Online Sales

The Amazon-Hachette battle is over, to what seems like relief for publishers. The conventional take on this war is that publishers are fighting for their lives in the face of Amazon's relentless drive to cut prices. First, the thinking goes, Amazon cuts the prices. Then it cuts the publishers' share. Next it cuts the publisher.

Only problem here: It doesn't look so certain now that the publisher gets cut out of the equation. Consider whether, not immediately but five or 10 years from now, the one who gets cut out is ... Amazon.

I was at an event last week where an attendee described the following scenario: She discovered an author on the Oyster unlimited ebook subscription service, she read one of their books, and then realized the author's other books aren't included in Oyster. She was then forced to buy the author's next ebook somewhere else. The end result is the publisher still has no relationship with the reader and Oyster earns nothing from the sale of that next book.

In the deal that Amazon and Hachette Book Group finally reached Thursday after months of bitter negotiations, we don't really know which side "won," if one side did. But one survivor - perhaps surprisingly - was agency pricing for ebooks, the practice through which the publisher sets an ebook's price and the retailer takes a commission. Hachette said in a letter to authors and agents Thursday:

The bookseller Barnes & Noble today introduced a holiday promotion that brings print and eBooks together for holiday shoppers. B&N Sync Up! allows book buyers to purchase one or more paperback editions from a curated selection of titles at any of the Barnes & Noble 650 store locations, then purchase the same title as a NOOK Book digital edition for $4.99.

The real value of the program is that the buyer can either enjoy both copies, or they can gift them to their friends or family.

Amazon and Hachette announced Thursday morning that they have resolved their differences and signed a new multiyear contract, bringing to an official end one of the most bitter publishing conflicts in recent years.

Neither side gave details of the deal, but both pronounced themselves happy with the terms. Hachette gets the ability to set the prices on its e-books, which was a major battleground in the dispute.

"This is great news for writers," said Michael Pietsch, Hachette's chief executive. "The new agreement will benefit Hachette authors for years to come.

The highly anticipated Digital Book Printing Conference is fast approaching. Next week, November 19^th, Book Business will be at the New York Marriott Marquis, discussing the challenges and opportunities that come with the rise of digital book printing. The day will be filled with education and networking opportunities for book publishers, manufacturers, and retailers, making it the only event of its kind to bring together such diverse members of the industry.

In this Q&A, Firebrand's "Chief Igniter,"  shares his thoughts on driving ebook sales, the importance of digital marketing, and the future of D2C. For more information download the free white paper, "Demystifying eBooks: How publishers are decreasing the friction of eBook distribution & direct-to-consumer sales."

Every digital newspaper, magazine, and book I've ever purchased from an e-retailer share something in common: None of them included a pitch from the publisher to lure me away from the e-retailer and go direct. Not a single one.

This, despite the fact that it's never been easier, or more important, for publishers to diversify their channel strategy and focus on their D2C business, is pretty remarkable. It's even more amazing when you consider that more and more publishers are finally starting to wake up to the importance of either building a D2C channel or fortifying it.

I'm pleased to announce that once again this holiday season Publerati will donate 100% of our publisher proceeds to the Worldreader Organization for sales made of our two holiday-themed titles: Thanksgiving by Ellen Cooney and Normal Family by Don Trowden. As a small publisher, we realize our impact is unlikely to be huge, but remain committed to encouraging people at the grassroots level to read new fiction from excellent authors and to do so in part knowing they are helping spread literacy.

Apple is edging closer to declaring an all-out war against mega retailers like Walmart, Best Buy and CVS with its payment system. The big shopping chains do not want Apple butting into their customer relationship and have already rejected the use of Apple Pay. Yet despite the stringent opposition from the leading bricks and mortar players, Apple Pay is already more popular than all other NFC solutions combined after only one week of availability.

What makes many rival payment solutions so clunky is that you typically have to open an application to access them