But she has made sure that in the digital world, it's her books and her rules. She and only she owns all sales made online. Instead of the eBooks being sold through retailers or publishers, all sales will be made only through a website owned by the author. For the first time, Amazon and Barnes & Noble have made an exception (and a huge one) for Harry Potter eBooks, allowing visitors to exit their platform to visit Pottermore website in order to complete the purchase. It is the only online publishing brand so far that sells its books exclusively through its website.
Charlie Redmayne, CEO of Pottermore, told TheBookseller.com that, "This is the first time Amazon and B&N have driven customers off their platform to another site, and then given the ability to push that content back to their device".
The digital version of all seven Harry Potter books are compatible with all leading eReaders, tablets, smartphones and MP3 players. But there is one platform where Pottermore has not been able to come in agreeable terms with - Apple's 'iBookstore'. Apple and Pottermore failed to reach a consensus before the launch , but Redmayne is hopeful that they will be able to work out something in the future.
It is important to note that Rowling will earn almost entire revenue from sales Harry Potter eBooks, leaving almost nothing for the publishers which is a rare phenomenon in the book publishing world - both online and offline. But then, not everybody is J.K Rowling, who is now in the position to lay her own rules and when it comes to online business...almost anything is possible.
The first three books of the series are available for £4.99 and the later four books are priced at £6.99. You can also find audio files featuring Stephen Fry's narration for £17.99 for the first three books and pay £32.99 for the later three. For US audience the audio files are narrated by Jim Dale and are priced at $29.99 and $44.99. The eBooks for the US are priced at $7.99 and $9.99.
According to Redmayne, the eBooks are fairly priced, which will allow many people to finally manage to own the entire series. He also clarifies that this is not a plan to sabotage print editions, "We have set a fair price, lower than physical, but we don't want to cannibalise the print products." he said.
It is needless to say that Harry Potter has been one of the best selling series in the history of book publishing, and it will be interesting to see its success rate in the digital world. Let's see how many muggles can Rowling lure into entering her wizardly world.
shop.pottermore.com
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Redmayne is hopeful that they will be able to work out something in the future.
This is the first time Amazon and B&N have driven customers off their platform to another site
This is a clear sign that one can no longer remain in denial that
digitalization of books is here for good and there is no escape, even
for the lovely J.K. Rowling.