Amazon.com started out primarily as an online bookseller. But they're not just selling books anymore. Amazon now has its own ePublishing division, and they made headlines recently when CIA-operative turned thriller writer Barry Eisler turned down a half million advance from what he terms "Legacy" publishing house St. Martin's Press to ePublish with Amazon.

Originally planning to self-publish electronically, Amazon wooed Eisler with a "hybrid deal" that was too sweet for the author to pass up. He would get the control over the creative and business aspects of his books that self publishing would have given him, while benefitting from the Amazon ePublishing platform and their "marketing juggernaut" to boost sales.

The books are also cheaper for consumers, and Eisler reports he has sold more of this book than any of his previous titles. And that's saying a lot for a NYT best-selling author.

For its part, Amazon can use the exclusivity of big name authors to promote its e-reader and tablet, as well as for bringing even more eyeballs to the Amazon marketplace.

Read the whole story on NPR here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/07/141116856/barry-eislers-detachment-fr...