MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Smashwords to B&N: Should there be an "Opt-in"?

Steven Lyle Jordan · 11-02-2009, 02:24 PM

As I’ve watched Barnes & Noble’s troubles in getting their Smashwords content to properly display on the B&N store (what can I say? They obviously missed some bugs before their big rollout, but these things do happen), it occurred to me: Suppose I liked my content on Smashwords, but for some reason didn’t want it to be available on Barnes & Noble’s site? Should it be easy for me to do one without the other?

I realize not that many authors would necessarily want to exclude their content from the B&N site. But I can think of a few reasons to do so: Concern about security, for one; or a displeasure with the B&N eReader’s display of my books, for another. For people like that, there should be a way to keep your material out of B&N’s site if they wish. But does Smashwords make that easy to do? Can you do it at all? Should it be considered okay for them to do it without my express permission? Or should they have to formally ask?

I think Smashwords should have an “opt-in” (or “opt-out”) button prominently displayed on its publishing or dashboard pages, giving authors the clear choice of having their material forwarded to Barnes & Noble.

According to Smashwords’ legalese, you can do a few things to keep your e-book out of B&N’s catalog. Some of those things are the exclusion of certain material they are looking for (like copyright info). Another thing you can do is to not select the ePub format to convert your e-book (apparently B&N will use the ePub file to do their own conversion, as opposed to using the eReader format you may have already converted your e-book into… interesting). But I had to dig down into the Premium Content pages to find these tips. And for those of us who happen to like the idea of our books being available in ePub, having to de-select one of the fastest-growing formats to keep it out of the B&N store doesn’t seem very right.

There could be a clear “opt-in” on the publishing page the Smashwords member uses to build their e-book offering, or possibly on the member dashboard. Right there, along with pricing and selecting of formats, tag-words, etc, should be a button to check that gives permission to have your material forwarded to B&N (assuming it passes muster otherwise). That would allow users to prepare their Smashwords e-books as they desired, and not worry about how they will appear in the B&N site.

I realize that my very use of Smashwords could be considered a de-facto agreement to allow my material to be uploaded to B&N (though that obviously wasn’t an option when I put them in, but applied after the fact). But I wonder if that’s good enough, legally. I wonder if there shouldn’t be a more obvious “opt-in” choice for Smashwords users. My feeling is yes. What do you think?

11-02-2009, 02:24 PM	#1
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Smashwords to B&N: Should there be an "Opt-in"? As I’ve watched Barnes & Noble’s troubles in getting their Smashwords content to properly display on the B&N store (what can I say? They obviously missed some bugs before their big rollout, but these things do happen), it occurred to me: Suppose I liked my content on Smashwords, but for some reason didn’t want it to be available on Barnes & Noble’s site? Should it be easy for me to do one without the other? I realize not that many authors would necessarily want to exclude their content from the B&N site. But I can think of a few reasons to do so: Concern about security, for one; or a displeasure with the B&N eReader’s display of my books, for another. For people like that, there should be a way to keep your material out of B&N’s site if they wish. But does Smashwords make that easy to do? Can you do it at all? Should it be considered okay for them to do it without my express permission? Or should they have to formally ask? I think Smashwords should have an “opt-in” (or “opt-out”) button prominently displayed on its publishing or dashboard pages, giving authors the clear choice of having their material forwarded to Barnes & Noble. According to Smashwords’ legalese, you can do a few things to keep your e-book out of B&N’s catalog. Some of those things are the exclusion of certain material they are looking for (like copyright info). Another thing you can do is to not select the ePub format to convert your e-book (apparently B&N will use the ePub file to do their own conversion, as opposed to using the eReader format you may have already converted your e-book into… interesting). But I had to dig down into the Premium Content pages to find these tips. And for those of us who happen to like the idea of our books being available in ePub, having to de-select one of the fastest-growing formats to keep it out of the B&N store doesn’t seem very right. There could be a clear “opt-in” on the publishing page the Smashwords member uses to build their e-book offering, or possibly on the member dashboard. Right there, along with pricing and selecting of formats, tag-words, etc, should be a button to check that gives permission to have your material forwarded to B&N (assuming it passes muster otherwise). That would allow users to prepare their Smashwords e-books as they desired, and not worry about how they will appear in the B&N site. I realize that my very use of Smashwords could be considered a de-facto agreement to allow my material to be uploaded to B&N (though that obviously wasn’t an option when I put them in, but applied after the fact). But I wonder if that’s good enough, legally. I wonder if there shouldn’t be a more obvious “opt-in” choice for Smashwords users. My feeling is yes. What do you think?