Interesting...JK Rowling Gives In on E-Readers

[WaltD4Me]

Well, well...Apparently JK Rowling is giving in on E-readers. I knew it had to happen some day. Not sure how this is going to work. There will be a new website called Pottermore where she says she will reveal new details about the books and characters and where you can buy the series in e-reader format exclusively.

Here is what she says......

======= From JK Rowling =============================
No author could've asked for more wonderful, diverse and loyal readership. I'm thrilled to say I'm now in a position to give you something unique. An online reading experience unlike any other. It's the same story with a few crucial additions. The most important one is you. Just as the experience of reading requires that the imaginations of the author and reader work together to create the story, so Pottermore will be built, in part, by you, the reader. The digital generation will be able to enjoy a safe, unique, online reading experience built around the 'Harry Potter' books. Pottermore will be the place where fans of any age can share, participate in and rediscover the stories. It will also be the exclusive place to purchase digital audiobooks and, for the first time, e-books of the 'Harry Potter' series. I will join in too because I will be sharing additional information I have been holding for years about the world of 'Harry Potter.'
===================================================

 

[bicker]

It is interesting, though, that she's not really giving in, because she's insisting on maintaining completely control over distribution. What she's doing is akin to saying that she won't sell her books at any bookstores. It is ironic that it is only the superlative advancement that stems from the digital revolution that she's resisted so fervently that allows her to effectively set up her own online bookstore.

But heck - richer than the Queen, she can do what she wants eh?

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

But heck - richer than the Queen, she can do what she wants eh?

I don't mind at all that she's richer than the queen. Unlike the queen, at least she earned her money.

I loved how vague it was on the formats. Hopefully it won't be available on a new Harry Potter only e-reader, not compatible with any other reader.

 

[bicker]

I do wonder how they're going to distribute to Kindles and Nooks without losing their ability to assert asset protection. Or perhaps they'll naively take a trusting approach, and then condemn the whole medium because such an approach doesn't work (rather than condemning themselves for not availing themselves of the protection that best minds have already come up with).

 

[WaltD4Me]

I don't mind at all that she's richer than the queen. Unlike the queen, at least she earned her money.

I loved how vague it was on the formats. Hopefully it won't be available on a new Harry Potter only e-reader, not compatible with any other reader.

Don't give her any ideas!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Pottermore had a lot of hype leading up to it. Clues were left on various non-official HP sites by the author herself leading to the Pottermore website. Now that the announcement has been revealed, I'm underwhelmed. I heard the news towards the middle of the week and have to admit that I am disappointed. There is a large fan base waiting for another J.K. Rowling book, not necessarily a Harry Potter one, and she is not recognizing that. For some time, Rowling has stated that she is working on adult and other youth books, with a mystery being one of them. It's a shame that this isn't the big announcement when so many have been waiting for it for so long.

 

[LMO429]

I am not a Harry Potter fan, I saw the movies enjoyed them but never read the books. I have been hearing about Pottermore and all the hype around it. after they made the announcement I was like wow what a let down.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

I do wonder how they're going to distribute to Kindles and Nooks without losing their ability to assert asset protection. Or perhaps they'll naively take a trusting approach, and then condemn the whole medium because such an approach doesn't work (rather than condemning themselves for not availing themselves of the protection that best minds have already come up with).

Either they will make the books available in each e-book platform, or have made exclusive rights in one platform, and it won't be available in others.

 

[bicker]

I was referring to the information presented on several news services, including Boston's Global Post service:

Rowling, who retains the digital rights to the seven Harry Potter novels, will sell the Harry Potter e-books through a proprietary platform, she said Thursday in London.

She will also bypass e-book stores like Amazon's Kindle store, Barnes and Noble's Nook store and Apple's iBookstore, CNN notes.

And the Harry Potter series will be published in the open-source e-Pub format, which is compatible with any electronic reading device, including the iPad.

E-pub can support DRM, but I am not aware that Kindle or Nook supports e-pubs with DRM. That means that Rowling is basically inviting people to be immoral, since this approach she's taken will prompt people to violate (at least US) law by stripping DRM from copyrighted assets.

 

[BriarRosie]

Pottermore had a lot of hype leading up to it. Clues were left on various non-official HP sites by the author herself leading to the Pottermore website. Now that the announcement has been revealed, I'm underwhelmed. I heard the news towards the middle of the week and have to admit that I am disappointed. There is a large fan base waiting for another J.K. Rowling book, not necessarily a Harry Potter one, and she is not recognizing that. For some time, Rowling has stated that she is working on adult and other youth books, with a mystery being one of them. It's a shame that this isn't the big announcement when so many have been waiting for it for so long.

