Monthly Archives: January 2014

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With $14 million raised, Oyster plans to expand its Netflix-for-books offerings

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Lauren Hockenson's avatarGigaom

Just four months after subscription-based mobile ebooks service Oyster finally hit the iTunes (s aapl) App Store, the company has announced a big $14 million investment round, led by Highland Capital Partners, and including participation from existing investor Founders Fund, according to the New York Times.

The new round brings the company’s overall funds raised to $17 million, building off of a $3 million round in 2012. Eric Stromberg, Oyster’s CEO, said via phone today that the money will go directly to building out both personnel and product. Oyster’s app currently offers more than 100,000 across publishers such as HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin, and others.

“Basically, we saw that there was a lot of existing demand in the market, as well as the demand we anticipate as our service grows,” Stromberg said.

He didn’t share specific numbers about just how large the Oyster user base has grown since its launch for iPhone…

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Google Books Lawsuit Appeal

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The Google Books lawsuit has sprung back into life with an appeal being launched by the Author’s Guild. I certainly don’t support this appeal. This lot don’t seem to get that Google Books has the potential to sell more copies of their works for a start.

For more visit:
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/12/29/authors-guild-files-appeal/

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Showrooming

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The link below is to an article that takes a look at showrooming, which is not confined to bookshops.

For more visit:
http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/consumers-warned-against-showrooming

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Shebooks

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The link below is to an article that takes a look at a new digital publishing company just for females.

For more visit:
http://www.teleread.com/publishing/shebooks-do-we-need-a-place-for-strictly-female-readers/

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Fan Fiction

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The link below is to an article that takes a look at Fan Fiction and how to find great examples of it.

For more visit:
http://www.teleread.com/fanfic/how-to-find-great-fanfiction-with-little-hassle/

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Not My Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

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The link below is to a book review of ‘The Way of Kings,’ by Brandon Sanderson.

For more visit:
http://www.teleread.com/book-review/book-review-the-way-of-kings-by-brandon-sanderson/

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Adieu / Guy Laramée

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https://vimeo.com/82507102

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Not In The Public Domain Yet – Still

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The link below is to an article that looks at what could have been in the public domain now, but isn’t.

For more visit:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131231/23434825735/grinch-who-stole-public-domain.shtml

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Digital publishing: How it will evolve in 2014 and beyond

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Guest Column's avatarGigaom

I recently attended Le Web in Paris, where the theme of the conference was innovation in the next decade. It got me to thinking about where we go with publishing. Even on Google, you won’t be able to find an article on publishing trends from the 1440s, the decade after Johannes Gutenberg introduced movable type printing to Europe. But if you did, it would probably focus more on the gloomy outlook for the illuminated manuscript industry than on the then-unfolding print revolution, which launched cascading innovations that would change everything and usher in the Age of Enlightenment.

Something similar is at work today: Digital publishing is now a mature, thriving industry, and yet many still insist that publishing is in its death throes. Book publishers know better: While hardcover sales declined slightly between 2008 and 2012 (from $5.2 billion to $5 billion), eBook sales grew at an astonishing clip…

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Bookish Acquired by Zola Books

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The link below is to an article reporting on the purchase of ‘Bookish’ by Zola Books.

For more visit:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/60539-bookish-acquired-by-zola.html