42 Rules

Have you ever used the Barnes & Noble Pubit self publishing system?  In order to better compete with the Kindle self publishing platform B&N have changed the way self publishers submit their books.  The new system, Nook Press, allows authors to write and edit within the system rather than uploading a Word document.   Authors that used to use the Pubit system need to create a new account in Nook Press.  To learn more visit Nook Press. Make sure you read their contract as it has some clauses in it that are new.

In the article “As E-Book Sales Rise, Apple iPad Bests Amazon Kindle” Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos says “After five years, e-books [are] a multibillion-dollar category for us and growing fast—up approximately 70 percent last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just five percent.”

This is great news for indie authors who publish only on Kindle but it looks like Amazon.com has to contend with the rapid growth of the iPad.  You can read the entire article here.

They both wish to redefine the publishing industry according to David Streitfeld.  Streitfeld writes about the collaboration between Amazon.com and Tim Ferris in the New York Times Bit column.  Amazon.com is the publisher of the latest Ferris 4 Hour books “The 4-Hour Chef”.  According to the article bookstores aren’t carrying the book because they don’t want to help Amazon.com continue to conquer the world.  Read the article and tell us what you think!

HarperCollins is the first of three publishers who has negotiated new, lower prices for e-books for Amazon and other e-retailers.  A federal judge approved a settlement in early September between three big publishers and e-retailers.  The NY Times Media Decoder blog has an article with all the details.  You can read about the settlement itself here.  What does this mean for authors?  It means that they will make less per e-book sold but they may very well sell a great deal more now that prices are more affordable.  More books being read is always a good thing!

Copyblogger decided to experiment with the KDP Select Program to give away an e-book for a 48 hour period.  At the end of the giveaway, which requires that you stop selling your book elsewhere, Copyblogger discovered numerous benefits from the giveaway including increased sales!  To read about the experiment and the results visit Copyblogger.

Amazon.com editors have picked the top 20 best books for 2012 (through June). You can read the list at Amazon.com.  It’s interesting to note that the top ten books on the list are from traditional publishers.  Amazon is also holding a sweepstakes:   “Customers can also enter the Best Books of the Year So Far Sweepstakes on the Amazon.com Books Facebook page through July 23 for a chance to win one of 10 Kindle Fire devices, each accompanied by a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card. There is no purchase necessary to enter. Must be a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C., 18 or over. Learn more [here] and enter for a chance to win.”

Amazon.com entered the publishing industry by purchasing a self publishing company and allowing authors to publish their titles on-demand with them. Due to changes in agreements Amazon.com has with other publishers Barnes & Nobles announced in February, 2012 that it will only carry Amazon.com published titles online and not in their brick stores. How this decision will affect Barnes& Noble’s sales remains to be seen. What effect, if any, will this have on your purchasing decisions?

Is such a bold claim true?  We at 42Rules don’t know for sure but it does seem like many of our colleagues and friends are toting around the Kindle’s they received for the holidays!  What we do know for sure is that all of the 42Rules books come in a version for Kindle and all of the other e-readers as well.  However, if you want an e-reader to read your 42Rules books and you love the Amazon.com catalog then you should consider a Kindle!

Gigaom blog has a fascinating post entitled “How Amazon Is Helping To Sustain Long-Form Journalism” that covers the best and the worst of how Amazon is shaping the publishing industry. You can read the entire post here.