Verso Books will begin selling eBooks directly to consumers worldwide beginning this April. The publisher expects the site to bring in £200,000 (approximately $333,000) in revenue during the first year.
The publisher will sell the books from its website. The eBook catalog will include both new titles and backlist titles. The site will offer eBook bundles that correspond with print purchases.
The eBooks will use Booxtream’s “social DRM” technology which works on most eReaders and apps. The eBooks will be watermarked with details about the license and who bought it. Readers can redownload books they have already purchased if they update devices.
“Verso has found a new, radical way of selling books—for the first time, our readers can choose which title to read regardless of format, print or digital,” stated Verso’s Managing Director Jacob Stevens. “We know that our core readership would like to support radical publishing directly, and we hope that this new approach will benefit our writers, readers, and colleagues across the industry.”