MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - looking for advice for distributing multilicense ebooks

cudaboy_71 · 05-14-2015, 11:13 AM

This seems to be a very difficult issue to research. So, I'll just ask.

I've been publishing books for years for corporate in-house training. In print, we charge a flat fee for x amount of books, plus a per/book charge beyond the base.

So, for example: a $500 fee for the first 100 books, plus $5/book after that. Super easy to manage in print. But, I need a way to do this electronically.

I've looked at KDP (Kindle), iBooks, encrypted PDF--none support this model. Someone mentioned side-loading .mobi. This may work. But, there are so many formats. I've just learned of .mobi. Maybe it's outdated? Maybe there's something better?

Also, we create the books in InDesign. It'd be nice to develop for something with a native plugin rather than have to jump through a bunch of different converters. But, that's not a deal killer. Just no sense ignoring a format that would be better in our workflow.

In the end, all that matters is:

• we can manage the sale of electronic copies with a level of DRM that supports 100 device or user loads,

and

• we can manage subsequent single license sales,

or

• we can enforce an initial minimum order of 100 copies that support single device or user loads, with single license purchase available after the initial purchase.

I've developed websites that handle digital downloads. So, if none of the consumer-level book sites--amazon, apple, etc support this model, I may just be looking for a file format that supports this level of DRM for sideload.

thanks for any advice.

05-14-2015, 11:13 AM	#1
cudaboy_71 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2015 Device: none	looking for advice for distributing multilicense ebooks This seems to be a very difficult issue to research. So, I'll just ask. I've been publishing books for years for corporate in-house training. In print, we charge a flat fee for x amount of books, plus a per/book charge beyond the base. So, for example: a $500 fee for the first 100 books, plus $5/book after that. Super easy to manage in print. But, I need a way to do this electronically. I've looked at KDP (Kindle), iBooks, encrypted PDF--none support this model. Someone mentioned side-loading .mobi. This may work. But, there are so many formats. I've just learned of .mobi. Maybe it's outdated? Maybe there's something better? Also, we create the books in InDesign. It'd be nice to develop for something with a native plugin rather than have to jump through a bunch of different converters. But, that's not a deal killer. Just no sense ignoring a format that would be better in our workflow. In the end, all that matters is: • we can manage the sale of electronic copies with a level of DRM that supports 100 device or user loads, and • we can manage subsequent single license sales, or • we can enforce an initial minimum order of 100 copies that support single device or user loads, with single license purchase available after the initial purchase. I've developed websites that handle digital downloads. So, if none of the consumer-level book sites--amazon, apple, etc support this model, I may just be looking for a file format that supports this level of DRM for sideload. thanks for any advice.