McGraw-Hill Professional continues to experiment with new ways to digitally deliver its information. Approximately two months after launching a program that lets consumers buy some books by chapters, the company has developed a line of custom e-books it is calling Selected Essentials. Covering various business topics, Selected Essentials will be original, 50 to 100 page works written by MHP authors. MHP head Philip Ruppel likened the e-books to customized books developed for retail bookstores. Four Selected Essentials are being sold exclusively through the Kindle store and three, with a fourth on the way, are available only at Barnes&Noble.com.
Both e-tailers are promoting their exclusives, helping them to stand out from the thousands of other e-books on the site, Ruppel said. The Selected Essentials "help us sell more material for our authors as well as get them more exposure," Ruppel said. The e-books are all priced under $10. Ruppel said MHP can expand the program if it works and would talk to other e-bookstores about making similar deals. "We're continuing to experiment to see what works and what doesn't" in the digital market, Ruppel said.
