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Publishers take stand against e-books

Simon & Schuster is taking action against the cut-rate $9.99 pricing of digital bestsellers by delaying the e-book editions of approximately 35 titles coming out in 2010. Hachette Book Group plans to follow suit.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, these efforts acknowledge that book pricing has become the most pressing issue on the publishing landscape.

From the article:

“The right place for the e-book is after the hardcover but before the paperback,” said Carolyn Reidy, CEO of Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS Corp. “We believe some people will be disappointed. But with new [electronic] readers coming and sales booming, we need to do this now, before the installed e-book reading devices gets to a size where doing it would be impossible.”

Simon & Schuster will publish e-books four months after the hardcover publication date. Titles affected by this action include Don DeLillo’s Point Omega (due in February), Karl Rove’s memoir Courage and Consequence (March), and Jodi Picoult’s House Rules (March).