Archive for the ‘amazon press release’ tag
Kindle 3 Selling Really, Really Well no comments
Exactly how well we don’t know as Amazon won’t release actual sales numbers for the Kindle ereaders due to competitive reasons. But in a press release today Amazon says that it has already sold more Kindle ereaders so far this month than in the entire fourth quarter of 2009. This is pretty amazing if you remember how hot ereaders were last Christmas.
Kindle books are also selling like hotcakes:
… Kindle book unit sales continue to overtake print on Amazon.com, even while print book sales continue to grow. During the past 30 days, Amazon.com customers purchased more Kindle books than print books–hardcover and paperback combined–for the top 10, 25, 100, and 1,000 bestselling books on Amazon.com.
"For the top 10 bestselling books on Amazon.com, customers are choosing Kindle books over hardcover and paperback books combined at a rate of greater than 2 to 1. Kindle books are also outselling print books for the top 25, 100, and 1,000 bestsellers–it’s across the board," said Kessel. "This is remarkable when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover and paperback books for 15 years, and Kindle books for just 36 months."
Other recent milestones for Kindle include:
- In the 12 weeks following the introduction of the new generation Kindles, Kindle devices or Kindle-related items such as Kindle books and covers represented 15 of the top 15 bestselling items on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk combined.
- Amazon sold more than 3 times as many Kindle books in the first nine months of 2010 as in the first nine months of 2009.
- The Association of American Publishers’ latest data reports that e-book sales grew 193 percent between January and August 2010. Kindle book sales growth during the same period exceeded this rate.
The Kindle Store now has more than 720,000 books.
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Amazon Q3 Sales Up 39% no comments
Amazon today announced earnings for its third quarter ended September 30, 2010.
Net sales for the quarter were up 39 percent to $7.56 billion compared to $5.45 billion for the third quarter of 2009. Net sales would have grown 40 percent if not for the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange rates. Net income increased 16 percent to $0.51 per diluted share. On the downside, Amazon’s operating expenses increased by 40 percent.
These results beat analyst’s expectations (except, perhaps, for the increase in operating expenses). While Amazon’s stock hit a new high today it did take a hit after hours due to an operating margin forecast for the next quarter that missed analyst’s forecasts. Amazon is forecasting operating margin of 3 to 4.2 percent while analysts were expecting 5 percent.
Some of the highlights of Amazon’s third quarter:
- Amazon introduced the Kindle 3 ereader, which features better hardware at a lower price. Since its introduction the Kindle 3 is the fastest selling Kindle ever. In the first twelve weeks after the Kindle 3’s launch more Kindle 3 ereaders were ordered than any other single product at both Amazon.com and Amazon’s UK website.
- The US Kindle Store is now up to over 720,000 titles. Over 590,000 of these are $9.99 or less.
- Amazon’s North American sales from the US and Canadian sites were up 45 percent from the third quarter of 2009. International sales at the company’s UK, German, Japanese, French and Chinese sites were up 32 percent from Q3 2009.
- Worldwide, media sales were up 14 percent (15 percent if you forget about those pesky foreign exchange rates), while Electronics and other general merchandise sales were up 68 percent (71 percent sans impact from foreign exchange rates).
Amazon is projecting a net sales increase of between 26 and 40 percent for the fourth quarter. Operating income is expected to come in at anywhere from a 24 percent decline to an 18 percent increase.
Sources: Amazon, MarketWatch
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Amazon to Launch Kindle Singles no comments
Amazon announced today that it would be launching Kindle Singles, a new imprint specializing in shorter nonfiction works of 10,000 to 30,000 words.
From the press release:
Less than 10,000 words or more than 50,000: that is the choice writers have generally faced for more than a century–works either had to be short enough for a magazine article or long enough to deliver the "heft" required for book marketing and distribution. But in many cases, 10,000 to 30,000 words (roughly 30 to 90 pages) might be the perfect, natural length to lay out a single killer idea, well researched, well argued and well illustrated–whether it’s a business lesson, a political point of view, a scientific argument, or a beautifully crafted essay on a current event.
