Really Peeved with Barnes & Noble

[JanG]

My novella was forward by Smashwords to Barnes & Noble. Fantastic I thought, and I have absolutely no quarrel with Smashwords. They're doing a marvellous job.

So I went looking for my book, and there it was, looking beautiful on its page. But can I download my own work? Nope. I don't live in the U.S. so I am not allowed to download a book that I wrote.

How ironic can life get?

I only wanted to see what it looked like after downloading it.

What I don't understand is why anyone in the world can download my book from Feedbooks or Smashwords, but only those that live in the U.S. can get it from B&N.

--JanG.

[neilmarr]

My own wee publishing house has the same problem with Kindle, Jan. About half our authors are US, but we're registered in the UK, so -- like all houses without an official US presence (tax and SS numbers, US bank accounts) -- the ebook versions of our books are unavailable even to those who wrote them. I guess we'll hit a similar snag now with B&N. The giant companies are destroying the very idea of books from anywhere just when you want them. They are to literature what padlocks are to public parks. Neil

[JanG]

What makes it even worse, is that my book is a free download, even at B&N. FREE! Why should it be only for US download? I guess it's because it's on B&N via Smashwords which is an American publisher. Sigh! I guess I'll just have to live with it. Don't like it, but I'll live with it.

I've bought books from Books on Board and from Fictionwise and they don't mind that I live outside of the US. Or is it that I've just been lucky with my book choices?

--JanG.

[The-eBook-Reader]

You are right, JanG. I shouldn't have posted my peeves with B&N in your thread. It has been moved.

[khalleron]

Jan - Send me a message, and we'll try to work out something. I would be only too happy to email you your own book.

Mods, I don't see how in any way this could be considered illegal, as the restrictions are imposed by the distributor, not by the publisher or the author.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by The-eBook-Reader

Don't worry. B&N are going to get their comeuppance when everyone gets the nook and finds out it's way overrated.

1. Their book prices are considerably higher than Amazon's.
2. The Lending feature is seriously flawed; they will have to impose a 1 or 2 lending limit or people will just lend the book over and over again.
3. Free Wi-Fi without a browser is about as useful as free internet on a clock. And you can only access B&N's overpriced store with it.
4. Very limited format support, just 3.
5. The supposedly open ePub isn't really open; it's just another new DRM that won't work with other ePub supporting devices.
6. From the videos the menu system looks pretty basic, and there's no mention of folders anywhere.
7. The LCD screen will no doubt affect battery life greatly.
8. Users will likely be locked-in to B&N's store for ebooks.
9. From the videos, book formatting doesn't look promising.
10. This is the first generation ebook from a company that has zero experience with ebook readers and there are likely to be many problems and faults.

1. For now, in some instances. I know I've bought ebooks from B&N recently because they had the best price on what I wanted (I have a Sony), even though I had to reformat them. We don't know what the result of the price wars will be yet.

2. Already limited to one per book.

3. Again for now - They're already talking about adding a browser and even an SDK for Android.

4. But it's epub and pdf - the most popular formats. The DRM scheme is bothersome, but since most formats can be converted to epub, I see this as a plus over the Kindle, not a minus.

5. Probably true.

6. Does the Kindle support folders?

7. 10 days between charges vs. 14 days for the Kindle according to the B&N website. It's up to you whether that's a big enough difference to warrant your ire.

8. Not according to everything B&N has said. Don't know where you get that idea from.

9. Not sure what you mean by this.

10. Pure speculation on your part. Since the Nook hasn't been released yet, there is no factual basis for this assertion.

You know, nothing is 'perfect', whatever 'perfect' means, but the Nook does promise some interesting features and nice customization options and accessories. It's the first thing that's come out that makes me consider giving up my 505. I'll wait, of course, for it to come out and the reviews to come in, but it looks interesting from where I sit.

[NormHart]

Originally Posted by The-eBook-Reader

Don't worry. B&N are going to get their comeuppance when everyone gets the nook and finds out it's way overrated.

1. Their book prices are considerably higher than Amazon's.
2. The Lending feature is seriously flawed; they will have to impose a 1 or 2 lending limit or people will just lend the book over and over again.
3. Free Wi-Fi without a browser is about as useful as free internet on a clock. And you can only access B&N's overpriced store with it.
4. Very limited format support, just 3.
5. The supposedly open ePub isn't really open; it's just another new DRM that won't work with other ePub supporting devices.
6. From the videos the menu system looks pretty basic, and there's no mention of folders anywhere.
7. The LCD screen will no doubt affect battery life greatly.
8. Users will likely be locked-in to B&N's store for ebooks.
9. From the videos, book formatting doesn't look promising.
10. This is the first generation ebook from a company that has zero experience with ebook readers and there are likely to be many problems and faults.

