Smashwords Courts Publishers with Free e-Book Service

The digital self-publishing company Smashwords announced a new free service for publishers–helping publishers create, market, and sell e-books.

Smashwords will give publishers back 85 percent the net proceeds, and the release noted that 20 indie publishers had tested the company’s new tools for three months. Already the erotic publisher eXcessica Publishing has added nearly 200 titles to the Smashwords platform–books by 61 authors.

Here’s an endorsement from Selena Kitt, president of eXcessica Publishing: “Their publisher-friendly royalty structure recognizes that ebook publishers deserve more favorable terms than offered by conventional ebook retailers. Smashwords backs their so-easy-even-your-mother-could-use-it publishing platform with super-responsive support that enhances the reading experience for our customers.”

Information obtained HERE.

Amazon is stripping ALL erotica books be it m/m, f/f or m/f of their sales rankings, which means, no matter how well they sell they won’t appear on ANY best seller lists, making them literally invisible to anyone not seeking out THAT SPECIFIC TITLE. So, if you click on best sellers in gay romance, anything adult won’t show on that list, and that includes books with literally NO sex in them.

This is the reply that Mark Probst (an author who has no sex in his gay romances) has had:

“In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.

Best regards,

Ashlyn D

Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage”

There is a petition going around for those who feel strongly about censorship, as I do. Click here to sign the petition.

If you’d rather call or email, Amazon’s customer service emai is: ecr@amazon.com. Their customer service phone number is 1-800-201-7575. There’s an excellent form letter you can copy and paste HERE.

Author Stormy Glenn was kind enough to interview me for her blog. If you’re interested in taking a peek into my somewhat warped psyche, then you can read the answers here: http://stormyglenn.blogspot.com/2009/03/amanda-young-visits.html

NEW YORK, Mar 05, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — BKS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating — Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, announced today that it has acquired Fictionwise, a leader in the e-book marketplace, for $15.7 million in cash. Barnes & Noble said it plans to use Fictionwise as part of its overall digital strategy, which includes the launch of an e-Bookstore later this year. In addition to the closing purchase price, Fictionwise may receive earn out payments for achieving certain performance targets over the next two years.

Headquartered in New Jersey, Fictionwise was founded in 2000 by Steve and Scott Pendergrast. Barnes & Noble intends to keep Fictionwise as a separate business unit and the founders will continue to operate the business.

ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE, INC.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 799 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble is also the nation’s top bookseller in quality, and for the fifth year in a row, the top bookseller brand, as determined by a combination of the brand’s performance on familiarity, quality, and purchase intent, according to the EquiTrend(R) Brand Study by Harris Interactive(R). Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company’s corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

All Romance eBooks launches the Go Green/Read e campaign to increase the public’s awareness about eBooks!

Palm Harbor, Florida (PRWEB) February 26, 2009 – The folks at All Romance eBooks, an on-line bookstore that specializes in the sale of romance eBooks, announced a new endeavor today, the Go Green/Read e campaign.

“The idea is to promote ebooks in general, not any specific author, publisher, eReader, or bookstore. The campaign will focus on eBooks as a more environmentally friendly alternative to print. On-line advertising will be comprised of banner and video advertising, Yahoo and Google Search Ads, MySpace Ads, the What’s Hot in Romance radio show, the Wildfire newsletter, a variety of blogs and the newly unveiled Go Green/Read e website,” explained Lori James, COO for All Romance eBooks.

The project is supported by a generous donation from All Romance eBooks, and a team of enthusiastic volunteers. The website, www.gogreenreade.com, contains information about the environmental impact of eBooks v print books, as well as an array of relevant links, industry news, and several forums where issues around eBooks, eReaders, and ePublishing can be discussed.

“We chose to do this because the idea that nature should be preserved is important to us. It is a core value and one of the reasons that we adore eBooks,” explained All Romance eBooks CFO, Barbara Perfetti. “We care about our carbon footprint, the world we live in, and the world that we’re leaving to future generations.”

All Romance eBooks, LLC (www.allromanceebooks.com) sells romance eBooks for hundreds of publishers and their imprints. Founded in 2006 and privately held in partnership, All Romance eBooks is headquartered in Palm Harbor, Florida.