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Old 05-27-2012, 12:33 PM   #37
J. Strnad
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Posts: 915
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite
Quote:
As a customer, what I see is that the author obviously don't want me to read his books. I shouldn't have to "cross the street".
Would you expect him to leave a street corner where he's selling steadily to cross the street and personally hand you a copy, losing five or ten other sales in the process?

It isn't about you. It isn't that any author says, "I don't want So-and-So to read my book." Of course he'd love it if you read his book (or bought it, anyway). It's just that you are not valued 10, 20, or 50 times more than the readers he'd lose by selling to you.

You might better say, "Hey, B&N and Kobo, etc.--compete for chris'sakes! What do you offer indies like Hugh Howey? How do you promote them and help people find their books? How is that people can sell more books by not distributing through you than they can by being on your shelves? What's that about?"


Quote:
It's also a question of principle, exclusivity sucks, period.
I agree. I've wanted the ideal of "any ebook on any ereader" for a long time. I'd get rid of DRM and have a single standard and let readers decide for themselves where they want to buy their ebooks.

Publishers and booksellers have chosen not to play it that way. I think that's a mistake, but what do I know? They make the rules and authors play the game.

Anyway, Howey has gotten popular enough through the Amazon Select program that he can now branch out and distribute elsewhere. But there will be more Howeys.
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