You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
HarperCollins is the latest US publisher to delay the release of e-books in order to protect its hardback market, following Hachette USA and Simon & Schuster. Both Penguin and Macmillan have also stated that they will look at deferring publication of some titles digitally.
Brian Murray, chief executive of HarperCollins, told the Wall Street Journal that beginning in January or February, HarperCollins would delay the e-book publication of five to 10 new hardcover titles each month. "We're going to experiment with this," Murray said. "Each new e-book represents a potential new marketing opportunity at a time when we need every possible hook to get consumer attention."
As">http://www.thebookseller.com/news/106308-us-publishers-put-up-kindle-roa... reported yesterday, both Simon & Schuster and Hachette USA are to delay releasing electronic versions of their lead titles for three to four months in order to protect hardback sales.
Penguin chief executive John Makinson told the WSJ that was it also looking at such a move: "We may undertake trial pricing, and defer publication from time to time, but we won't systematically delay the publication of e-books." Macmillan chief executive John Sargent told the New York Times that it had already delayed certain ebook releases and added that "the company was likely to delay other titles in the future".