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Google close to launching long-delayed ebook effort

December 1, 2010 — 11:47am ET | By Jason Ankeny

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) said it is poised to introduce its long-delayed Google Editions ebook venture. Google product management director Scott Dougall told The Wall Street Journal that Google Editions will launch in the U.S. by the end of this month, rolling out internationally during the first quarter of 2011--independent booksellers are now receiving contracts from their trade group, and publishers say they are exchanging files with Google, both strong indicators the initiative is ready to open for business.

Originally slated to go live this summer but hampered by technical and legal hurdles, Google Editions will challenge the existing ebook market by offering an open, "read anywhere" model enabling consumers to purchase titles directly from Google or its online retail partners (including independent bookstores) and add them to an online library connected to a Google account. Google Editions content will be optimized for most web-enabled devices, including smartphones, tablets and PCs.

Questions remain, however--Google has not yet disclosed what percentage of Editions revenue it will share with publishers and booksellers, nor has the digital services giant disclosed the names of its retailer partners. The American Booksellers Association anticipates more than 200 independent U.S. booksellers could sign up.

Google will leverage its extensive digital reach to promote the Editions initiative, and vows it will promote the service to all web users, not simply early adopters with smartphones and tablets. For example, a football-related blog could recommend a football book to site visitors, point consumers to Google Editions to purchase the title, and share in the resulting revenues. "Google is going to turn every Internet space that talks about a book into a place where you can buy that book," Dominique Raccah, owner of independent publisher Sourcebooks Inc., tells the Journal. "The Google model is going to drive a lot of sales. We think they could get 20 percent of the ebook market very fast."

For more:
- read this Wall Street Journal article