The eNews

* It's not before time - Amazon are now taking a good look at the volumes released through its Kindle publishing program. Amazon has announced that it will begin cracking down on authors who upload so-called "private label rights" e-books via the Kindle Direct Publishing service. According to an email sent to the authors of titles that were removed, Amazon is now filtering and deleting "undifferentiated or barely differentiated" e-books submitted for publishing on the Kindle store because they "diminish the experience for customers.

It seems that the Kindle store has been filled with what are essentially duplicate e-books that were written and sold under "private label rights" (PLR). The text of the book is sold by the original author or copyright holder for a flat fee, and is then taken by authors or publishers to customize and sell under their own names. Most of the supposed authors uploading the books, however, simply format the text, create a new cover and upload them in an attempt at a get-rich-quick scheme.

*  The next generation of Sony eReaders may be bundled with the entire Harry Potter book series in October. Sony have paid Potter author, Rowling an undisclosed sum to be able to offer special Harry Potter branded eReaders.

* Microsoft are to discontinue on its own eReader software.Launched in 2000, Microsoft Reader was touted as a free, downloadable software application to enable users to read eBooks on Windows-based devices they already own, but just over a decade later, the company has quietly pulled the plug.

* Authors Janet Evanovich and Kathryn Stockett have each sold more than a million Kindle books, joining what Amazon has termed the “Kindle Million Club.”
The authors join the likes of Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child, Suzanne Collins, Michael Connelly and John Locke, who have also passed the million mark in sales of their eBooks in the Kindle Store. According to the release, Stockett is the first debut novelist to reach this milestone.