Two Peas Publishing can now include author titles in the Barnes & Noble “See Inside” Program, Google Books, and the upcoming online bookstore Google Editions. In January, Two Peas began offering its authors the opportunity to participate in Amazon.com’s “Search Inside This Book” program. Inclusion in Barnes & Noble’s “See Inside,” Google Books, and Google Editions are natural extensions to that service.
The Barnes & Noble “See Inside” Program works very much like the Amazon.com “Search Inside This Book” Program works. Authors can display up to 20 percent of the content of their titles on the Barnes & Noble website, allowing barnesandnoble.com customers to examine their work prior to purchase. Amazon.com claims that books that participate in its “Search Inside This Book” Program are 40 percent more likely to sell than books that don’t.
The Google Books program is yet another way to display limited previews of a title online, and to have the content of the title indexed by the Google Books search engine. Not only will authors be able to display portions of their work to readers all over the world, but Google also automatically provides links to retailers where the title can be purchased.
Titles that are uploaded to Google Books can also be included in Google Editions, which is Google’s e-book store that is scheduled to launch sometime in 2010. Google Editions will enable readers to download digital copies of a title rather than purchasing a printed one. Sales from Google Editions result in author royalties, just like the sales of print editions of a title.
Amazon.com’s “Search Inside This Book,” Barnes & Noble’s “See Inside,” Google Books, and Google Editions are all optional services that Two Peas Publishing can provide to Two Peas authors free of charge. Two Peas does not require authors to participate in any of those programs and has an opt-in policy regarding them, meaning that titles are only included in the programs at the author’s specific choosing.