Quote:
Originally Posted by FrustratedReader
Fortunately I'm not in charge of any major publisher, nor any bookshop.
I was hoping someone would have good ideas as to how physical bookshops, even single ones could sell books better and also sell ebooks instore. Selling ebooks online is simple. Also some ideas for the big 5 publishers. Otherwise Amazon will completely own the market from Content to Sales cutting out the big publishers and local retail. They completely dominate Online paper already and even more so ereaders and most of all the ebooks.
Some small Indy publishers are doing good things with POD, direct distribution of paper versions, free ebook with paper purchase, no DRM, distribution to ALL ebook sellers, no exclusive deals with Amazon.
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Over on his website Dean Wesley Smith has documented how his bookstore runs. Worth a look. It's not stuck in the dated "stock it and they will come" mode. He sells online (via Amazon) and on-site, for example. Lots of other moves. Most especially, he sells what his customers buy, not what publishers pay him to promote.
As for Indie publishers, there is no single model that works for everybody, or many, or even more than one. Some make more money off KU than they used to make going wide, some make more at Nook than at Kindle (seriously. Apparently, less competition works better for them.), some rave about D2D or Xinxii for going wide, some prefer Smashwords. And some get good results off POD while others don't. Some are new to publishing, some are tradpub refugees with dozens of reverted titles, and some are hybrids doing both tradpub and indie. Some do everything themselves (especially if they're good artists) while some just contract a bunch of professionals, freelancers.
The results can be good, bad, or indiferent, just as for tradpub.
Because in the end it is the readers who make the final decision.
No magic bullets for authors, publishers, or booksellers.