Posted on 2013-Oct-04
eBook Subscription Service
Perhaps, future generation of dedicated readers will need to pay the service providers to guide them what they should read. eBook subscription service providers start to gain traction when eBooks are flourishing plentifully in the market. With Amazon offering a massive catalogue and expanding their stores overseas, it seems to make a lot of sense for emerging bookstores to approach their audience with their unique selection.
Big Five with Bestsellers
The announcement from Scribd yesterday gave a positive signal that there are rooms for improvement in eBook subscription model. With the monthly fee of $8.99 according to the company’s blog, they are following the example of Oyster, but the number of books vastly surpasses its direct competitor. 40 million books and documents were the figures that they advertised on their blog; not only that, Scribd also made an announcement of their partnership with HarperCollins to include backlist titles in the subscription plan. According to New York Business Journal, Trip Adler, Scribd CEO, is negotiating further collaboration with Hachette, Macmillian, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. Brian Murray, HarperCollins CEO, reveals the reason why the publisher is interested in the deal with Scribd. He said, “Scribd has an opportunity to really become a player in the eBook space.”
Bonus Content to Make a Change
Instead of courting the big publishers to bless their eBook catalogue, one indie bookstore chooses the unorthodox way to appeal readers with their unusual service. According to GigaOm, Emily Books is offering two monthly subscription alternatives: to have eBook or not own eBook. While the first plan’s fee of $13.99 exceeds most of the plans we have seen, subscribers can own one eBook per month. They can choose the file format of their choice between DRM-free MOBI and EPUB. The second plan is less expensive but the subscribers can only read their eBook on the app. What is most special about this bookstore is you can get bonus content e.g. author interviews, essays, and many more according to GoodEReader. By offering MOBI, it means that this app will directly appeal Kindle owners in the sense that they do not have to convert the file format. In their website, there is also an instruction to show subscribers how to transfer to their Kindle devices.
Passion for Reading
Based on the recent transition that put eBook subscription models on the map, a lot of publishers and bookstores have transformed themselves to provide alluring alternatives to stir readers from major vendors. Without the hefty investment to open a brick and mortar shop, the new startup can develop their resources to focus on building the kind of catalogue that attracts their potential group of readers. Although it remains to be seen how this subscription model will play out in real business sense as compared to Amazon’s program. There are several questions left unexplained. How will authors get their share? How much will the publishers take out of their share? How will these stores incorporate indie authors’ eBooks into their catalog? Although these bookstores still remain tight-lipped how they will split their income with authors, it is still refreshing to see how eBooks will be profitably branched out to reach different groups of readership. Essentially, the subscription model will ideally pay off especially for those who are still reluctant to pay for their eBook to fall in love with reading and connecting with authors who create the wonderful works that exceed their imagination.
Label: Self-Publishing
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