Popular Author Gives Amazon Exclusive eRights
Well, this makes it harder to fight Amazon's impending ebook monopoly.
Just last week five major publishers announced they were teaming up to launch their own store that they hoped would compete with Amazon. The group did it because they didn't want Amazon to create a monopoly when it came to the ebook market. This week one author is giving Amazon exclusive rights to his book.
The New York Times has pegged Stephen R. Covey as one of the most successful business writers of the last two decades so when Covey decides to move ebook rights for two of his best-selling books from his print publisher, Simon & Schuster (CBS), to a digital publisher that will sell the ebooks Amazon for one year, it's bound to catch the attention of other authors.
NYT reports that Amazon will have exclusive rights to sell the ebook editions of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” and “Principle-Centered Leadership.” Mr. Covey also has plans to gradually make other ebooks Amazon-only via his new publisher, RosettaBooks.
CEO of RosettaBooks said that Covey would receive more than half of the net proceeds that his company took in from Amazon on these ebook sales. This is compared to the standard 25 percent digital royalty from mainstream publishers.
Read the full story here.
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He's not taking much of a risk in doing this. He was probably paid handsomely by Amazon and he's already had his book in print. So the people who wanted to buy the paper version more than likely has bought it and he's changing to the digital market. With only a 1 year restriction he can test the sales, or resign with a more open contract and release paper versions again in a year.
If this was Stephen King (insert instant best selling authors), it would be ground breaking. This is just a rumble caused by a truck going down the highway, a mile away.
But the truck -is- coming.
I wish these guys would come up with something a little more flexible than gridlocking half the authors in one corner against the other half of the authors in the other corner.
Imagine if Netflix and Blockbuster had exclusive rights to rent out half the movies available. Both services would suck.
Imagine if Netflix and Blockbuster had exclusive rights to rent out half the movies available. Both services would suck.
+1. Well put.
Maybe we will see a shift from book publishers to ebook publishers. it would work just like regular printed books except their electronic. you have ebook publishers who then sell the digital form to etailers like amazon and whatnot. as long as its not the etailers who publish it and have exclusive rights, but even that is fine as long as the different etailers/publishers have the same format for their ebooks
You are all idiots, this guy has sold over 15 million copies of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. Put that in context, that's more than all the copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.So comparing against 2 of the highest selling authors ever, who just happen to have blockbuster Hollywood movie adaptions instead of rating him on literary appeal makes you a moron.
I beg to differ. My boss hands those copies out to employees (who throw them away), thus it doesn't mean he's -actually- reaching an audience. Ask the majority of people if they've heard of... Say... Stephen King, Stephanie Meyers, JK Rowling, Dan Brown, etc... And guess who more people will recognize?