Song in the Silence released as ebook

[Hans]

I'm sorry I'm a bit behind the news as semi-professional supporter and fan of Elizabeth Kerner's wonderful books, but...

Song in the Silence has been available (only in the United States) as an ebook since April 1, 2010! (what an auspicious date, where did I read it before...)

The book seems still available as a paperback but has long since been out of print as a hardcover (which is repaidly becoming a collector's item).

The ebook

For a mere $5.99 you are the proud owner of the Amazon Kindle version:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003G93Z7C/...qid=1270488014

It is also available for Apple's iPad through the iBook store (only for US customers).
http://us.macmillan.com/Content.aspx...nsite&id=19779

and several other formats. Check out the Macmillan website for more information: http://us.macmillan.com/book.aspx?isbn=9780312871345

For those of you with an iPhone: you can download a free app so you can be able to download and read Kindle books on your iPhone!

[Anneli]

That's great for US customers, I guess we Europeans have to do without

[Hans]

At the moment yes, but maybe we can change that.

I guess business deal/contract reviews might be in order when they start publishing the new trilogy, so who knows?

[jube]

Originally Posted by Anneli

That's great for US customers, I guess we Europeans have to do without

What about us who live in the Oceania region? Bingley made that point about another AMC ebook and there's those of us who live in Australia/NZ who'd like to read it too.

[Hans]

Anneli only speaks for her own kind...

[jube]

I was also talking about us who live in the southern regions who are also unable to get those ebooks BECAUSE we don't live in the US either. Same principle, different area. Hence I'll agree with Anneli on that point. Think I'll stick to audiobooks if that's the case.

[eann]

I've spent most of this week scanning my solo books into the computer in preparation for e-booking them. I'm not planning on going through an intermediary at this point so at the very least, if you want them, you can contact me for a PDF. One of my friends who is doing small e-publishing says the readers are leaning toward a more universal format so most people can read most books on most readers. I think she said it was called e-Pub. Elizabeth, if there's no contract for Europe or Australia, maybe you could do the same for your books to make them available to those markets?

[Hans]

Elizabeth and I spoke on this subject back in 2008. She does need to check with her agent as to what her contract(s) entail. But I could perform this service for her

Do you accept payment by PayPal, Eann?
Could you publish a list of titles with prices here, in your own subforum?
If I were you I'd also look into how to sell your ebooks to Amazon, in Kindle format.
I think that together with Barnes & Noble, who own both ereader.com and fictionwise.com they are the biggest sellers.
Dunno if it is financially interesting though but you need as much web coverage on the fact that you sell them yourslf as is humanly possible and I, for one, am willing to help you.

[Hans]

I've been corrected by my boss Elizabeth says Song in the Silence has been out as an ebook for a long time. So, the date on the McMillan website is incorrect or pertaining to something else (maybe the listing of the book on that particular website, I don't now).

Most important thing is that is IS available (in different formats).
Now we need the other titles available digitally!

[Lanen]

Hans - ha! boss indeed. Nae chance.

However, Song in the Silence has been available for, I think, e-reader since about 1998. The format may be very out of date, or Macmillan, who have only recently taken over my publisher Tor, may not know that that was the case. However, I'm delighted that other formats are now available. when I have my brain back, I'll check into what my contract says about Europe and/or the Antipodes. Would be fun to make it easier for folk Dahn Undah to read my books!

[eann]

