A UK publisher is happy with Waterstones ebook sales

[igorsk]

Two Faber ebooks are currently on top of the Waterstone's ebook sales chart.

Henry Volans, head of digital publishing at Faber, said he was delighted with the sales success: "Given that we’re selling to a restricted group, The Private Patient and The Book of General Ignorance are achieving a remarkable success rate. We’re confident that our e-book sales will only grow in the run up to Christmas as more and more people buy or are given the Reader. We're now busy expanding our ebook list."
Faber plans to release its frontlist in e-book format alongside print from "early next year for those books where we have an ebook royalty in place”, Volans added. RRP would be set to match the lowest-priced available print edition, he said.

Full article.

In other news, one of the Waterstone's shops sold 50 Readers on the launch day.

[zelda_pinwheel]

hm. did you hear that ? a sort of creaky-creak ? could it be ? ....the tipping point ???

in the second article, they also mentioned pre-orders "already in the thousands".

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

hm. did you hear that ? a sort of creaky-creak ? could it be ? ....the tipping point ???

in the second article, they also mentioned pre-orders "already in the thousands".

I don't think we are close to the tipping point. I don't think even Blu-Ray DVD players have reached the tipping point. I think HDTV is just hitting the tipping point. The pending switch to digital in US and EU is helping this along though.

BOb

[zelda_pinwheel]

well, call me naïvely optimistic, but with the proliferation of new devices, more and more publishers catching on, partnerships like Hachette / Sony in France, Penguin selling epub books, Panmacmillan selling drm-free epub books, amazon making the kindle a household name in the US and the significantly more frequent press coverage in the UK (at least), despite the fact that we still have a ways to go (i don't deny that), i *do* think we're getting close to the tipping point.

mind you, when i say "tipping point", i don't at all mean that liseuses will replace paper books completely. i don't see that happening in my lifetime, if ever.

i just mean liseuses entering the mainstream to the point where they're more or less commonplace, and content being at least *nearly* as available in digital form as in paper.

(like ipods, you know ? )

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

mind you, when i say "tipping point", i don't at all mean that liseuses will replace paper books completely. i don't see that happening in my lifetime, if ever.

I understand what Tipping Point is... although I haven't read the book. But, I would say that are in what he calls I think the "acceleration" phase? It is after early adopter but before the tipping point.

BOb

[zelda_pinwheel]

i didn't mean to imply you didn't understand the term. i haven't read the book either, in fact it's quite possible my mental approximation is false. note i don't think we are *at* the tipping point ; just that it's close. acceleration phase sounds right.

[Argel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I don't think we are close to the tipping point. I don't think even Blu-Ray DVD players have reached the tipping point. I think HDTV is just hitting the tipping point.
BOb

IMHO you're right. Tipping points in consumer technology only tend to come when ordinary users realize - often very suddenly - that there is no longer any point in preferring the older product to the new.

In cameras it came when the effective resolution of inexpensive digital cameras equalled that of film for the average-sized snapshot - ie most people couldn't tell the difference any more. So why bother with film? Tip.

We're far from that point with liseuses [so much more stylish], for reasons of flexibility, robustness and, not least, price. When we get to something which is as sturdy as a paperback, as easy to navigate and costs less than $100, then stand back. Tip.

Until that time, I shall continue to feel superior as I ostentatiously read my Cybook in public.

[Argel]

...and is there any irony in the fact that 'Tipping Point' is available as an ebook?