Ebooks

The partnership gives self-published authors an important new outlet for selling ebooks outside of Amazon.

The Smashwords store (owned and operated by Draft2Digital) has announced a new royalty rate structure that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

The virtuous alternative to Amazon launched ebooks in the US market earlier this year and has now followed suit in the UK for Apple and Android.

This change is a reminder that you don’t actually own most ebooks you purchase—they are licensed.

Currently ebooks purchased through Bookshop can be read in a browser or in the Bookshop app on your smartphone.

This feel-good fantasy subgenre offers an escape from the stress and conflicts of daily life.

The hottest subcategory is still romantasy. Markets that are growing: later-in-life romance and small-town romance.

Libraries have typically been able only to license ebooks and audiobooks from publishers and aggregators, with no option to buy.

Sports romance steams up; interest in historical fiction varies by subcategory.

Sales of Kindles have grown in the double-digit percentages for the past two years, with under-45s representing the fastest-growing segment.

Children’s author Darcy Pattison, who runs Mims House Books, responded to our article on publisher-library relationships.

Kindle Vella is Amazon’s serialization platform where readers must pay to keep reading new installments.

While atypical lending models may affect book sales, an Australian publishing effort demonstrates that library lending can have a positive effect on the commercial market.

Draft2Digital has entered into a retail distribution agreement with Fable, the social reading app that powers online book clubs.

Hachette has the strongest ebook sales; it sold nearly 4 million more ebooks than Penguin Random House.

According to OverDrive, the leading distributor of digital books to libraries, digital borrowing saw a 19 percent increase overall in 2023.

The Smashwords store recently began submitting sales data to USA Today’s bestseller list.

Readers can now share their Kindle content on iOS, Android, and Fire tablets with Amazon Household.

Bookshop, the online retailer that competes against Amazon for print book sales, will begin beta testing ebook sales in November 2023.

The Internet Archive has long scanned print works then lent them as ebooks through its website.

Authors who distribute their ebooks through StreetLib now have access to 44 online audiobook platforms.

The DPLA Banned Book Club makes ebook copies of banned titles available in the places where those books have been banned.

Re-Discovery Lit at Open Road Media will publish out-of-print titles and books where rights have reverted to the author.

Kobo Plus is extending service into the UK and the US, and Draft2Digital has now added Kobo Plus to its standard Kobo distribution.

Kobo Plus is so far available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, the UK, and the US.