Writing News
Writing News
The WGT supports various community projects that may be listed here from time to time.

We also realize that we are not alone! Sometimes national issues affect each of us as writers as well. When it does, we'll be sure to keep you posted right here.
 
US publishers smile again as Kindle rivals emerge
by Charlotte Raab Charlotte Raab – Sun Feb 7, 12:04 am ET

NEW YORK (AFP) – US book publishers are smiling again, after years of watching digital versions of their titles sell for below what they thought they were worth.

A host of rivals to the market-dominating Kindle electronic reader has given newfound hope to publishers that they will finally be able to dictate their own terms after being at the mercy of Amazon.

Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. stable includes publisher Harper-Collins, could hardly contain his glee during an earnings call last week.

"Without content, the ever larger and flatter screens, the tablets, the e-readers and the increasingly sophisticated mobile phones would be lifeless," Murdoch said. "Without content these ingenious and wonderful devices would be unloved and unsold."

One new arrival in particular has Murdoch and other publishers excited -- Apple's iPad tablet computer, which doubles as a full-color e-reader of books, newspapers and magazines.

"We're at a happy point, not just with Apple, but with Barnes & Noble and the 'Nook,' the 23 devices that have been launched, and Google Books seems to be just around the corner," a source in the publishing industry said.

"Now we have that many more distribution outlets coming," said the source, who requested anonymity out of fear of antagonizing Amazon, which may be facing competition but remains the undisputed e-book leader.

Although the iPad will not be available to consumers until the end of March, Apple is shaking up the digital book market like it did the music industry with the iPod and iTunes music store.

Unveiling the iPad, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs announced deals with five major publishers and an agreement that allows publishers to set higher prices while Apple settles for a 30-percent cut.

The so-called "agency model" is a departure from the way Amazon has been doing business with book publishers.

Since the release of the Kindle two years ago, Amazon has sold digital versions of hardcover new releases and bestsellers for 9.99 dollars, a move primarily aimed at driving sales of the online retail giant's e-reader.

Publishers were generally opposed, believing the price too low, but were not in a position to argue while Amazon was the only game in town.

That is no longer the case and the revolt against Amazon was immediate.

Just days after the wraps were taken off the iPad, Macmillan informed Amazon it wanted to begin charging between 12.99 and 14.99 dollars for e-book versions of most hardcover new releases and bestsellers.

Macmillan said it would give Amazon a 30-percent cut, as with Apple.

Amazon protested, temporarily pulling Macmillan titles -- both print and e-books -- from its online bookstore, but acknowledged that "ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan's terms."

Another major publisher, Hachette Book Group, quickly followed Macmillan.

"It's important to note that we are not looking to the agency model as a way to make more money on e-books," Hachette chairman and chief executive David Young said in a letter to literary agents.

"In fact, we make less on each e-book sale under the new model," he said. "We're willing to accept lower return for e-book sales as we control the value of our product -- books, and content in general.

"We're taking the long view on e-book pricing, and this new model helps protect the long-term viability of the book marketplace," Young said.

Gartner analyst Allen Weiner said it remains to be seen whether consumers, having gotten used to paying 9.99 dollars for a bestseller or a new release, will pay more.

"The precedent may have already been set," Weiner said. "Consumers may not pay more than 12 dollars."

"The damage that Amazon has done may be irreparable," he said. "The cow is out of the barn. I don't know how you get the cow back in the barn."

At the same time though, "we're in the process of having all distribution lines and pricing models redrawn," Weiner said. "It's Chapter One in all of this, but it may or may not dictate what happens at the end."
 
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Justice Dept says Google books deal troubled
By Diane Bartz Diane Bartz – Thu Feb 4, 9:11 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Changes that Google Inc and the Authors Guild made to an ambitious plan to create a massive online library were inadequate because they fail to address antitrust and copyright concerns, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

Google's plan to put millions of books online has been praised for expanding access to books but has also been vociferously criticized on antitrust and copyright grounds.

The deal was amended last year after the Justice Department recommended that the original settlement be rejected but more changes were needed, a Justice Department official said on Thursday, on background.

"They made substantial progress but in our view they haven't gone far enough," the official told Reuters.

In its court filing on Thursday, the Justice Department said the proposed settlement posed potential copyright and antitrust issues, and also used a class action mechanism to "implement forward-looking business arrangements" rather than simply resolving an existing dispute.

The department criticized the agreement for requiring authors to "opt out" of having their books digitized, when copyright law usually requires that authors approve having their works used.

It also noted that class representatives inappropriately spoke for foreign authors with books published in the United States as well as for authors of "orphan works," essentially copyright holders who cannot be identified or located.

Google's exclusive access to these orphan works "remains unaddressed, producing a less than optimal result from a competition standpoint," the department said. The pricing mechanisms also came under criticism from the department on antitrust grounds.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin has scheduled a hearing on the settlement for February 18.

Google noted the praise from the department, and added:

"We look forward to Judge Chin's review of the statement of interest from the department and the comments from the many supporters who have filed submissions," Google said in an email statement.

The agreement is designed to settle a 2005 class action lawsuit filed against Google by authors and publishers who had accused the search engine giant of copyright infringement for scanning collections of books from four universities and the New York Public Library.

The Justice Department recommended in September that the agreement be rejected.

Faced with this and other opposition, Google and a group of authors and publishers made a series of changes to the deal in November. For example, they eliminated books published in most of the non-English speaking world and gave funds earned from unclaimed or orphan works to an independent fiduciary rather than the registry.

With the elimination of non-English language books, foreign opposition to the deal has been blunted but plenty of critics remain.

These critics of the deal have been a varied group that includes Yahoo Inc, Amazon Inc, Microsoft Inc, the National Writers Union and Consumer Watchdog.

In mid-December, three library associations stopped short of seeking to halt to Google's digital books plan, but asked for Justice Department oversight to prevent an excessively high price for institutional subscriptions.

The case is The Authors Guild et al v. Google, Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 05-08136.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Richard Chang)
 
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