In his new role, Gomez — who was the director of internet marketing at Holtzbrinck before he went to Penguin — will “work with the company’s team of accomplished editors to continue to grow the Byliner Writers Network,” according to the announcement. “He will be responsible for helping Byliner authors communicate more effectively with their readers and fans, and ensure that Byliner remains the premier source for the best stories by the best writers.”

Byliner, which was founded in 2011 by former Outside magazine editor John Tayman, publishes e-singles — works of fiction and nonfiction that are shorter than a full-length book but longer than a magazine article. (To see why I like this format, click here.) The site also hosts a large library of content published elsewhere and lets users follow their favorite writers. Byliner recently launched a subscription service for its e-singles, and it is publishing the New York Times’ ebooks.

“Our goal is to give readers the most satisfying, seamless way to discover and enjoy stories by the writers they love, and to provide Byliner writers with exceptional support and a platform that lets them grow and directly engage their fan bases,” Tayman said in a statement. “Jeff’s unique combination of publishing savvy, leadership ability, and writing background makes him a great fit for us.”

First, Simon & Schuster has bought the U.S. print rights to Wool, the bestselling self-published science fiction title by Hugh Howey. Howey retains the digital rights, but Simon & Schuster will release hardcover and print editions. “This is a modern twist on the old paperback license, but in this case Simon & Schuster will be publishing the hardcover and paperback editions simultaneously,” Julia Prosser, assistant director of publicity at S&S, told Digital Book World. “We’re thrilled to be able to help Wool achieve greater distribution at retail and bring this talented writer to a larger audience.”

Publishers Lunch notes that Howey “had already made a traditional publishing deal in the U.K. (with Century) and agent Kristin Nelson and her sub-agents have already licensed the book in over 18 territories” and also lists some other print-only deals publishers have made in recent months — including Simon & Schuster’s print-only deal last year with bestselling self-published author John Locke. And Fox and Ridley Scott bought the Wool film rights in May.

Separately, the San Francisco e-singles publisher Byliner signed a deal with distributor Ingram to distribute its titles in print. In the statement, Byliner publisher John Tayman said “we increasingly hear from our readers and writers that they would like our stories available in print as well as digital form,” and he believes the partnership with Ingram will provide “the expertise and unmatched distribution channel to deliver our writers’ stories to all of the great neighborhood brick-and-mortar bookstores.”

Byliner Plus

The San Francisco-based Byliner publishes fiction and nonfiction e-singles it calls “Byliner Originals,” from authors like Margaret Atwood, Amy Tan and Jon Krakauer. It sells them through ebook retailers like Kindle, Nook and Apple, usually for $1.99 or $2.99. Now Byliner is testing a program called Byliner Plus, which offers unlimited access to Byliner Originals (39 of them and growing) as well as exclusive stories from authors like Susan Orlean and Sebastian Junger (often those that were previously published but have not been available online) for a monthly fee. Right now, an introductory offer allows a generous 60-day free trial, after which the subscription is $7.99 a month.

Byliner CEO John Tayman stressed to me that the program is experimental. “For some time now readers have been asking if they can just subscribe and receive each new Original automatically, and we wanted to accommodate that request,” he said. But the final price of a monthly subscription hasn’t been settled yet: While I received the $7.99 offer in an email and it is apparently available through December 3, another page on Byliner’s site says a subscription is $12.99 a month. “Nothing has been settled as of yet,” Tayman said. “We’re testing a variety of things during this period, including feature sets and price points, to see what resonates best with readers and provides them with the best value and experience.”

If you sign up for Byliner Plus, the stories can’t be downloaded to an e-reader. Rather, they’re available through a responsive-design HTML5 site and can be read on computers, tablets and smartphones. Users can also save the stories for offline reading.

Tayman explained how authors are paid: “We’re sharing subscription revenue with authors based on the amount of their work read within the subscription service, on a pro-rata basis. We’ll also be paying authors (and distribution partners) affiliate fees for new subscribers they direct to Byliner.”

Atavist

The Brooklyn-based Atavist publishes original e-singles and also sells a digital reading software platform. (In addition, the company is working with Barry Diller and Scott Rudin to launch a digital publisher called Brightline.) Atavist has published 18 e-singles so far, most for $2.99, and already sells them through its iOS app (as well as through various digital bookstores). Now readers can also sign up for in-app subscriptions: to start, three months for $6.99. Nieman Journalism Lab reports, “Authors will still get a cut, even if subscribers aren’t paying for a specific story; at the end of each month, subscription money will be divvied up based on the number of downloads for each individual author.”