When I posted a link to the Nurse Jackie screenplay earlier this month, someone left a comment asking for help with formatting screenplays for the Kindle.
I am always up for a challenge, at least until I grow bored or frustrated, so today I tried to figure out a solution. What I finally came up with is a bit convoluted, but hopefully it lays the groundwork for others to figure out more elegant solutions in the future.
Read more…
This isn’t anything official, just the musings of some analysts–but analysts are paid to think about these things and predict what businesses will do next. In this case, an outfit called Bernstein Research says that a more ideal price for ebooks, at least for Amazon and publishers, is $12.50.
…by raising the average price by $2.51, Amazon’s margins could increase from 6 percent to 20 percent on the sale of an e-book. That, they say, is “comparable to its physical book business” since Amazon would only have to sell 1.7 e-books to match the profits from the sale of a hardback, instead of 7.
Here’s my feelings on the matter:
Here’s a cool new use for the Kindle: the distribution of movie and TV scripts. To promote the new Edie Falco series “Nurse Jackie”, Showtime has put the script for the pilot episode on the Kindle store as a free download. That’s right, free! I can see this becoming a niche reading category for fans of TV shows and movies, and a great way for studios to use the Kindle to distribute content in a new format that doesn’t compete with the main product they’re trying to sell.
You can grab a copy for your Kindle or iPhone/iPod Touch here.
The New York Times has an interesting article today about a screenwriter who self-published a short story on the Amazon Kindle store. “The Variant” is a spy-thriller that John August first tested out with a small group assembled from his Twitter followers, then slightly revised, formatted for the Kindle, and is now selling for 99 cents.
He’s found modest success with the release, I’m assuming at least in part because he has 6,000 Twitter followers and is a known screenwriter with big-league movie credits to his name. But I’m sure it’s also because the story is entertaining and well-written. (I haven’t read it yet.)
As of Friday, “The Variant” was ranked No. 69 on Amazon’s list of most popular Kindle offerings, right behind “My Sister’s Keeper,” by Jodi Picoult.
“I’ve made about enough to buy four Kindles,” said Mr. August.
I love this idea of accomplished, professional writers self-publishing at will, on a personal schedule independent of the sales cycles of the book industry. The manuscript moves directly from the writer to the reader. While I’m sure it won’t always be the best way to distribute new works, I think it’s fascinating and exciting to see it happening now in isolated instances like this.
Download a sample of “The Variant” to your Kindle or iPhone on the official Amazon page.
Amazon just quietly introduced a handy new web portal, kindle.amazon.com, where you can log in and view your list of books. What really makes it useful, however, is each book automatically lists any notes or highlights you’ve added while reading it. Now instead of having to access those things from the device via a USB cable, you can simply log in, then read or copy-and-paste as needed.
There’s also a handy “manage your Kindle” link at the top of the page, so you can bookmark this URL and use it to quickly access your device’s email addresses, downloads, etc.
