Will You Read Harlequin's New E-Book Only Line?
Harlequin recently announced they are creating a new division, Carina Press, that will offer just e-books, which will be available to readers directly through the site and through others. This is another step in the digital age by the publishing giant. In celebration of their 60th anniversary, they offered 12 titles as e-books free to readers.
Harlequin has always been pretty good at following trends and keeping up with the times. If you look at old Harlequins from the eighties and nineties, you can see the styles and plots that were popular then. With lines such as Kimani Press, Luna and Red Dress Ink, they have addressed several more recent trends in publishing.
One concern brought up by this recent line of e-books is there is no DRM protection. DRM stands for Digital Right Management, or in other words, those blocks put in place by companies to prevent unlawful distribution of digital products. This has angered some while causing other to rejoice. DRM is a controversial topic, with proponents claiming it helps prevent the abuse of an author's rights over their product. Others claim that DRM is anti-competitive and actually erodes rights. Either way, the lack of DRM is causing a stir.
I don't have an e-reader so I can't say who either the new line or it's lack of DRM would affect me. I know that one of the reasons I have resisted a Kindle or a Nook is because of the limitations put on it by the manufacturer. I want something that allows me to upload and read any document I so chose, regardless of origin. I also want to be able to manage my own electronic products, move them around if so desired. But another part of me thinks that preserving an author's right over their material is justifiable and I don't want to go against that.
What do you think? Will you read Harlequin's new e-book only line? Will the lack of DRM affect you in any way? Let us know in the comments!
Nicole
Harlequin has always been pretty good at following trends and keeping up with the times. If you look at old Harlequins from the eighties and nineties, you can see the styles and plots that were popular then. With lines such as Kimani Press, Luna and Red Dress Ink, they have addressed several more recent trends in publishing.
One concern brought up by this recent line of e-books is there is no DRM protection. DRM stands for Digital Right Management, or in other words, those blocks put in place by companies to prevent unlawful distribution of digital products. This has angered some while causing other to rejoice. DRM is a controversial topic, with proponents claiming it helps prevent the abuse of an author's rights over their product. Others claim that DRM is anti-competitive and actually erodes rights. Either way, the lack of DRM is causing a stir.
I don't have an e-reader so I can't say who either the new line or it's lack of DRM would affect me. I know that one of the reasons I have resisted a Kindle or a Nook is because of the limitations put on it by the manufacturer. I want something that allows me to upload and read any document I so chose, regardless of origin. I also want to be able to manage my own electronic products, move them around if so desired. But another part of me thinks that preserving an author's right over their material is justifiable and I don't want to go against that.
What do you think? Will you read Harlequin's new e-book only line? Will the lack of DRM affect you in any way? Let us know in the comments!
Nicole
posted at 10:19 AM
5 Comments:
I might be old-fashioned, but I'd like to have the option of hard copy (paperback) as well as digital.
My initial reaction is that e-publications without DRM are good for both authors and their readers. Carina will benefit from sales. Will "traditional" (online & brick-and-mortar) booksellers be the ultimate losers here? ~Molly Swoboda
Many books that are pirated are done so by scanner and OCR. DMR does not prevent this.
I now have 3 digital readers. One is a handy 5". I have 2 almost identical 6" readers because one has mobipocket DRM and one has Adobe epub DRM. If I had updated my mobipocket reader to epub I would have lost the ability to read the books on it as Mobipocket won't allow any other DRM system besides its own.
So I bought another reader. How many people want, or can afford, to do that?
I don't think readers will really take off till there's one clear format winner or DRM is discontined and books can be moved between readers.
I browse Fictionwise's multiformat books each week - but they're getting scarcer. I will definately check out Carina.
I buy the 5 new DRM free ebooks from Regency Reads every month.
Laine
I will absolutely positively buy from them. If they even have half the customer support that Harlequin's ebook store currently has, then Carina will be an excellent store. I only buy books from their e-book store anyway. I used to subscribe to their monthly plan of print books, but all of those were destroyed with Hurricane Katrina, so now I only buy ebooks. My ebook reader fits in my purse and I take it everywhere. It's the perfect item to take when you evacuate. If you scan your insurance documents to a PDF file you can have that stored on your ebook reader too, in case you need a backup copy. If you live in a natural disaster prone area, I recommend buying an ebook reader.
Hi Everyone,
I am old fashioned too, and I just love holding a print book in my hands and turning the pages, but that said E-boks are the way of the future and I would certinly check out Carina. For me being a writer, it is the quality of the story that I would worry about first. And they do have the score on the board.
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