As the iPad’s United Kingdom launch nears, The Bookseller reports that Amazon is speaking to literary agents in the UK about selling e-book rights directly to Amazon. A number of American e-book publishers are approaching UK agents as well, including Rosetta Books (who e-publishes exclusively through Amazon).
At the moment, there seems to be some turmoil in the UK publishing industry as authors and publishers are still arguing over royalty rates.
Publishers have "missed a trick" by making authors anxious, [a leading London agent] said. "The whole debate over Google has intensified the feeling among authors that they are being conned. It is shaping up to be a stand-off."
It is not surprising that Amazon should be scrambling to sew up whatever e-book rights it can. Every additional title will help it draw eyeballs away from the iPad—and based on the results of that survey we mentioned yesterday, it looks like it will have an uphill climb.
On a related note, Charlie Stross’s latest “Common Misconceptions about Publishing” blog post covers the topic of licensing in various different areas and languages (though it focuses on printed books, not e-books).
No mention made of exactly what rights are being negotiated; UK-only, US-equivalent, Canada, global? Or of what version of the book; the author’s manuscript, the edited “proofed” version from the treeware edition? Makes a big difference.
Looks like disintermediation accelerating.
If the BPHs insist on a business model likely to choke off ebook sales, well, why not remove them from the decision-making process by offering up their slice of the pie directly to the author? The fact that they’re going after back-catalog titles likely to pre-date e-rights clauses should make it an effective wedge to distance established authors from the publishers.
I expect lawsuits to follow.