Wow, not overly judgmental without much data are we?

This leads me to wonder about the quality of the content on your website.

[Maike13]

Originally Posted by JanG

My novella was forward by Smashwords to Barnes & Noble. Fantastic I thought, and I have absolutely no quarrel with Smashwords. They're doing a marvellous job.

So I went looking for my book, and there it was, looking beautiful on its page. But can I download my own work? Nope. I don't live in the U.S. so I am not allowed to download a book that I wrote.

How ironic can life get?

I only wanted to see what it looked like after downloading it.

What I don't understand is why anyone in the world can download my book from Feedbooks or Smashwords, but only those that live in the U.S. can get it from B&N.

--JanG.

Are you sure Barnes and Nobles is the "villain" here? They may simply be following a restriction placed on them by Smashwords. Perhaps Smashwords reserved the rights to other markets if they feel your work would do better through different outlets in those markets.

[JanG]

Originally Posted by The-eBook-Reader

Don't worry. B&N are going to get their comeuppance when everyone gets the nook and finds out it's way overrated.

1. Their book prices are considerably higher than Amazon's.
2. The Lending feature is seriously flawed; they will have to impose a 1 or 2 lending limit or people will just lend the book over and over again.
3. Free Wi-Fi without a browser is about as useful as free internet on a clock. And you can only access B&N's overpriced store with it.
4. Very limited format support, just 3.
5. The supposedly open ePub isn't really open; it's just another new DRM that won't work with other ePub supporting devices.
6. From the videos the menu system looks pretty basic, and there's no mention of folders anywhere.
7. The LCD screen will no doubt affect battery life greatly.
8. Users will likely be locked-in to B&N's store for ebooks.
9. From the videos, book formatting doesn't look promising.
10. This is the first generation ebook from a company that has zero experience with ebook readers and there are likely to be many problems and faults.

Please don't hijack somebody else's thread for your own pet peeve.

--JanG.

[JanG]

Originally Posted by Maike13

Are you sure Barnes and Nobles is the "villain" here? They may simply be following a restriction placed on them by Smashwords. Perhaps Smashwords reserved the rights to other markets if they feel your work would do better through different outlets in those markets.

My book is freely available through Smashwords' own site regardless of where the downloader resides, and it's a free download.

--JanG.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Jan, I hadn't heard B&N was going to reformat Smashwords e-books... have you? Not sure why they'd need to, other than to add DRM to the file. If they are only moving the books to their store, there should be no difference from the Smashwords version.

[JanG]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Jan, I hadn't heard B&N was going to reformat Smashwords e-books... have you? Not sure why they'd need to, other than to add DRM to the file. If they are only moving the books to their store, there should be no difference from the Smashwords version.

I was naturally assuming the books would be in their eReader format, I thought all their books were only sold in that format. As I can't buy books from them, I couldn't check. God I hope they haven't added DRM to it, that would make me really angry!

--JanG.

[AnemicOak]

I just tried to download your book, but it's saying "Not Available. We Are Working To Resolve The Problem."

I noticed on the ebooks page is says "Special Order: Ships 3-5 weeks". I wonder if that's why I can't download or something. Anyway once I am able to download I'll see if it's DRM'd.



I have a feeling the whole "These items ship to U.S. addresses only." is a default thing for their ebook store.

[Maike13]

Originally Posted by JanG

My book is freely available through Smashwords' own site regardless of where the downloader resides, and it's a free download.

--JanG.

Very frustrating and it doesn't seem to make any sense, I agree. However I still don't think you can just assume that this is a B&N policy (although it could easily be). Have you checked with either/both Smashwords/B&N? Perhaps you (as the author) could get this restriction lifted.

PS: I know this wasn't your intent, but now you have me curious to check out your book. Would you mind sending me a PM with a link?

[Maike13]

Originally Posted by Maike13

Very frustrating and it doesn't seem to make any sense, I agree. However I still don't think you can just assume that this is a B&N policy (although it could easily be). Have you checked with either/both Smashwords/B&N? Perhaps you (as the author) could get this restriction lifted.

PS: I know this wasn't your intent, but now you have me curious to check out your book. Would you mind sending me a PM with a link?

Never mind. I found it.