Tuesday, October 8, 2013

E-Books Via Subscription... Would You Sign Up?


The idea is that people pay a monthly amount to watch movies on Netflix, so maybe they'll pay a monthly amount to read ebooks from, among other publishers, HarperCollins.

Scribd announced last week that HarperCollins is the first of the five major publishers to make a deal with them, and they're negotiating with the other four. From the LA Times Article:

How it works: Scribd will charge $8.99 a month for the service, which will offer unlimited access to titles published before July 2012. It will also offer books from smaller publishers.

HarperCollins and authors will get a cut of each book read. It's not clear whether the monthly fees will be enough to make up for lower sales of printed books.

Would you sign up? Is this a "good thing" for authors and illustrators?

It will be fascinating to see what happens as our industry moves into the future!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

2 comments:

Joanne Roberts said...

I don't have a smart phone or e-reader, so my opinion may be moot. But let's be honest. Access to more books instantly? That sounds pretty good.
I buy books whenever I can and I am known on sight by every librarian in two counties, but I have to say it seems like a great research tool for writers. This kind of idea is not going away. 'Sounds like we're going to have to adapt.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post.

Candy Gourlay said...

I would ... but can the ebooks be sent to any reader?