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Old 09-10-2011, 11:16 AM   #1
stonetools
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Apple Introduces " Quick Reads" in iBooks

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This week Apple has introduced a new section on the iBooks store that bears the title Quick Reads. The section contains shorter, cheaper ebooks that aim to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Singles. The books are much smaller in size than your average iBook and range in price from $0.99 to $4.99.

The new section features a mix of genres that span both fiction and non-fiction selections. Many of the offerings are novellas or short stories, some are essays. There are some recognizable names on the list though, like Lee Child, John Scalzi and Anne Rice. There are other types of offerings on display too like recipe books and bundles of instructive websites like IKEA hacks.
LINK

What does this mean?

The first thing it means is that Amazon was definitely on to something when it pioneered this type of offering with Kindle Singles. I thought it wouldn't work at the time, because I didn't think there was a market for "intermediate form" reading (although I happened to like such forms). I thought that it was clear the people liked either "book length" or "article/short story length" but nothing in between.
The success of "Longreads", "Kindle Singles" , etc. seems to show that I ( and most publishers) were wrong. Apple has followed with "Quick Reads": can B&N, Kobo and Google be far behind?
I'm looking forward to the return of the novella/short novel form to prominence. Us old fogies can remember the ACE Double : two short novels bound in one book. Finish reading one novel, turn the book upside down, start the next.
Of course, you don't do that with e-books, but the idea is that authors can explore ideas at the length that fits these ideas, rather than the either/or of the novel/ short story.
I'm also intrigued by the idea of the SERIAL maybe returning to replace the SERIES as a way of telling the epic story.SFF seems to be wedded to the idea of the SERIES-the trilogy ( or more) of 1000 page novels, each coming out every 3-5 years or so. The extreme example here is ASOIAF, but there are plenty of lesser examples. It maybe better if the story is told like the old magazine SERIALS, in which the story is told in novella length form doled out every six months or so.
Any thoughts about the return/rise of the intermediate form?

Last edited by stonetools; 09-10-2011 at 05:22 PM.
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Old 09-10-2011, 12:12 PM   #2
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It was popular with the Victorians - a lot of novels were originally partworks. And I suppose Readers Digest is arguably appealing to those who want something easier to consume, but beyond the short story.

So maybe this is just ebooks catching up.
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Old 09-10-2011, 01:03 PM   #3
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It seems like it's just marketing catching up. These short stories have been around on the EPUB bookstores for awhile. Not all of the Kindle Singles are exclusive to the Kindle Store. Now Apple has a catchy name to market them. It probably won't be long before B&N and Kobo have their own catchy name too.

I like the concept of Kindle Singles that are meant to accentuate the short-form content rather than long-form. However, it seems that many publishers are now offering these ebook exclusives for their best-selling authors to capitalize on the author's brand especially if they have a book series. That's why you are seeing singles from author's such as James Rollins, Steve Berry, Michael Scott, and Lee Child. These short stories are meant to add something new about a character or to have a quick, teaser adventure to set-up the big adventure that is coming in a few months when the next full-length book in the series is released. If you are fan of these series, then it is hard to avoid not purchasing these shorter books because you don't want to miss anything. Although they can't add that much to the series or they risk offending the fans of the series who only read paperbooks. It's an interesting concept. When Steve Berry released his first short-story last fall, there was an interesting interview with him about how his publisher told him what they wanted him to write about and how he had a fast deadline because they wanted it ASAP as a promotion tool for his new novel and how the creative process was different to write this type of short-story.
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Old 09-11-2011, 03:41 AM   #4
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I really think this sort of thing stinks.

Books have already gone to a blockbuster model, where big name authors make 90% of the sales (stats made completely up, but it's very lopsided).

About the only way indie authors could compete was by pricing their stuff low.

But this seems to me as a way for the blockbuster model to completely wipe out indies, by competing at the same price point. I mean, why give Joe Blow a try for $1-3 when that same price buys a short story from a massively hyped and advertised author?
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Old 09-11-2011, 09:42 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyR View Post
I really think this sort of thing stinks.

Books have already gone to a blockbuster model, where big name authors make 90% of the sales (stats made completely up, but it's very lopsided).

About the only way indie authors could compete was by pricing their stuff low.

But this seems to me as a way for the blockbuster model to completely wipe out indies, by competing at the same price point. I mean, why give Joe Blow a try for $1-3 when that same price buys a short story from a massively hyped and advertised author?
I was thinking that this was a way for publishers to compete for the cheap reads crowd without lowering prices for their bestsellers. Still, the lengths of the pieces are different. 2.99 buys you just a short story from King; it buys you a novel from an indie.
Mike shatzkin once said that indie authors who attack major publishers for high prices should be careful what they wish for. Consumers may well decide to pay for a shorter piece from an established author than a full length novel from an unknown.
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