If you’re not so keen on the Kindle, Simon & Schuster will soon have 5,000 digital books for sale on Scribd.com, including selections from Stephen King, Dan Brown and Mary Higgins Clark. Readers will also be able to peak at the pages of thousands of books before they buy the print versions.

The books will be sold for 20% off the list price, and you’ll be able to transfer them to devices like the Sony Reader and some mobile phones, but not to Amazon’s Kindle.

While Amazon sets the price for its e-books and only gives publishers up to 50% of revenue, Scribd gives publishers much more control over the sale of their books. Publishers will be able to see what’s selling and change prices accordingly. And Scribd gives publishers 80% of revenue.

The site is working on building its library, according to Trip Adler, Scribd’s chief executive. “This is the first public endorsement by a major force in publishing that the social web will play a major role in the future of book sales,” Adler said.

And for all you iPhone fanatics out there, Scribd’s working on a reading application for the iPhone, which should be done in a few weeks.

Side note: Scribd isn’t just for leisure reading, it’s also a great site for nosey Nancies! I just found a copy of the State Department’s espionage case against former State Department official Walter Kendall Myers and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber. Take a peak!

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