Barnes & Noble offers digital publishing and distribution platform

Conan Milner
Epoch Times Staff

Independent publishers and self-published authors can soon make their eBooks and other written material available to millions of readers thanks to Barnes & Noble』s PubIt!

The new service – which will become available this summer – allows users to upload a document, convert it to epub, and sell it on the B&N reader system, including on the Nook and iPad.

While Amazon offers a similar service through their Kindle store, PubIt! will give authors a choice and add competition to the self-publishing marketplace. Barnes & Noble describes PubIt! as an 「easy-to-use publishing and distribution platform that promises expanded distribution, and visibility.」

The bookseller boasts a 「simple and competitive royalty model and compensation process.」 However, the actual details of the self-publishing service won』t be available for several weeks. Barnes & Noble assures authors that their 「intellectual property will be well-protected through its digital rights management technology and offered in the industry standard ePub format that allows publishers』 works to be enjoyed by millions.」

PubIt! aims to be a convenient one-stop-shop, allowing publishers to get their content in front of consumers for purchase on a wide range of mobile devices and software platforms. PubIt! users simply upload their content in an industry standard format for electronic titles that consumers can access from hundreds of devices, including the bookseller』s own eReader, Nook, as well as PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and others.

「Barnes & Noble is uniquely positioned to support writers and publishers and bring their exciting digital works to the broadest audience of readers anywhere,」 said Theresa Horner, director of Digital Products, Barnes & Noble in a press release.

More information on PubIt!, and the benefits of joining Barnes & Noble』s rapidly expanding digital content catalog can be found at www.bn.com/pubit.