For past E-Briefing columns, click here . MightyWords, one of the top sites for e-publishing, is cutting 7,500 of its 10,000 titles because they haven't sold well, says Judy Kirkpatrick, the general manager. While authors whose books will no longer be carried are upset, it was just too expensive, she says.
Publishing is free for authors.
Those include business, technical and health books and titles from well-known authors. Others, including fiction from unknowns, stayed on the virtual shelves. Although some authors do no promotion on behalf of their books, many do their own publicity and are upset that their work will be wasted when their books disappear, says M.J. Rose, whose work is carried on the site. The decision should serve as a reality check for all concerned, says Rose, who also is a Wired magazine columnist specializing in e-books. Everyone assumed ''that you could put self-published material on the Web and people would want to buy it for no reason,'' Rose says.