Today, Amazon is announcing that it will launch "Kindle Singles"–Kindle books that are twice the length of a New Yorker feature or as much as a few chapters of a typical book. Kindle Singles will have their own section in the Kindle Store and be priced much less than a typical book. Today’s announcement is a call to serious writers, thinkers, scientists, business leaders, historians, politicians and publishers to join Amazon in making such works available to readers around the world.
"Ideas and the words to deliver them should be crafted to their natural length, not to an artificial marketing length that justifies a particular price or a certain format," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content. "With Kindle Singles, we’re reaching out to publishers and accomplished writers and we’re excited to see what they create."
To be considered for Kindle Singles, interested parties should contact digital-publications@amazon.com.
Actually, this is one of the benefits of digital publishing. In many cases an author’s idea can be presented most effectively in a work of this size, but due to the economics of traditional publishing the book ends up getting bloated to a size the publisher feels is economically viable.
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AmazonEncore Spring Publishing List & Fall Additions 1 comment
Amazon has announced the spring 2011 publishing schedule for its AmazonEncore imprint. In addition to the eight titles scheduled for spring release Amazon has added four titles to its fall 2010 list.
AmazonEncore uses customer reviews and sales data to identify exceptional books. Titles are available in both print or Kindle editions.
New additions to fall 2010:
- Waiting for the Taliban by Anna Badken. Originally written as a syndicated diary that was published in Foreign Policy magazine, war correspondent Anna Badkhen returns to Northern Afghanistan in search of the friends she made in the early days of the occupation there, back when it was the safest part of an unsafe land. Her journey takes her to an entirely different place than the one she first encountered: blighted, hopeless, still unspeakably beautiful but now overrun by the Taliban. Traveling from village to village, she comes to understand what went so terribly wrong in the north–and, by extension, what she believes is going so terribly wrong in Afghanistan in general. "Waiting for the Taliban" was published on Sept. 9.
- Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion. A lighthearted romantic comedy about a young woman who finds love and friendship where she least expects it: her backyard. Published on Sept. 21, 2010.
- Celia and the Fairies by Karen McQuestion. A middle-grade reader about a young girl who embarks on a quest to save the destruction of fairies’ homes–and her own–from a vengeful developer. Due Nov. 2, 2010.
- An Awesome Book of Thanks! by Dallas Clayton An uplifting book about being thankful for all the things in the world, good and bad, large and small, and welcoming life wholeheartedly. Due Nov. 2, 2010.
The spring 2011 lineup:
- Catcher, Caught by Sarah Collins Honenberger. 15-year old Daniel Landon sees a reflection of himself in the words of J.D. Salinger’s "The Catcher in the Rye" after being diagnosed with leukemia. Due Dec. 28, 2010.
- Get Real and Stop Dieting! by Brett Blumenthal. Cuts through the chaos of fad diets and scientific mumbo jumbo to demystify healthy eating once and for all. Due Dec. 28, 2010.
- Stalina by Emily Runin. A daring twist on the timeless immigrant tale in which a witty and fearless Russian woman will stop at nothing to reconcile the pain of the past and find happiness in America. Due Jan. 4, 2011.
- The Summer Son by Craig Lancaster. Explores the complexities of family dynamics and two men’s turbulent journey toward healing. Due Jan. 25, 2011.
- Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic.
A novel about a culinary writer who learns that he has an alter ego in an alternate universe and who sets out to snoop around his alter ego’s life, with dangerous consequences. Due Feb. 22, 2011. - Faking It by Elisa Lorello. The author’s first novel introduces 30-something writing professor Andi Cutrone, who meets a male escort at a party she attends after breaking off her engagement. Intrigued, she calls him, and over cheesecake in Brooklyn, he agrees to teach her how to be a better lover in exchange for writing lessons. Due March 15, 2011.
- Ordinary World by Elisa Lorello. Six years after "Faking It" concludes, Andi is blissfully married and living a seemingly perfect existence until her husband dies unexpectedly. She flees to Italy to escape and runs into an old friend who helps Andi see that someday she will be happy again. Due March 15, 2011.
- Nickel Plated from Aric Davis. The life of Nickel, an orphan raised in abusive foster homes, who escapes to make a life as a private investigator. Due March 22, 2011.
