Innovations continue apace in the world
of publishing. One of the most interesting I’ve come across recently is down to
the first Scottish e-publisher: BLASTED HEATH.
This is the creation of uber agent, crime
writer and good guy, Allan Guthrie with his mucker, social media expert (whatever that is) Kyle McRae.
They have launched with five titles – including Dead Money by Ray Banks, and
The Man in the Seventh Row, a debut novel by Edinburgh journalist Brian
Pendreigh.
So far, so commendable – and this is where it
gets interesting.
Blasted Heath have come up with a boxed
set of all five books in three file formats on a branded USB stick in a gift
presentation pack. The whole thing is about the size of a tobacco tin and comes
complete with fold-out cards describing the accompanying books. Genius or what?
I hope this can be patented cos I see this being copied big time.
The USB stick costs £12.99, and at the moment (as far as I can see) it is only available on mail order from their website,
www.blastedheath.com, but there’s been interest from independent bookshops. There
are discounts on the website this weekend. See what you can pick up as taster.
You can thank me later.
M
Interesting, Michael. Kyle interviewed me a while ago on his Audacious Authors blog. How innovative of them both!
ReplyDeleteSounds clever and deserves to succeed. I shall nip over there now.
ReplyDeleteI know this is going to sounds stupid but if I get the USB can I read the books on my Kindle? Amazon seem to build in all sorts of blocks to stop you reading books you haven't purchased from them.I can't download e-books borrowed from my local library for example.
ReplyDeleteLet me know how you get on, Bill.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I'm not sure - although I do know that a couple of the books are available individually on Amazon for kindle. Maybe there is info on the site?
It's a really cool idea and the launch books sound great.
ReplyDeleteI'll be reviewing some of them soon.
Sarah, you should be able to load the kindle format to your computer from the usb and transfer it to your kindle from there.
It was bound to happen as I understand one of the challenges with the new growth in epubs is getting the product to the consumer in a way that's easy for the buyer. Mac made their new software availabe in this format. An itzy bitzy little flash drive. I love it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, pretty neat. Wonder what the next thing is.
ReplyDelete