INDEX // mb Ideas on Publishing Books in Canada (and other attempts to write good)

Interesting. I’ll download the app, for sure.

The idea of paying per-chapter remains silly. Free samples, though, per the Kindle, are fantastic and have changed the way I evaluate whether I’ll buy a book. (Annoyingly, the Kindle samples aren’t editorially-controlled and can cut off randomly — that can be improved.)

The absolute only per-chapter use case I can see is where I pay per chapter until I’ve reached the cost of the book, and if I choose to buy the whole book at any time, my per-chapter paid cost is applied with no penalties (as if I had bought the full book from the start). This process must be clear (I know when and how much I’m paying) but unobtrusive (like the Kindle, I don’t have to enter a password or be redirected somewhere else).

But that’s all a lot of infrastructure for, I think, limited gain. Free sample + full cost should be good enough assuming the ebook cost is reasonable.

There’s still no good way to get a large selection of front-list books on the iPhone without a lot of confusing multiple accounts and sign-ins, so there’s definitely room for someone to take the lead there.

Posted by Liza Daly on 8 January 2009 @ 6pm

SFGate blogs about Indigo’s Shortcovers– http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=34327

Posted by mb on 8 January 2009 @ 6pm

Hi there–I represent Shortcovers PR. Shortcovers didn’t acutally launch at CES–it was just a preview of what’s to come later this month. The official consumer launch/availability will be at the end of January. Thanks,
Lisa
lisac@sparkpr.com

Posted by Lisa on 8 January 2009 @ 6pm

[...] Index//mb: http://indexmb.com/indigos-ereading-initiative-shortcovers-is-out-in-the-open/ [...]

Posted by Shortcovers CES Media Roundup — Shortcovers on 12 January 2009 @ 1pm

Hello,

Great info with the video interview. Tx. I have serious doubts on both the business model (selling by chapter) and the screen size … The market for Palm sized ebooks is rather small, and I don’t believe this will grow it more, especially when you have the audio book alternative. I would be more interested in a newspaper/magazine version, since this is small articles, with on-air access being a key value driver. I have read books on ereaders like Illiad’s Sony’s or Bookeen’s and found there is a minimal size I will consider (7,5 to 8 inches, the size of a pocket book). See http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix . I will wait for foldable screens like Samsung’s to be available to consider any mobile phone ereader …
But considering this is a venture by a majore book retailer like Indigo makes it interesting … looks like the industry is taking its own future in hands !

Amaury

Posted by Amaury on 14 January 2009 @ 8am

[...] Indigo’s reading Initiative: ShortCovers-a review Share Me! [...]

Posted by Shortcovers E-Reader: An Unfinished Story | techgeeknews.net on 25 March 2009 @ 11am