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Old 01-11-2012, 01:42 PM   #118
BearMountainBooks
Maria Schneider
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fbone View Post
Library usage- Customers love it and use it extensively. B&N and Amazon are noticing it. We can assume the publishers are too and this is why they are placing restrictions on it. Or trying to. Library access was more popular than expected.
Agreed. The publishers will have to have some sort of recurring revenue from it or they won't do it anymore. Private companies (like amazon is trying to do) will continue to try and work that recurring revenue deal to be able to lend, but it remains to be seen how and if it will work.

The whole idea behind freebies (For not just the retailer, but the author) is to get people to buy the next book or other books. I'm following a few threads now on that subject as authors try the freebie thing with Amazon's select program (the exclusive to Amazon). Most of the results indicate that if a book was selling fairly well anyway, it gets a nice bump and then continues to sell well anyway. The ones that weren't selling well get downloads and a smaller bump that still doesn't shoot the book into the lists that keep the book selling (movers and shakers, top fantasy, etc.)

Some authors miss this point; they have one book and they put it in the freebie bin hoping that sales just continue after it is no longer free. But they have nothing else on offer or only short stories and...let's face it. Even if 5k download your freebie, only a small percentage will read it--and not necessarily soon. Of those that read it only a smaller percentage might be moved to see what else that author wrote. So it's a fairly risky and hopeful and long-term strategy for the author.

Now those who were already selling well, when they entered the program, Amazon picked up some of these nicely selling books and gave them some additional promo (or others in the series.) Deborah Greary (I may be spelling her first name wrong, but I think I got last name right.) is one such example. She went exclusive and then suddenly popped into the "Books of the month for under $3.99.) But I haven't seen a book that 1. wasn't exclusive and 2. wasn't already a decent seller make that list (doesn't mean it hasn't happened, but I haven't heard about it.)

FWIW. I'm not even sure it means anything. But free books do not a career or living make--not for Amazon or the author. So at some point the model will have to shift. Same for B&N. If they are selling the Nook at cost, they MUST find a way to get people to the store to buy content--or it will fail.
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