- Previously announced on the fall 2010 list, bestselling author J.A. Konrath’s "Shaken"–the seventh book in the Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels series–will be available as a physical book on Feb. 22. The Kindle edition of "Shaken" will be published on Oct. 26.
With the exception of Celia and the Fairies, which is $.99, the Kindle editions range in price from $2.99 to $7.99. For more information, see the AmazonEncore page.
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Amazon Launches Kindle for the Web Beta no comments
Amazon has introduced the beta version of “Kindle for the Web,” which the company first promised some months ago. This new app will let you sample books directly through your web browser without needing to download or install anything.
If you want to try Kindle for the Web out, The Passage by Justin Cronin is below. There is a button on the top of the window to toggle full screen. You can also change font size, line spacing, the number of words per line and background color.
For more information see Amazon’s Kindle on the Web page.
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Amazon Updates Kindle for Android no comments
Amazon has made some significant updates to the Kindle for Android app. These include full text search, note taking and highlighting that are synchronized with other devices, voice search, Wikipedia lookup, lock screen orientation in portrait or landscape mode and integration with Shelfari — you can now look up the details of a book on Shelfari without leaving the Kindle app.
If you already have the Kindle for Android app it will be updated automatically, or you can download the app from the Android Market. See Amazon’s Android app
Amazon’s press release also states that the Kindle Store now has over 700,000 titles.
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AmazonCrossing Spring Publishing Schedule no comments
AmazonCrossing is an Amazon publishing imprint that specializes in translating non English language books into English. Amazon has just announced six new books it will be publishing this spring. None of these books have been published in English before.
"The Hangman’s Daughter" by Oliver Pötzsch takes place in Germany in 1660. When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake 70 years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau. When more children disappear and an orphan boy is found dead–marked by the same tattoo–the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos. "The Hangman’s Daughter" is the first novel from German television screenwriter Pötzsch, a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan. "The Hangman’s Daughter," which was translated by Lee Chadeayne, will be published on Dec. 7.
"No Reserve: The Limit of Absolute Power," by the former president of Argentina’s Central Bank Martín Redrado, exposes the reckless policies that nearly destroyed his country’s economy. Readers will learn how this Harvard-educated veteran of Wall Street and prominent Latin American economist was appointed by then President Nestor Kirchner to lead Argentina through difficult economic times. "No Reserve," which was translated by Dan Newland, will be published on Jan. 11, 2011.
In "Old Town," Lin Zhe–one of China’s most prolific writers today–paints an unforgettable picture of an ordinary family caught up in the maelstrom that was China’s most recent century. Praised as China’s "Gone With the Wind," "Old Town" ranges across the entire length of China, to California and back again, to the battlefields of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the brutality of the Cultural Revolution. Spanning the genres of romance, memoir, historical fiction and allegory, for the non-Chinese reader it will provide a rare and moving insight into Chinese lives in a century of fearsome upheaval. "Old Town," translated by George Fowler, will be published on Jan. 25, 2011.
"Pizzicato: The Abduction of the Magic Violin," by celebrated German author Rusalka Reh, is an exciting whodunit that follows an orphan after he befriends an eccentric violinmaker. AmazonCrossing’s first Young Adult title, "Pizzicato" features orphan Darius Dorian, who discovers a magical violin during a school project. "Pizzicato," translated by David Henry Wilson, will be published on Feb. 8, 2011. This book is the first of three books by Reh that will be published by AmazonCrossing.
"Pepita Jimenez" by Juan Valera is the best known of the 19th century diplomat’s eight novels, and this English translation is the first in many years since the original publication in 1874. When a priest-in-training leaves the seminary to return to the village of his birth, he becomes captivated by his father’s lovely fiancée and is torn between his human desires and his sacred calling. This engaging introduction to a Spanish literary master, translated by Katherine Illescas, will be published on Feb. 22, 2011.
