Publishers Weekly - April 13, 2015

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also done well with middle-grade nonfiction, such as Kate McMullen’s Have a Hot Time, Hades! Sales have been so strong that children’s book buyer Caitlin Baker asked Capstone to increase its nonfiction offerings and to make all the titles in the Myth O Mania series available as bundles. Overall, Baker is pleased to participate. “This is an exciting idea, and I’m thrilled that Capstone has taken the initiative,” she said.

Holland Saltsman, owner of the six-
month-old Novel Neighbor bookstore
and artist space in the St. Louis suburb of
Webster Grove, agrees. “I think it’s a
great idea,” she said. As the sole employ-
ee at her store, she would like a few
changes to the display, including making
it more self-explanatory. “We’ve moved
it around a couple times,” she said.
“With the iPad, you can’t have it out of
the sight of the register.” To date, she’s
sold very few bundles, but she’s been en-
couraged by the fact those who do buy
come back for more.

“We like the idea of selling somebody a physical book, and they can get an e-book,” commented children’s book buyer Wally Johnston, at Rediscovered Books in Boise, Iowa. “It’s something we’ve wanted for a long time.” For her, the display has turned into a conversation starter with educators, since most customers don’t realize that the books are being sold with an interactive e-book. She’s done “pretty well” with picture books.

Capstone trade sales manager Paul
Von Drasek has gotten a similarly posi-
tive response from participating book-
sellers. Yet he cautioned that “it’s pre-
mature to forecast what the results will
be. We need more information.” One ad-
vantage of e-book bundling that he
points out is that “it enables booksellers
to offer something new without a lot of
technological training.”
It may be in its early days, but Andersen
Zantop is confident that the company
will move forward with the program.
Capstone is prepared to do more testing
if needed, with more stores and more
product, as well as adding some of its
teen and YA titles, including more non-
fiction.

“Part of the reason we embarked on
this as a beta,” said Andersen Zantop, “is
that we knew there were things that
wouldn’t work. Finding the right experi-
ence in-store is why we have to have a
beta, or a couple betas.”
Though all the data is not in yet,
Andersen Zantop is encouraged that
the downloads for the apps and for
Capstone’s interactive e-books have
increased, and bundled title orders have
been increasing since the trial began.
She’s already thinking about what’s
next.

As for booksellers, Pam Cady, manager of general books at University Book Store noted, “[Bundling] gives us a chance to partner with our publisher on something that could be of value to both of us. We’re usually happy to try things that have a chance of impacting sales.”

—Judith Rosen

to reinforce literacy. She uses the iPad to demo how the app can read the book aloud and highlight key words. At her store, those who have purchased bundles—which have a suggested retail price that’s 30% off the combined list price of the book and e-book—have preferred picture books such as Michael Dahl’s Penguin Says “Please” or Jake Maddox’s

Gymnastic Jitters.

“We’ve been selling the books, but the e-book doesn’t seem to be the selling point,” said Sally Brewster, owner of Park Road Books, in Charlotte, N.C. When she and her staff ask customers if they would like a demonstration, the response has often been, “No, that’s okay.” So far Brewster’s sales have been relatively small. The bundle that has worked best is Elizabeth Raum’s World War II: An Interactive History Adventure, followed by Fran Manushkin’s Big Sisters Are the Best.

University Book Store in Seattle has

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