Chris Palma, Google's manager for strategic-partner development, announced the timetable at a panel on Google's plans sponsored by the Book Industry Study Group in New York. The event, held at Random House's Manhattan offices, was entitled: "The Book on Google: Is the Future of Publishing in the Cloud?"
Google has been discussing its vision for distributing books online for several years and for months has been evangelizing its new service, called Google Editions. The company is hoping to distinguish it from offerings from incumbents like Amazon by allowing users to access books from a broad range of websites using a broad array of devices. Amazon.com's digital book business is largely focused on its Kindle e-reader and Kindle software that runs on some other select hardware.
The project is Google's attempt to crack into the market of distributing current and backlist works.
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Google says users will be able to buy digital copies of books they discover through its book-search service. It will also allow book retailers—even independent shops—to sell Google Editions on their own sites, taking the bulk of the revenue. Google is still deciding whether it will follow the model where publishers set the retail price or where Google sets retail prices.
Publishers have yet to publicly commit to participate in the service. Yet many continue to cheer the idea as potentially significant new opportunity to increase the sale of digital books, since even the smallest independent bookstore will have access to a sophisticated electronic-book sales service with a vast selection of titles.
"This levels the retail playing field," said Evan Schnittman, vice president of global business development for Oxford University Press. "And as a publisher, what I like is that I won't have to think about audiences based on devices. This is an electronic product that consumers can get anywhere as long as they have a Google account."
He said Google Editions will also be critical because it represents "the ultimate test" of whether the ability to search, find and instantly buy content will generate significant gains in revenue. "This tears down barriers," he added.
On a separate front, Google has been attempting to win rights to distribute millions of out-of-print books through its digital book settlement with authors and publishers. U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin is expected to rule in that case soon.
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