"Field Work in Ukrainian Sex" by Oksana Zabuzhko–named one of Ukraine’s Top Ten Most Influential Women by Correspondent magazine–is the tale of one woman’s personal revolt provoked by the top literary scandal of the decade. The author, a noted Ukrainian poet and novelist, explains: "When you turn 30, you inevitably start reconsidering what you have been taught in your formative years–that is, if you really seek for your own voice as a writer. In my case, my personal identity crisis had coincided with the one experienced by my country after the advent of independence. The result turned explosive: ‘Field Work in Ukrainian Sex.’" The novel will be published in April 2011. This book is the first of three books by Zabuzhko that will be published by AmazonCrossing.
These are all available for pre-order
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Another Author Goes Exclusively Kindle – David Morrell no comments
Amazon announced today that bestselling author David Morrell will be releasing a new thriller, The Naked Edge, along with nine of his previous books in ebook format exclusively in the Kindle Store. 
This will be the first time any of these titles have been published digitally.
Many of the new ebooks contain additional content including photographs and new introductions. The new books:
- The Naked Edge (a new, never published, high-action thriller with numerous photo inserts)
- First Blood (the movie based on this book started the Rambo film franchise)
- Blood Oath (with a new Introduction)
- The Brotherhood of the Rose
- The Fraternity of the Stone
- The Covenant of the Flame (with a new Introduction and photo inserts)
- The Totem (both the markedly different U.S. and U.K. versions available together for the first time)
- The Protector
- Last Reveille
- Fireflies
Morrell is the co-founder of the International Thriller Writers organization, a three-time Bram Stoker award- winner, and recipient of ITW’s ThrillerMaster award in recognition of his legendary career and outstanding contributions to the thriller genre. His first novel "First Blood," still in print after 38 years, became the successful Rambo film franchise.
Amazon has an interesting page at the Kindle Store
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Kindle 3 Fastest Selling Kindle Ever no comments
Amazon announced today that more of the latest generation Kindle 3 ereaders were ordered in the four weeks since its launch than any other Kindle model in the same time period after its introduction. Amazon also says that more of the new Kindles were ordered on Amazon.com and Amazon UK than any other product.
Also in the four weeks since the Kindle 3 introduction:
- Kindle and Kindle 3G are the most gifted and most wished for products on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk combined.
- Customers in 125 countries on six continents from Austria to Zimbabwe have already placed orders for the new generation Kindles. Some of the most remote shipments will be sent as far away as Mongolia and the Northern Mariana Islands.
- Customers are already ordering books to read on their new Kindles. The most popular are the books in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, "Star Island" by Carl Hiaasen and "The Rembrandt Affair" by Daniel Silva.
Amazon has started shipping the new Kindles out today – two days earlier than originally announced.
The press release also tells us that the Kindle Store now has over 670,000 titles. That is an increase of around 40,000 in about a month. This latest press release says that over 550,000 of the ebooks available in the Kindle Store are $9.99 or less. At about this same time last month the number of titles priced at $9.99 or less was something north of 510,000. Perhaps the fact that many readers are boycotting ebooks priced above $9.99 has something to do with this.
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Amazon DLP Comes to UK no comments
Amazon announced today that publishers and authors can now use the Kindle Digital Text Platform to upload an make their books available in the UK Kindle Store. From the press release:
"Publishers and authors can now take advantage of the Kindle Digital Text Platform and make their books available to the millions of customers that visit Amazon.co.uk," said Greg Greeley, Amazon Vice President, European Retail. "Sales of Kindle books in the US continue to rise and we are now selling more Kindle books than hardcovers. We expect to see a similar pattern in the UK with publishers and authors benefitting from greatly increased sales as a result of adding their titles to the new Kindle Store via the Kindle Digital Text Platform."
Amazon recently made improvements to the Digital Text Platform such as a more intuitive ‘Bookshelf’ feature and a simplified process for publishing. Additionally, publishers and authors can upload and make available their books in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. They are also able to set the digital list price for their titles on Amazon.co.uk in pound sterling.
Publishers that hold publishing rights for the UK and related territories will earn a 35 per cent royalty for sales made on Amazon.co.uk. For sales made in the US via Amazon.com, publishers can take advantage of a 70 per cent royalty option. In the future, Amazon intends to make the 70 per cent royalty option available for UK sales as well.
