JARIYA: Avg. Best-Seller Price Continues to Tick up as Big Publishers Score Hits

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Avg. Best-Seller Price Continues to Tick up as Big Publishers Score Hits
A resurgence of relatively high priced titles from the larger publishers combined with a decline in self-published hits priced at around $4.00 or lower has pushed the average price of an ebook best-seller to its highest point since 2012.

This week, the average price of an ebook best-seller is $9.17. It's the first time this index has recorded a price over $9.00 since last year.

The average price of an ebook best-seller spiked last week from just under $7.00 to just under $9.00 as self-published hits were crowded off the list by best-sellers from big publishers (analysis of last week's spike). Ordinarily, big publisher ebooks are priced higher than self-published ebooks, ebooks from Amazon and ebooks from smaller publishers.

In recent months, there has been some discounting on high-priced ebooks but that seems to have ebbed. There are nine titles on the list this week priced above $10. What happened to all the retailer discounting observed earlier in the year after publishers and retailers signed new contracts that allow the retailers to discount ebooks?

One theory.

Ebook best-sellers from the week ending 6/16:

-- 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

Amazon Publishing's Hit: Will It Change Anything? (Forbes)
Amazon Publishing announced yesterday that it had sold a million print, ebook and audio copies of Oliver Pötzsch's Hangman's Daughter series. The announcement seemed to be aimed at authors, agents and maybe booksellers with the intent of convincing them that it's a good idea to do business with Amazon Publishing. Will it work? More.

Barnes & Noble Continues to Discount Nook (DBW)
It's a pattern we've tracked all year: Barnes & Noble is continuing to deeply discount its Nook devices. At least one commentator thinks this means the end for the Nook device business.

New Google search rankings to address mobile content

Algorithm changes make a mobile content strategy that leverages HTML5 more necessary than ever. Read more.

DOJ/Apple: Ebook Antitrust Trial, Final Week (Fortune)
Three more days of testimony from Apple witnesses and then final arguments before Judge Denise Cote will take two-to-four weeks to write her decision.

DOJ/Apple: Cue Defends Apple (NYT)
Apple executive Eddie Cue defended his company once again on the stand today, saying that Apple never intended to force ebook publishers to raise prices. Then something funny happened: As the government was presenting its evidence, the lawyers were having problem with the technology. The problem? An H-P laptop. Should have gotten a Mac.

New DBW U Course: Intro to Metadata for Books (DBW)
Learn about the art and science of describing books in this new online course from DBW U. The four-week course begins June 24.

Mobile devices to outnumber humans by 2017

Striking statistic increases publishers need to produce optimized mobile content to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Read more.

OED Updates: E-Reader and E-Book Now Officially Words (Christian Science Monitor)
Every quarter, the Oxford English Dictionary adds new entries to keep up-to-date with the evolving English language. This quarter, e-reader and e-book made it in, as did crowdsourcing and "don't have a cow," which, believe it or not, predates Bart Simpson. It's no "ebooks," but it's a start: Related: Going From E-Books to Ebooks.

Amazon Giving Away Ebooks in India (Good E Reader)
Perhaps in an attempt to juice the nascent Indian ebook market and device sales, Amazon is giving away one new ebook every day.

Best Ebook Covers, May 2013 (The Book Designer)
Over 100 ebook covers were submitted in May and these were the best of the best.

Calibre Improves Word-to-Ebook Conversion Tool (Mediabistro)
Ebook formatting application Calibre has updated its tool set to make it easier to convert Microsoft Word documents into ebook files.

The Revolving Door:
Rodale Hires Hyperion, Random House Veteran as VP, Deputy Publisher (DBW)
Vintage Snags Rodale Exec for VP, Associate Publisher Role (DBW)

Super Short Video Clip of the Day (Bloomberg)
It's Digital Book World on Bloomberg TV talking about Kindle Worlds.

HTML5: Examples, Executions, Explanations

Artists and creators from around the world are using HTML5 to do incredible things. In a new HTML5 ebook from DBW and Aerbook, you'll see some of the wonderful and amazing things publishers are doing with the programming language, including explanations of what it takes to do those things yourself. Read More

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