Authors may soon be signing your ebook!

There are two cool new tools up and coming that will make your ebooks and ereaders a lot more like real books!


Kindlegraph and Autography are programs being developed that allow writers to literally sign your ebooks so that the autograph is viewable on the ereader.


The first was developed by a former Amazon veteran, Evan Jacobs, during a hackathon sponsored by Docusign (he won second prize!).  So far Kindlegraph is more of a side-project than anything serious, but more authors are jumping at the opportunity.


Here's how it works:  A reader will make a request to KindleGraph that they want a certain book signed, Kindlegraph contacts that author and gets the e-signature which is then sent to your kindle as a separate page.  Users could collect a whole 'book' of autographs.


Autography is another start-up with the same idea.  Right now both are trying to get authors excited about this idea.  Hopefully we'll see some good things come out of these companies in the near future!


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KindleGraph
Autography

Wondering where to find DRM-free books? try Open Books

DRM-free books can be hard to find and unless something drastically shifts in the publishing world they will likely remain that way for some time!  There are options though, Calibre has opened a cite called Open Books which focuses solely on linking you to any and all DRM-free books out there.  So if that's a big priority for you check out the site.  There may not be a huge selection there but they are adding books consistently.

Pottermore Goes on the Defense

Retailers aren't happy that J.K. Rowling has decided to sell her Harry Potter e-book franchise separate from the retailers that helped make her successful.  One bookseller, Waterstone's, said:

 "We always sought to add value for the fans when a new Harry Potter book was released and their launch days have become the stuff of legend at Waterstone's and other booksellers.

"We're therefore disappointed that, having been a key factor in the growth of the Harry Potter phenomenon since the first book was published, the book trade is effectively banned from selling the long-awaited e-book editions of the series."

A spokesman for Pottermore replied to the concern saying,


"Pottermore is designed to encourage the reading and re-reading of the Harry Potter books in all formats and editions, both print and digital, to both existing and new generations of readers. We think this will have a positive effect on those selling physical books as well as on sales of digital ones."


 "The decision to make e-books exclusive to the site was to ensure ease of availability across all reading devices and to the widest possible audience and also to support the ultimate intention of the site to be an online reading experience.”


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All you ever wanted to know about EPUB 3

The Spring 2011 issue of The National Information Standards Organization (Vol 23, Issue 2) features a number of interesting and worthwhile articles on the future of ebook and ereaders, but none of them are as insightful as a look into the ePub3 format and what the format has to offer ebook readers in the near future!  If you're interested in the future of the ePub format and up for a more of a technical read, it's definitely worth a glance.


EPUB 3: Not Your Father's EPUB (PDF)


If you're interested in the other articles they can all be found in PDF format here.  The ToC straight from the website is available after the break:

New Book Format wants to Challenge E-Book Market

The Daily Mail has a story about a new type of book. In order to rejuvenate the paper book market in England, Hodder is starting to bring in 'Flipbooks'.

Flipbooks are books which have taken some cues from the Bible (the best-selling book ever - apparently) and have started publishing books using ultra-thin 'Bible' pages.  Not only that but the books read on their side with the text parallel to the spine and is about the length and width of a cassette tape (if you remember how big those were...) but thicker.

The aim is to make books as small as possible so that they can be carried easier - and they make no qualms about going after the e-book market.

But there is a cost to it - books in this new format will cost about 2 pounds more. Photos after the break.

Kobo released a new iOS version of it's e-reader, updating it's social program called 'Reading Life' which focuses on the social interaction through Facebook and Twitter, allowing users to compare and talk about books, make recommendations, and earn 'rewards' through reading.  A section of the press release is after the break.

Calibre 0.8.7 Released Today

Calibre ebook library software has released an updated today - however if you store your books in iTunes or use an iDevice you may want to read this before downloading.  As well, the change log is available here.

Sales Up, Way up!

Why start a blog devoted to e-readers and ebooks?  This story from publisher's weekly is a good indication:  It's hot!  While it's not enough to off set the downfall of traditional publishing, it certainly is not far off.

E-book sales had another strong month, with sales up 157.5%, to $72.8 million from 22 reporting companies. The increase, however, was not enough to offset declines in the print sector and as a result combined print and digital sales of trade books fell 10% at the reporting companies in the month.

For the first four months of the year, the sales decline was less severe. E-book sales were up 162.9% for the period, to $312.9 million, while print sales in the five trade segments were down 18.7%, leading to an overall decline of 4% in the first four months of 2011.

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Harry Potter ebooks - finally.

J.K. Rowling is seeking to extend "the relevance of Harry Potter to new generations of readers, while still appealing to existing fans" by opening a new website called "Pottermore" and selling her ridiculously popular Harry Potter books in e-book format - covering all the bases as it will include Kindle formats.  Along with that she has written new material designed to enhance the story, characters and settings of the original story.


Overdrive, the company which is promenant is library lending, is the providing the platform for the store which will also make the physical books available.


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