| AOL Time Warner has announced that it has launched iPublish.com at
Time Warner Books (http://www.ipublish.com).
iPublish.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Trade Publishing
(http://www.twbookmark.com),
a division of AOL Time Warner, Inc. The electronic publishing division
was unveiled last summer and announced its first titles in September 2000.
iPublish.com offers an online community where aspiring writers can submit
their works directly to be considered for publication. Showcasing everything
from online writing courses to a wide selection of published e-books, iPublish.com
claims to represent the first fully integrated, end-to-end digital publishing
business.
"iPublish.com redefines publishing as we know it," said Laurence J.
Kirshbaum, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Trade Publishing. "It brings
writers, readers, and editors together in a new and powerful way that will
permanently impact the industry."
The centerpiece of iPublish.com is iWrite, a community area that offers
writers a direct way to get their work in front of other writers and iPublish.com
editors. Writers must review at least three short excerpts from works by
other authors before they can post an excerpt of their work for consideration.
If an excerpt receives high ratings, an iPublish.com editor will read the
full manuscript and decide if the work should be published as an e-book
and, if it meets certain requirements, as a print-on-demand book.
Greg Voynow, senior vice president and general manager of iPublish.com,
said that iPublish.com will commit full resources to its growing list of
titles, including marketing, promotion, and distribution through all major
e-book retailers. The most successful e-books may have the opportunity
to be released as print editions nationwide with the full support of Time
WarnerTrade Publishing.
iPublish.com will be distributing its e-books to a wide range of retailers,
including barnesandnoble.com, Amazon.com,Powell’s, Kinokuniya, Booksite,
and the Palm eBookstore. Readers will also be able to purchase e-books
on iPublish.com’s iRead channel. The company claims that iPublish.com e-books
are aggressively priced at generally 40-to-60 percent less than comparable
print counterparts and are available in multiple formats such as Microsoft
Reader, Adobe Reader, Palm Reader, and Gemstar eBook.
According to the announcement, the site also offers iLearn, an online
forum that makes Time Warner Trade Publishing’s book publishing know-how
accessible to all community members. It includes a monthly live lecture
series with authors and industry insiders, self-study programs, and message
boards.
Source: AOL Time Warner, Inc., New York, 212/484-8000;
http://www.aoltimewarner.com. |
