Tokyopop has announced that some titles are becoming “online exclusives,” available for purchase only through the publisher’s web site.
Tokyopop’s publishing partner, HarperCollins, has announced that it will be putting significant preview content on its web site. (Free registration required to read the article.)
“’The younger generations are consuming information in a different way,’ said Brian Murray, group president of HarperCollins. ‘They may not necessarily be going into bookshops. They are spending time on Google, MySpace, Facebook, author Web sites, Yahoo and MSN.’”
Are the two connected? I don’t think so, though it could be synergistic instead of just coincidental. It’s nice to see a prose publisher make some efforts in this direction, as I can’t really think of one of their sites that I’d consider a destination.
“For now HarperCollins does not plan to sell books directly to customers online, but will rather use the ‘Browse Inside’ feature as a way to lure readers to its Web pages, which will also include interviews, tour schedules, reading group guides, photographs and links to author blogs.”
Sound familiar?
Looking at the HarperCollins site as it stands, there’s a lot of potential for sprucing up pages for its various imprints. Sounds like it really might cost a fortune, but once the infrastructure’s in place, it might be really useful for at-home book shoppers.