It looks like publishers want in on all of that ebook action that’s allowed little-known and self-published authors to make their mark in digital books.

Amazon has launched Kindle Sunshine Deals – a two-week promotion which includes lower pricing on about 650 ebooks. The prices range from $0.99 to $2.99. The Sunshine deals all come from small- to mid-sized publishers like Candlewick, Bloomsbury and Sourcebooks.

Most titles were published at least a year ago. However, sale-priced pre-orders are available for “The Soldier” by Grace Burrowes and “Wish You Were Here” by Philippa Ashley.

None of the ebooks currently offered at the lower prices appears to be from the six major U.S. publishers. Those publishers use the agency model, which allows them to set their own ebook prices and then pay Amazon a commission. However, although they are not involved, the “Big Six” are paying attention.

Sunshine Deals is “an opportunity for publishers to test compelling pricing coupled with on-site merchandising,” Sarah Gelman, PR Manager at Amazon, told PaidContent.org. “We’re excited about the number of publishers who are participating.”

Does this mean the big publishers might one day adjust their pricing? The recent Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading survey shows the most active ebook buyers are heavily influenced by free samples and low prices.

If Sunshine deals drive sales, it’s likely major publishers could soon be looking to offer more discounts on their ebooks…and that’s great news for readers!

Amazon says it is now selling more ebooks than paperbacks and hardbacks combined.

“Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books. We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly – we’ve been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years,” Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos says in a press release.
 
According to Amazon, they’ve sold 105 ebooks for every 100 print books. Free Kindle ebooks are not included in that calculation, which would make the number even higher. The online retailer has already sold three times as many ebooks in 2011 as it did during the same period in 2010.

Read the full press release here.

Self-published ebooks are continuing to shake up the publishing world.

I first ventured into the world of ebooks after getting a Kindle for my birthday last November.

Although I did buy some ebooks in the $6.99 to $8.99 range, I soon realized I could still purchase my favorite authors’ new paperback releases at Target or other discount stores for a 25 percent discount. I’m still buying from the big publishers, where I can be assured of a certain quality and high standard, but I go where I can find the best price – whether it’s digital or paper.

However, when it comes to my Kindle, I’ve quickly fallen into a pattern of giving less expensive ebooks a second (and third) look. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, I am not alone.

Reporter Jeffrey Trachtenberg reports that a recent Amazon top 50 ebook best-seller list featured 15 books priced at $5 or less. One part-time thriller writer who sells his titles for 99 cents had seven spots on the best-seller list. The self e-published author, John Locke, he says he made $126,000 from his Amazon sales in March alone.

The country’s six largest publishers set the retail prices of their ebooks. Amazon reports it sees a higher rate of growth on titles it can discount. I still look for ebook deals from the established authors and publishers. Honestly, I have never bought a 99-cent ebook but apparently there are plenty of readers out there who have.

It all goes to show it is still a crazy world of the unknown when it comes to ebooks and self-epublishing.

Or as literary agent Jane Dystel says in the article,  “This is a Wild West of a world.”