JARIYA: Top-25 Best-Selling Ebooks: Average Price for Ebook Best-Seller Dips Below $7.00 Again

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Top-25 Best-Selling Ebooks: Average Price for Ebook Best-Seller Dips Below $7.00 Again
Take a look at the top-ten best-selling ebooks this week. Notice something? Many of them are priced above $10; only one is self-published; and the others are published by big-six (soon to be big-five) publishers.

It may seem like things are returning back to "normal" -- if anything about the past several years of the book business can be considered normal. But go outside the top-ten and there are no other books at those higher price points until outside the top-25. Further, there are many books priced below $2.99 and even more priced in what we're now observing as the most popular price range for best-selling ebooks: $3.00 to $7.99.

As a result, the average price of a best-selling ebook is now $6.94, down $0.10 from last week when it was a hair above $7.00. Why this is significant is that consumers are now getting used to paying a relatively low price for best-selling ebooks. Savvy book buyers probably understand that new releases may cost over $10 but that most ebooks can now be purchased for less.

This is worrisome for publishers and authors on several levels...read much more here.

Ebook best-sellers from the week ending 5/26:

-- 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

Judge in Ebook Trial Has Crystal Ball (DBW)
Stunning some in the publishing industry, Judge Denise Cote, who is presiding over the upcoming ebook price fixing trial set to start in early June, said that she believes the U.S. will be win against Apple. Related: Antitrust Lawyer Says "Unusual" Move Meant to Get Apple to Settle.

Apple's Case (PW)
It's not looking good for Apple. It has a tough row to hoe and the stakes are incredibly high. Should Apple lose in the upcoming ebook price-fixing trial, it could mean that all its content businesses would be under government oversight.

The Essential Guide to Metadata for Books

This ebook provides an overview of information found in The Metadata Handbook. You'll learn: How book metadata moves through the publisher supply chain, who the major industry players that create and use metadata are, what the industry metadata standards are, essential metadata elements and much more! Download your copy today!

Another Publisher Opens Own Ebook Store (DBW)
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield has opened an ebook store on its website where it will sell ebooks with Adobe DRM. Its ebooks will still be available elsewhere.

Visualizing Stephen King (DBW)
Just how spooky is Stephen King? BookLamp’s technology allows you to visualize themes in the best-selling novelist’s work.

Visualizing Your Books (DBW)
Lulu has partnered with BookLamp to offer the same service to self-publishing authors. For $49, they can see what themes appear in their own books and how that compares to books in similar genres.

Storybook App Creation

In digital publishing today, storybook app creation is still a niche. Compared to printed books, creating book apps is in its infancy and still chartering the road "less traveled by." In this new download, Wasabi Productions, explains how they created their first app (Lazy Larry Lizard) and provides insight into the development of soon-to-be-released app (Gorilla Band). They'll share notes on how the storybook apps are produced from start to finish, including costs, production process, people, technology, pricing, release cycle, marketing and more. Download your copy today!

New Conference From DBW! (DBW)
Digital Book World and Pub Launch have teamed up again to bring you a marketing and publishing services conference in September full of actionable takeaways for any publishing operation.

Amazon's New HQ a Bit of Hubris? (Reuters)
Amazon is among some of the largest tech companies in the world in building new headquarters. Are the grandiose offices for companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon a necessity or hubris (or both)?

Surviving Without Amazon (DBW)
Nine reasons Barefoot Books will be able to survive without selling directly through Amazon. Related: Barefoot Books Pulls Out of Amazon.

Using Pinterest to Help Readers Discover Books (Futurebook)
Who knows how to use Pinterest to help readers discover new books? Italy's second-largest publishing group RCS Libri has an idea: It is allowing readers to stream 10% of each book they see on the image-based social sharing site. The company says that early results indicate it could be a success.

Why Is Argentina So Resistant to Ebooks? (Argentinian Online News)
Argentina is a book-loving nation, host to the world's largest Spanish-language book fair. So why haven't ebooks caught on? They represent only 1% of the business in the South American nation to date and only two of the 450 booths at the latest Feria del Libro (the aforementioned fair) were dedicated to digital.

Germans Strike Against Amazon (Reuters)
German workers are set to strike against Amazon a second time over pay and benefits.

Simon & Schuster creates eBook-specific executive position

New role dedicated to coordinating and optimizing the publishers' eBook creation and marketing efforts. Read more.

Storybook App Creation Demystified

In digital publishing today, storybook app creation is still a niche. Compared to printed books, creating book apps is in its infancy and still chartering the road "less traveled by."

In this new download, Wasabi Productions, explains how they created their first app (Lazy Larry Lizard) and provides insight into the development of soon-to-be-released app (Gorilla Band). They'll share notes on how the storybook apps are produced from start to finish, including costs, production process, people, technology, pricing, release cycle, marketing and more!

Download Your Copy Today!

The Essential Guide to Metadata for Books

The ability to describe products completely and accurately and to efficiently share that data with trading partners and consumers is essential for e-commerce in every industry. This ebook provides an overview of information found in The Metadata Handbook. It provides you with a basic introduction to metadata concepts, standards, and best practices within the publishing industry.

Download Your Copy Today!