After obliquely addressing the matter in his last few posts about whether American publishers can get in on the European English-language e-book market, publishing consultant Mike Shatzkin’s latest blog post takes a direct look at the problems of territorial restrictions in e-books. He begins by drawing parallels to the differences in American and British Beatles albums in the sixties (the American editions left songs off of each one) and his inability to watch American football games in Europe now despite the technology being readily available. Similarly, though there is nothing technically preventing e-books from being downloaded anywhere in...

The uppity Jane Litte, who is to trashy romance novelists what Molly Ivins was to the Bush family, has been blackballed by the Romance Writers of America. Whoops. Ron Hogan at Galley Cat gives RWA its well-deserved comeuppance. I’m proud to say Jane is a TeleRead contributor from time to time....

Once e-books were mainly the territory of the science fiction fans, and SF still counts in e-bookdom. But a New York Times piece has certified what we already knew. The big action these days is in romance---titles like Mistletoe Cinderella, shown here. In Recession fuels readers’ escapist urges, Times staffer Motoko Rich writes: Romance novels have…captured a larger proportion of the electronic book market than other categories. Whereas most publishers say that about 1 percent of sales come from e-books, Harlequin says that digital editions make up about 3.4 percent of...

Which is more important to you---e-books or sex? I asked that question earlier this week, having been inspired by a New York Times article on an Intel-sponsored poll measuring attachment to  the Net vs. sex. And I suggested that Jane at DearAuthor.com follow up in an e-book context. Hey, who says the good life is only about DRMless books and ePub? Jane has kindly obliged me with a poll of DA readers---asking about books rather than e-books. Whatever the language, the current results may astound you: Would you go without sex or books for two weeks? Sex (84 percent, 213 votes) Books (16 percent, 42...

If the New York Times can delve into this issue in a Net context, maybe we can in an e-book one. Here's the reworked question: What's more important to you? E-books or sex? Be tasteful, gang. This is a family blog. Now back to All the News That's Fit to Print. "46 percent of women and 30 percent of men would opt to forgo sex for two weeks instead of giving up access to their precious Internet for the same period," the Times says in paraphrasing a Harris survey that Intel sponsored. Yo, Jane, over at DearAuthor.com, the...

Dear Author is starting a series on "how to convert ebooks into formats that work on dedicated and multi function devices." Kindle- and Sony-related posts almost surely will be coming. But today's tips focus on the eReader format as a destination. Then you can use the eReader program or Stanza to enjoy the books on your iPhone. eReader also runs on other device, including most PDAs. eBabel's perils DA's series will be a bunch of handy how-tos rather than a collection of rants. But here's the real question, which DA's Jane raises without even trying. Why---in this recession, with...

I want e-books to succeed, and I think that a successful e-book market needs to include competitors to Amazon. So I was glad that BooksOnBoard was partnering with Stanza to bring "for purchase content" to the iPhone. When I had a free moment, I took the opportunity to visit BooksOnBoard to experience the purchase process. The first time was a bit, well, off-putting. It took fourteen steps and over 10 minutes on the Edge connection. I e-mailed BooksOnBoard with my frustrations, and the company was very prompt and responsive. It asked me to try again; and on my...

New hardware markets can be catnip for e-books. Who'll read them without the right gizmos---including multiuse machines such as eco-laptops or iPhones? But spread the hardware around, and the number of potential readers will grow, beyond those who, for example, frequent bookstores. The key is for the publishing industry to seize on these new opportunities, not run away from them. That said, some very smart people persist in saying that e-books will reduce book sales. Jane at Dear Author has a great rebuttal. Though she's focusing on dedicated reading hardware, most of the same concepts would apply generically. ...

For romance writers, the RITA is the equivalent of a writing Oscar. This year there were changes to the qualifications for the RITA awards, including one that effectively eliminates e-books from competing. The RITA contest will not be open to any book that is not "mass-produced by a non-Subsidy, non-Vanity Publisher in print book format." This definition excludes any publisher that does not have print runs such as e-publishers who do POD prints like Samhain or Wild Rose Press. I've also been told that the Lambda Awards which recognize excellence in the GLBT field explicitly excludes e-books but will accept self-published...

"Recently, I learned about a new e-book program dedicated to kids called kidthing.com. Kidthing is a digital media platform that is designed to bring interactive books, movies, and games to children. Kidthing, in conjunction with Dr. Seuss Enterprises and NEA's Read Across America, is giving away an animated version of Horton Hears a Who, one of my daughter's favorite stories. I downloaded the program and the free ebook. It was a great experience." - Jane, at DearAuthor,  writing on the glories of freebies and suggesting that romance publishers experiment with them. The TeleRead take: Speaking of trying and buying, later...

The Kindle is a library-friendly machine not---since you can't use your books on more than one device, unless the same account is involved. And even then, catches abound. But that hasn't stopped the public library in well-off Sparta, New Jersey, 50 miles from NYC. It's bought two Kindles, as reported by Library Journal to lend to patrons (thanks, Mike Cane). The first downloaded book is on the house, the library system; patrons must pay for extra downloads. At least patrons will be able to benefit from the books already downloaded by other library users. Meanwhile LJ says: "After posting a...

Moderator's note: BooksOnBoard fears that Amazon may be trying to drive it and other e-indies out of business via its Kindle Store. Later this week, while remaining neutral on the issue of possible anti-trust violations, we'll publish more details from BooksOnBoard's side. Amazon has declined comment on business and format issues. Meanwhile big thanks to DearAuthor's Jane for the Kindle-related item below. - DR Amazon's pricing for at least some mass market books has suddenly gone full retail, no discount since the release of the Kindle. When questioned in Newsweek about the low pricing, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said:...