Rowling's Pottermore Inks Deal with Google
As previously announced, Pottermore will be the exclusive place to buy Harry Potter e-books and digital audiobooks. But now, users will be able to buy those e-book editions from the Pottermore Shop, push them to their Google Books library, store them alongside other Google eBooks, and access them in the cloud (alongside their other Google eBooks) on virtually any device with a modern browser.
When Pottermore was announced I got myself into a minor internet discussion.
I said that, while it was a big deal for the publishing industry, Rowling’s new venture had little to do with self-publishing, what with her being a multi-squillionaire with a crack team supporting her.
I wasn’t trying to be mean or churlish, I just didn’t see how the most commercially successful author in the world, by excluding her print publisher from the e-process, had anything to do with the likes of you and me.
I think this latest news illustrates my point. How many self-publishing writers do you know who’ve struck an exclusive deal with Google? Or anyone else for that matter.
It’s more marvellous news for Rowling (and Google, I assume), but that’s about it.
