penguin and Random House. Sainsbury bought this for a pound. ONE POUND.
What will the global e-book market look like by 2016? — paidContent – “Overall, the [Price Waterhouse Cooper] sees total book spending in North America as relatively flat, “1.1 percent compound annual rate” of increase between 2011 and 2016 — and PwC thinks that while total spending on print trade books will decline, the e-book market will be growing fast enough by 2013 to offset those declines. In the U.S., the company estimates that “around 30 percent of adults had at least one portable reading device [an e-reader or tablet] in the first quarter of 2012.”” Paid Content
CBC Books – Marvel writer Marjorie Liu on scripting a gay Canadian X-Man’s wedding – “Cartoon characters have been coming out of the closet lately, with an openly gay character named Kevin Keller featured in Archie comics earlier this year, and DC comics recently revealing that the Green Lantern is gay. Marvel Comics, meanwhile, beat them all to the punch when they revealed that Northstar — a character who is part of the superhero team Alpha Flight — was gay (and Canadian!) back in 1992. Now, Marvel is publishing the first mainstream superhero gay marriage, as Northstar is set to wed his partner Kyle in an upcoming issue of Astonishing X-Men. Bestselling romance novelist Marjorie Liu is scripting the same-sex wedding storyline, and she spoke with Jian Ghomeshi about it on Q recently.” CBC Books
McNally Jackson Bookmongers – “When you go to buy the books you’ve seen so intelligently reviewed at the LARB, you can only be led to Amazon. It is as if the other sites were defunct, broken links to the wild west days of the internet, before the grand and benign rule of Bezos. Okay, so, it was mercantilism that broke the LA Times Book Review. I can understand if they are squeamish about entering into any sort of bookseller infighting. But this is not something they or any book site can ethically remain aloof from. This, this did not happen by itself. This was a choice, a choice to align themselves with an empire whose success is predicated on stifling literary culture and, while they’re at it, state government, decent labor practice, and probably puppies. People will argue this was done for the “Affiliate Program” Amazon offers. Powell’s offers the same, at great rates. Indiebound, whose web commerce architecture we use, does, too.” McNally Jackson LARB received a $25K grant from Amazon. Beware of gifts.
Cover Cafe – 2011 Romance Cover Contest Results – The annual contest process is complete and the 2011 results are ready for Cover Cafe fans to enjoy. This year, the biggest cover trend was the “back”. There were covers featuring a “woman incognito” facing away from the camera and also covers featuring a “talk to the hero and heroine’s back” scenario. I haven’t decided whether the trend was a compromise between the “anti-head chopping” readers and the “I don’t want to see faces on my covers.” readers or if publishers just jumped on the “back” bandwagon one by one. Cover Cafe
Deals
- A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Timeless Innocents by Janis Susan May * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Designed for Death by Jean Harrington * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Pirate’s Lady by Julia Knight * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- A Dark Love by Margaret Carroll * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- All My Desire by Margaret Moore * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Tempt Me with Kisses by Margaret Moore * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Maiden and Her Knight by Margaret Moore * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Kiss Me Again by Margaret Moore * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Scoundrel’s Kiss by Margaret Moore * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Kiss Me Quick by Margaret Moore * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- A Rogue’s Embrace by Margaret Moore * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- His Forbidden Kiss by Margaret Moore * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Brazen by Margo Maguire * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Tempted at Every Turn by Robyn DeHart * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Courting Claudia by Robyn DeHart * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Deliciously Wicked by Robyn DeHart * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- A Study in Scandal by Robyn DeHart * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Switched, Bothered and Bewildered by Suzanne Macpherson * $0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Bride Price by Anne Mallory * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Bride Sale by Candace Hern * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- For Love and Honor by Cathy Maxwell Lynne Hinton Candis Terry * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Bride Enchanted by Edith Layton * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- It Begins with a Kiss by Eileen Dreyer * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Royal Bridesmaids by Gaelen Foley Stephanie Laurens * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Eternal Kiss of Darkness with an Exclusive Excerpt by Jeaniene Frost * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Beyond the Night with Bonus Material by Joss Ware * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- His Stolen Bride by Judith Stanton * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Bride Bed by Linda Needham * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Bride Hut by Margo Maguire * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Seducing the Governess by Margo Maguire * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- At the Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Kissing the Bride by Sara Bennett * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Secrets of a Scandalous Bride by Sophia Nash * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Wicked in Your Arms by Sophie Jordan * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C Foster * $1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Blackout by Annie Solomon * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Power Down by Ben Coes * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Hope In A Jar by Beth Harbison * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Death, Taxes, And A French Manicure by Diane Kelly * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Comets Curse by Dom Testa * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Web of Titan by Dom Testa * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Casini Code by Dom Testa * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Dark Zone by Dom Testa * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Cosmic Storm by Dom Testa * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Galahad Legacy by Dom Testa * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Angels Of Morgan Hill by Donna Von Liere * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Pursuit by Elizabeth Jennings * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- On the Eighth Day She Rested by J.D. Mason * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Lady of Seduction by Laurel McKee * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Pray For Silence by Linda Castillo * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Shadow Grail: Legacies by Mercedes Lackey * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Top Producer by Norb Vonnegut * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Lord of Desire by Paula Quinn * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Between the Sheets by Robin Wells * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Out of Time by Samantha Graves * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- A Bad Day For Pretty by Sophie Littlefield * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Stone Monkey by Jeffrey Deaver * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Cold Moon by Jeffrey Deaver * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
I heard the interview with Marjorie Liu on the radio the other day – I had no idea that she also writes for Marvel. How cool. I think this is only the second time I’ve heard a romance author on public radio (I know this show is from the CBC but my local American public radio station carries Q).
The McNally article leads to a question I’ve been meaning to ask for a while- Would it be possible for you to put up affiliate links to either Powells, IndieBound, or AllRomance? I’d love to give DA some love when I’m buying books based on your reviews, but when at all possible I buy from someone other than A/BN/S/K.
The story about the turtles makes me sad :(
@Liz: Jane has an All Romance link on the sidebar that I often use.
I’m not completely sure what something that is part statue, part shrine, part romance novel is going to be like, but I’m intrigued. And since I don’t live too far from Tatton Park, I think I’ll go and see.
Apparently the delivery cost for the travel book is so high because the file is much bigger than normal due to all the photos. According to a comment to the article, a plain text book costs 6 cents to deliver. It may still be way too much, but it is far from typical.
While that mother-daughter reading club sounds interesting, I’m wary of Scholastic where girls are involved. They did do this, after all.
@Ridley: Wow. Reading the intro, I didn’t think it could possibly be as bad as they were making out, but it was actually worse. There weren’t one or two questionable chapters; they were almost all horrible. If I had to pick out the worst, it might be the one on how to show you’re sorry. Because girls/women are supposed to spend their lives being apologetic, but guys get a pass? But the how to be a good babysitter was right up there, too. Yep, make sure they get those child-minding skills down early.
Yuck. I think I need to go rinse my mouth out now.
@library addict: I never noticed that before (obviously, lol). Thanks! Will definitely be clicking.
As an author of ebooks with pictures in them, I also am not a big fan of delivery costs. Delivery costs are something Amazon could justify when they had to use their Whispernet network to send everything to Kindles. Now with iPhones and other devices using the KindleApp, they are providing a download but not the entire infrastructure to deliver the book to the consumer (as many of them use wi-fi or 3G networks to receive the content) it’s definitely a way to nickel & dime. Bandwidth and storage costs are on a downward trajectory.
I was really glad to see the cover of Angels of Darkness win the alternate reality category in the Cover Cafe contest.