Posted on 2014-Mar-21
A-Pub Business Expansion
It is quite stupendous how much Amazon Publishing has created such a big ripple in the publishing industry. Although this is not the press release issued by the Amazon PR department, it has all the details the publishing insiders need to know about Amazon Publishing’s future expansion and rights acquisition.
As first reported by The Bookseller, an internal memo, written by Amazon Publishing’s VP Jeff Belle, gave away details how the company plans to hire 70 more staff in 5 major cities and recruit several position “spanning editorial, marketing, operations, and business development.” After launching a German-language publishing program, the company plans to publish 200 German books while 500 titles would also reportedly be published in the UK this year. He said that he was encouraged by the recent launches of Kindle Worlds, Jet City Comics, Waterfall Press, StoryFront, and Day One.
Best Sellers Rights Acquisition
According to the Bookseller, this year alone Amazon Publishing acquired the rights of Cath Quinn’s The Thief Taker through Sheil Land Associates agent with a five-figure deal and Mark Edwards and Louise Voss’ From the Cradle through Sam Copeland. There are juicy bits from The Guardian and the authors themselves who discuss the acquisition in greater detail. Amazon Publishing must have picked The Thief Taker because of its fast-selling record, 150,000 copies sold in the US and UK in 2013. Selling the book’s rights to Amazon creates a special condition that the book’s focus would be “on the Amazon ecosystem” rather than brick and mortar bookstores. Quinn’s agent revealed that Amazon’s terms for digital royalties were “decidedly more generous” than the traditional publishers’ offers. Although the eBook page has been set up stating that Thomas & Mercer is the publisher, the book will be available in September this year. From the Taker follows the similar path sharing the same Amazon Publishing’s Mysteries imprint. Both co-authors were excited to make an announcement on their website about their eBook publish date, exclusive availability, and a little backstory about the former book deal with a traditional publisher. The book will be released in three formats: Kindle edition, paperback, and audiobook.
Quercus Needs a Buyer
While the memo did not speak exclusively of Quercus, a publisher that has been up for sale, Amazon Publishing is said to be one of the companies that are in talks with the publisher. Based on another blog post about the publisher looking for a buyer, Quercus said that their sales were “lower than expected” and the company would commence the formal sale process; it also ruled out the merger with another publisher. One of the reasons why Quercus will be interesting is their acquisition of Steig Larsson’s Millennium Series which includes the well-known The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.
Possible Benefits for Self-Publishers
Self-publishers have proved to the world that they are capable of merchandizing their book via digital-first publisher, negotiating the best deal for their rights acquisition, and reaping in sales while selling on different retailers. Amazon Publishing’s decisive move could be taken into consideration by authors who want to market one of your best-selling books exclusively to Amazon. However, as with any contractual deal please proceed with caution. With the expansion into foreign territories, it is interesting to watch what the publishing leg of the giant retailer has in store.
Label: eBook Industry News
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