By Siobhan O’Leary Worldwide revenues for Germany’s largest book chain Thalia have increased by 9.3% to a total of 498 million euros for the first half of 2010. (However, in a pure apples to apples comparison taking new store openings into account, that increase drops to only +2%). Parent company The Douglas Group reports that Thalia is on target to …
It’s Official: Everyone is an Author…or at Least One Million Americans Are
By Edward Nawotka We’ll it’s confirmed: Yes, everyone really is an author. According to Publishers Weekly’s report on the annual publishing stats compiled by R.R. Bowker, 2009 saw a whopping 764,448 titles were produced in 2009 by “self-publishers and micro-niche publishers.” PW says the “number of ‘nontraditional’ titles dwarfed that of traditional books whose output slipped to 288,355 last year …
Penguin Ireland Sells 100 E-books in 09, 1,000 So Far in 2010
By Ed Nawotka According to Irish Publishing News, Penguin Ireland — the country’s largest trade publisher — sold just 100 e-books total in 2009. But things are looking up. Penguin Ireland MD, Michael McLoughlin, speaking at the Irish Branch Conference of the Booksellers Association in the Hilton Hotel, Dublin this past weekend, said that the company sold over 1,000 e-books since …
Author Contracts 2.0: Putting Cash Before Copyright and Control
By Liz Bury In the world of multi-channel digital distribution the future author contract is likely to put transparency and cash flow above copyright protection, as a new working dynamic emerges between publishers and authors. The advent of digital distribution means that authors should “surrender to the inevitable” and let go of control of their work, said Clive Rich, principal …
12bn iPad Apps Totaling $8bn Predicted, How Many Will be Books?
By Edward Nawotka I haven’t pre-ordered an iPad yet. I’m still waiting to see if there are any takers for my Kindle II and the Bose SoundDock II I won at SXSW (Interested in either, email me, as a loyal reader I’ll do you a deal). But as the hype mounts, it’s getting more difficult to resist. What has been …
Bertelsmann’s 09 Net Loss: First in Three Decades
By Siobhan O’Leary For the first time in three decades, Bertelsmann has posted a net loss — this according to the 2009 fiscal year results announced yesterday in Berlin. The loss amounted to €82 million, which is particularly glaring in light of the €142 million net profit posted in 2008. Bertelsmann blamed at least part of the downturn on sluggish …
US E-book Sales top $30m in January, Matching Kids Hardcovers
By Edward Nawotka Perhaps fueled by people filling up the new e-readers they received over the holidays, e-book sales in January jumped a drastic 261.2% over the same period last year in the United States, according to the most recent statistics released by the AAP. As a category e-book sales equaled that of children’s/YA hardcover book sales, which fell 41.6%, …
Do We Need Separate ISBNs per E-book per Format per Region?
By Edward Nawotka In today’s lead story Liz Bury considers the state of the ISBN debate as regards to the proliferation of e-books in various formats. The debate going on is whether or not it is necessary to issue separate ISBNs for each e-book in each format. More ISBNs mean better analytics on the retail end, but require added logistics. …
“E-book ISBN Mess Needs Sorting Out,” Say UK Publishers
By Liz Bury LONDON: The subject of how book digitization is affecting the future of the ISBN may not be as sexy as say pricing or sequencing issues, but it is just as important. Right now, publishers around the globe are taking different approaches to assigning ISBNs to e-books, that is if they are assigning them at all. The situation …
Libri.Connect brings E-books to Bricks-and-Mortar Stores
By Siobhan O’Leary German wholesaler Libri has come up with a solution for purchasing e-books in traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores. With the Libri.Digital model, customers can search for and order a title in-store using Libri.Connect software specifically created for this purpose. They can then purchase the e-book directly at the register and receive a download link via e-mail. According to buchreport, …