JARIYA: Ebook Best-Sellers Hover around $7.00

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Ebook Best-Sellers Hover around $7.00
After recovering last week from an all-time low of $6.58, recorded in late April, this week's average price of an ebook best-seller is $7.23.

Titles from Penguin, Hachette, Random House, Macmillan and Harper Collins were higher-priced and influenced the new average.

The big-six title to top the list however, The Great Gatsby from Simon & Schuster, was priced at only $4.99. It's likely that both affordability and the new film based on Fitzgerald's novel were instrumental in that title earning the no. 1 spot.

If sales of The Great Gatsby ebook remain strong, it could be good news for Simon & Schuster. The publisher ranked no. 10 in DBW's recent power ranking report, down 5 places from the year before.

Ebook best-sellers from the week ending 5/12:

-- Top-25 Best-Selling Ebooks
-- Top Selling Ebooks: $10 and above
-- Top Selling Ebooks: $8.00 - $9.99
-- Top Selling Ebooks: $3.00 - $7.99
-- Top Selling Ebooks: $0.00 - $2.99

Simon & Schuster to digitize John Christopher Backlist (PW)
In a deal with the Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary agency, the publisher has secured ebook rights to 16 of the YA science fiction titles. The books are set to be published over a three-year span.

Microsoft Insider Call Nook Buyout a Rumor (Insider Monkey)
"The company has no intention of acquiring the NOOK unit," said an unnamed source. This is quite a shift from what last week's speculation following a report that Microsoft was going to offer $1 billion dollars for Nook Media.

BookExpo America: Leave with More than Free Books

Make the most of BEA. Leave with the first steps toward long-term mobile flexibility and maximum digital revenues. Meet with a content technologist. Read more.

Amazon to Add $5 of "Coins" to Each Kindle Fire User's Account (TechCrunch)
This gamifies and isolates the Kindle ecosystem further. But it might be interesting to think of this currency insofar as it's a payment mechanism for ebooks-one of the three components that industry consultant Mike Shatzkin points out will be needed to launch a successful ebook market in Latin America.

Odyl's CEO on Publishers and Social Media (PubPerspectives)
From Neil Baptista's perspective content marketing, analytics and authenticity are key to an effective social media presence for authors and publishers.

GooglePlay's Good News for Developers (Android Developers Blog)
Now developers can have an easy exchange with GooglePlay app users. App reviews are now tied to a user's identity and developers have the opportunity to respond. This should mean better apps and better relationships with users.

Take Control of Digital Rights & Permissions

The shift toward digital publishing has created a daunting legal workload. Literally every page of content, photos, quotes and images licensed for print publishing, must now be scrutinized for digital copyright compliance. Learn how to make this new legal maze manageable. Read more.

A Color E-Reader From Amazon? (Digital Reader)
Amazon has confirmed that it has purchased Liquavista. One of the company's notable technologies is color display for e-readers. In a statement Amazon explained, "We are always looking for new technologies we may be able to incorporate into our products over the long term."

Unbundling is Influencing the Future of Publishing (The Shatzkin Files)
Individual author platforms (websites, blogs, social media, etc.) mean that sales are less reliant on conventional distribution and promotional networks. Similarly, other discrete services that publishers once provided as a package are available a la carte.

Cengage Could File Bankruptcy (Businessweek)
The company publishes teaching materials and in 2007 was acquired by Apax Partners. Cengage recently hired a legal firm for restructuring advice.
Related: Cengage to Digitize Archives of Associated Press

Ruckus Media and CPTV Partner on Ebooks and More (Kidscreen)
The platform will be branded as Connecticut Public Television. The content-videos, ebooks, and interactive ebooks-will come from both CPTV and Ruckus.

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