In another example of the blurring of lines between book publishing and bookselling, Simon & Schuster has launched an e-bookstore on its company Web site that will allow customers to download "hundreds" of S&S e-books from the new site, SimonSaysShop.com.
The company will release a number of frontlist titles simultaneously in electronic and print formats, and all new titles will eventually be available from the site. Initially, S&S is pricing the e-books at 20% below the retail price.
According to Kate Tentler, v-p and publisher of S&S Online, ever since the company started SimonSays.com, "visitors have asked us for the opportunity to buy books from the site. At SimonSaysShop.com we can now fulfill that desire." S&S president Jack Romanos added that the new shop adds a transactional element to what had been essentially a marketing site.
As part of the launch, S&S is offering four original e-books for free—The Magic of Tribbles, a Star Trek e-book; Triangle by Jeffery Deaver; and Cage of Love and Little Psychic by V.C. Andrews. An S&S spokesperson said the publisher will continue to release a limited number of original e-books that can take advantage of a brand name, such as Star Trek. Other pricing initiatives include a collection of titles, including a number of Stephen King e-books, that will sell for under $5, and a $1 promotional price for Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1: Prophecies.
SimonSaysShop.com is S&S's second initiative to sell e-books directly to customers. In early September, S&S was one of four houses to offer selected e-books for sale through Yahoo! (News, Sept. 10).