Thanks, Hans. I just got some more information from a friend who is into selling ebooks now as a publisher (and writer). You said you thought the price of ISBNs I mentioned was a ripoff. It is and Charlotte is talking about why.I am posting this here for Elizabeth's information too since this seems to be a topic we are all interested in.
from Charlotte Holley of GypsyMoon Press:
"I know. They want a separate ISBN for every different format . . . that means if it's for Kindle, it has to have one, if it's ePub, it has to have another' PDFs have to have still another. Paperback is another one . . . and on and on. The saving grace so far is that they haven't decided to enforce the ISBNs for each different digital format. Of course, you only need a barcode for the print books, and our POD printer gives us the barcode as part of the set-up, even though Bowker wants you to buy them from the barcodes from them, too. Bowker is the villain as far as I'm concerned . . . they are the ones who have the monopoly and insist on each different format having a unique ISBN. They could offer a package deal and charge only $1 for each digital format, but they want to sell them for the same price as they do the other ISBNs and the only way you get a price break is to order oodles of ISBNs, while in other countries, the ISBNs are FREE!!! Oops, another of my many pet peeves!"
Charlotte also tells me that it looks like there's a movement toward standardizing the format so the same one can be published for most e-readers. It's called e-Pub and works on Apple and Sony. I am definitely interested in publishing to Kindle and Fictionwise but will have to see how it goes. Early days yet!
Elizabeth, pardon my intrusion into your forum but I think all us writers are going to have to start doing this bit ourselves too if we're going to keep our work available to people and still make a pittance from it now and then.

[Lanen]

eann - never an intrusion, me dear. I know I'm going to have to do this soon, but am too worried about current book to think about it just now. I will point Debby (Deborah Turner Harris, sometimes writes with Katherine Kurtz as well) at this thread as she has a number of original works that have been out of print forever. Thanks for the info.

[jube]

Cool, I'd be interested in it if there was something available here for us, mainly because Junior's been hustling me for an iPod touch or similiar and I wouldn't mind getting an iPod for music either. Bit slack that we haven't got one of those yet but we've had other things to save up for.

[eann]

We all seem to have to make this up as we go along. . .hmm, sounds familiar.

[P'ter]

I always knew life was a work of fiction.

[Hans]

I used to have many books on my PDA but that has become obsolete since I got my iPhone.

I am still busy transferring books from the desktop to the iPhone (using Stanza); most of the time I convert my MS Reader .lit format to universal ePub format using Stanza when transferring. I also have a program that'll convert any ebook format to any other ebook format.
I am all for generating money and income for (especially loved) authors but I am not going to buy all the ebooks I already bought again the iPhone was expensive enough

[eann]

OMG, how the heck do you read on our iPhone, Hans? I have the Kindle app for mine but can't get into the idea of reading like a word and a half at a time (which is all I can read with my eyesight and the need to enlarge the font to make it legible).
I was just in Portland and my friend Lea bought a Barnes and Noble Nook. I'm anxious to see how she likes it. She has almost every book in captivity in hard copy so is finally branching out into less tangible realms.

[Hans]

Well, Eann, I soon hope to have an iPad but I can read on my iPhone with no trouble. The screen is the same size as my old PDA but now I can change the orientation of the text (make it wide screen or standing), can seemlessly enlarge text and can use different combinations of "colours".
People are not used to it but it is scientifically proven that reading bright letters on a dark background is easier on the eyes than vice versa.
A nice action is also that you don't have to push any buttons on the iPhone or scroll; like with a real book you turn pages by making a sweeping motion over the screen with your finger

[eann]

If it works for you, Hans, that's all that matters!

[Hans]

That's true. and don't forget. eBooks are extras for me. 95% of the ebooks I own, I also own in hardcopy! I used the PDA and use the iPhone to take books with me for a weekend, to my wife's lovely garden or on short or long vacations, when I can't carry as many books as I'd like

[eann]

I think that's a really good use for them--for travelling with favorite books or if you have to downsize, getting the books you really want to keep in a convenient space.

[GinnyStar]

Originally Posted by Hans

Well, Eann, I soon hope to have an iPad but I can read on my iPhone with no trouble. The screen is the same size as my old PDA but now I can change the orientation of the text (make it wide screen or standing), can seemlessly enlarge text and can use different combinations of "colours".
People are not used to it but it is scientifically proven that reading bright letters on a dark background is easier on the eyes than vice versa.
A nice action is also that you don't have to push any buttons on the iPhone or scroll; like with a real book you turn pages by making a sweeping motion over the screen with your finger

That how I've got it set on my computer, a iPhone is a bit hard for me too see.