I still think she's working on other books, but I don't expect the books to be published any time soon. She did a lot of outlining and formatting of her plot before writing the Potter series, so I wouldn't expect her to do any less on future projects.

I thought the Pottermore project sounded like it was a way to get more back story and canon on the characters we already know from the books, and there are supposed to be interactive elements. I won't judge until I get a chance to see for myself.

 

[sayhello]

It's not like there aren't a TON of PDF versions of the Potter books already out there. It will be nice to have an official ePub version, but I'm not forking out a ton of money for them.

Time will tell if Pottermore is a lot of fuss about nothing or not.

Sayhello

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

I was referring to the information presented on several news services, including Boston's Global Post service:E-pub can support DRM, but I am not aware that Kindle or Nook supports e-pubs with DRM. That means that Rowling is basically inviting people to be immoral, since this approach she's taken will prompt people to violate (at least US) law by stripping DRM from copyrighted assets.

That doesn't stop her from putting out her own e-book reader in her own format.

No one is ever inviting people to break laws. It's a personal choice. She has the right to distribute her creations as she sees fit, and to make money off of them. That's not inviting breaking laws, it's making money.

 

[bicker]

That doesn't stop her from putting out her own e-book reader in her own format.

However, she said specifically that it would be "compatible with any electronic reading device".

No one is ever inviting people to break laws. It's a personal choice.

True enough. The fault rests with the folks who consumer copyrighted content with its DRM broken.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

However, she said specifically that it would be "compatible with any electronic reading device".

True enough. The fault rests with the folks who consumer copyrighted content with its DRM broken.

And unfortunately, if you want to blame anyone for the USAs crazy copyright laws, it's Disney.

Just because she said se's bypassing the stores, doesn't mean she's bypassing those devices. I could see a kindle, nook, ipad version of each book, just bought directly from her web site.

 

[bicker]

Disney was mostly responsible only for how long a copyright is good for. That doesn't affect things like Toy Story 2 and Harry Potter.

Really, the blame here would rest with the folks who liked what was offered but who sought ways to consume without paying what was being charged. Laws to protect copyrights wouldn't be necessary if people just complied with the copyright owners' terms and conditions.

 

[ImprovGal]

One thing that I think is interesting is that although y'all are discussing compatibility with Kindle vs. Nook, Rowling's partnership is with Sony. I suspect that although the e-books themselves may be compatible with any device, Sony will offer some tie-in to promote its own Sony Reader devices.

 

[TrekBoy85]

I was referring to the information presented on several news services, including Boston's Global Post service:E-pub can support DRM, but I am not aware that Kindle or Nook supports e-pubs with DRM. That means that Rowling is basically inviting people to be immoral, since this approach she's taken will prompt people to violate (at least US) law by stripping DRM from copyrighted assets.

Nook supports epub with DRM. The Kindle does not support epub, but does support AZW (Amazon's proprietary format), which supports DRM. Kindle also supports other file formats, but I'm not sure they support DRM.

It will be interesting to see how this goes, as DRM on ebooks (despite any laws governing otherwise) is relatively easy to strip off and convert to any desired format.

I think that one of the major reasons she has chosen to exclusively release the books via her own website is so that she can control the pricing. My understanding is that publishers are highly pressured by Amazon and B&N to price in a certain range. In the past, there has been discussion that once JK Rowling released HP in ebook, it would set a new precedence for ebook pricing.

 

[sayhello]

One thing that I think is interesting is that although y'all are discussing compatibility with Kindle vs. Nook, Rowling's partnership is with Sony. I suspect that although the e-books themselves may be compatible with any device, Sony will offer some tie-in to promote its own Sony Reader devices.

That's really interesting. I was just wondering about that. I have a Sony eReader that got sent to Sony to have the battery replaced, and for some reason, they're replacing the eReader rather than repairing it. But they don't seem to have a replacement in stock. I went on Sony's website, and there are virtually no eReaders available except for their pocket version. I was wondering what the chance might be that they were secretly revving up production to release a Harry Potter tied in eReader. I think it would be an amazing coup for Sony... Wonder if I should wait & see if they'll give me a deal off an HP eReader?

Sayhello