Formats at Fictionwise

[Mitchll]

Why is it that a book, e.g. Galactic Corps by Ian Douglas, is only available in mobi format at fictionwise, yet at the publisher's site, is available in Lrf, lit, mobi, adobe, and at Books on Board in Lit, adobe and mobi?

At first I thought mobi had an exclusive for a time period, but obviously that is not so. Is Fictionwise pushing mobi? Does this mean that we have to search to avoid waiting for a release of a format?

[zelda_pinwheel]

i had a similar experience and wrote to ask why the book was not available in LIT ; the reply i got was that their distributor did not offer any other formats. i'm not sure exactly what the role of the distributor is but apparently they act as middleman between the publisher and the booksellers.

i also hope that there is not some hidden agenda to push mobipocket to the detriment of other formats...

[wallcraft]

HarperCollins ebook store is powered by OverDrive. They do list LIT as one of the formats offered by FictionWise for their ebooks (Links -> Other HarperCollins Retailers), but Books on Board (which uses OverDrive Servers) actually has Galactic Corps in LIT.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i had a similar experience and wrote to ask why the book was not available in LIT ; the reply i got was that there distributor did not offer any other formats. i'm not sure exactly what the role of the distributor is but apparently they act as middleman between the publisher and the booksellers.

Correct. Publishers generally do not sell direct to consumers. They aren't really set up to do so. They sell to wholesalers (distributors) who in turn sell to retailers. Really big retailers, like Amazon or perhaps Barnes and Noble or CostCo may deal directly with publishers, but most retailers get stock from someone like Ingram or Baker and Taylor. (In the US, at least. Things will differ elsewhere.)

The question here is who Fictionwise's distributor is, and why they can't get the other formats.

i also hope that there is not some hidden agenda to push mobipocket to the detriment of other formats...

Since Fictionwise now owns eReader and therefore the PML format it uses, I doubt that.
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Dennis

[Lemurion]

Fictionwise does have a format agenda - and it's not Mobi. They have a very clear agenda of pushing eReader, which as Dennis said they own. They not only recommend the format, but they provide an extra 5% micropay rebate that stacks with any rebate below 100% (in my experience) if you buy a secure ebook in that format.

It's the distributors.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Fictionwise does have a format agenda - and it's not Mobi. They have a very clear agenda of pushing eReader, which as Dennis said they own. They not only recommend the format, but they provide an extra 5% micropay rebate that stacks with any rebate below 100% (in my experience) if you buy a secure ebook in that format.

It's the distributors.

sorry, perhaps i was unclear : i didn't mean that Fictionwise might have this agenda (particularly given their eReader agenda, as Lemurion points out), but rather that Amazon might be putting pressure on distributors or otherwise negotiating exclusivity for Mobipocket format.

[DixieGal]

Zee, I have run into "secure mobi" at Fictionwise also. I'm confused, because they are the parent company of eBookwise, which sells EB-1150, which does not read "secure mobi."

It seems like they are trying to discourage their most loyal customers.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Zee, I have run into "secure mobi" at Fictionwise also. I'm confused, because they are the parent company of eBookwise, which sells EB-1150, which does not read "secure mobi."

It seems like they are trying to discourage their most loyal customers.

Fictionwise have no control over what DRM formats their eBook suppliers are able to supply them. I'm sure they'd love to be able to supply everything in eReader format, but if the publisher doesn't wish to, there's nothing that FictionWise can do about it.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Zee, I have run into "secure mobi" at Fictionwise also. I'm confused, because they are the parent company of eBookwise, which sells EB-1150, which does not read "secure mobi."

It seems like they are trying to discourage their most loyal customers.

No, they're offering the titles in the formats they can get. They aren't the publisher - they're the retailer. They are at the mercy of their suppliers.

Part of the problem eReader had was the the previous owners had lagged on new content acquisition, so there is a lot less available in eReader format than in Adobe PDF, Mobi, or other format. I'm sure Fictionwise is trying to address this, but first, the publisher has to agree to let them offer an eReader version, and then, someone has to create it. Amazon Kindle editions are made by a division of Amazon. Fictionwise would have to do their own conversions, and they're a much smaller outfit.
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Dennis

[DixieGal]

Harry and Dennis, you guys are right. I was just voicing my frustration at not being able to buy anything I want from them anymore, with the confidence that it would work without fail on my device. Sigh.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Harry and Dennis, you guys are right. I was just voicing my frustration at not being able to buy anything I want from them anymore, with the confidence that it would work without fail on my device. Sigh.

So are the ebooks not available at the eBookwise store? Can you not just get the secure mobi, "liberate" it and convert it to IMP?

BOb

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Harry and Dennis, you guys are right. I was just voicing my frustration at not being able to buy anything I want from them anymore, with the confidence that it would work without fail on my device. Sigh.

When could you buy anything you wanted from them with confidence it would work on your device?

The first question anyone purchasing a dedicated reader needs to ask is "What content do I want to read, and is it available for my device?" It would be nice if there were a standard format everyone supported so you didn't have to ask that question, but there isn't. (ePub wants to be the standard, but won't be till everyone supports it.)

Because there isn't a standard format supported by everyone, you are likely to run into a "not available for my device" problem, no matter which device you have. If it's just now a problem for you, you've been lucky.
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Dennis

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

The first question anyone purchasing a dedicated reader needs to ask is "What content do I want to read, and it it available for my device?"

I ask a slightly different question: "Is there sufficient content available for my device to make it worth my while to buy it?".

The answer, for me personally, is that I have several "lifetimes' worth" of eBooks that I'd like to read, but I still buy paper books for the things which aren't available (generally non-fiction relating to my "love" - the Latin and Greek classics).

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I ask a slightly different question: "Is there sufficient content available for my device to make it worth my while to buy it?".

The answer, for me personally, is that I have several "lifetimes' worth" of eBooks that I'd like to read, but I still buy paper books for the things which aren't available (generally non-fiction relating to my "love" - the Latin and Greek classics).

That's largely my case as well. I have more ebooks in various formats (about 3,500) that I want to read than I have time for, and those are all from public domain and other freely distributable sources.

I'm perfectly happy to buy paper volumes. For me, eBooks are an additional format, not a replacement for paper.

For folks whose interest is current commercial titles, the equation changes.
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Dennis

[RWJ]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

For folks whose interest is current commercial titles, the equation changes.
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Dennis

Indeed. I really want the new Jonathan Kellerman mystery, for instance, which Fictionwise carries only in Mobi form, and the publisher sells in Mobi and secure Adobe. I've never figured out the mobidedrm (in spite of suggestions from many kind people here) so simply can't get it. I'm hoping that, since previous releases from this author are in Lit, that this eventually will be too, although I don't want to have to wait for the paperback release.

Does anybody know if more formats tend to be added to FW titles as they age, or is what you see, what you get?