Amazon Now on the 'Singles' Scene With New Kindle Product

Amazon is set to launch "Kindle Singles"—an e-book product that is longer than a magazine article yet shorter than a typical book—the online retailer announced this week. Described as between 10,000 and 30,000 words (roughly 30 to 90 pages), Kindle Singles will have their own section in the Kindle Store and be priced much less than a typical book, according to an announcement issued by Amazon, although a specific price was not indicated.

"Today's announcement is a call to serious writers, thinkers, scientists, business leaders, historians, politicians and publishers to join Amazon in making such works available to readers around the world," the announcement stated.

"Ideas and the words to deliver them should be crafted to their natural length, not to an artificial marketing length that justifies a particular price or a certain format," says Russ Grandinetti, vice president, Kindle Content. "With Kindle Singles, we're reaching out to publishers and accomplished writers, and we're excited to see what they create."