Kindle only - Page 6

OneandonlyDoc · 08-18-2011, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

If they don't do Kindle then they aren't customers.

All readers are potential consumers for written product...but by releasing something as Kindle-only, they cut themselves off from a broader revenue stream and audience that they could be reaching if they took the time to release in epub format as well.

All I'm saying is that they're shooting themselves in the foot.

ApK · 08-18-2011, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneandonlyDoc

All I'm saying is that they're shooting themselves in the foot.

Saying a billion dollar company with the most successful ereader, and most popular ebook store is "shooting themselves in the foot" for not taking another path might be slightly over-stating it.

I'd agree that they could reach even more people and and have even more happy customers by adopting ADE/epub.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 08-18-2011, 01:29 PM

Many companies/publishers/authors simply do not see the value in duplicating their effort and making multiple formats, each of which has to be maintained, edited and compared to each other with every small change. And as various sources publicly credit Amazon a healthy 70%, give or take, of the ebook market (whatever Amazon itself says), picking a Kindle-only product would seem to make sense for a lot of book producers.

It's the same attitude that kept publishers from releasing backlist books as ebooks (of any format), until they were convinced there was a reasonable market for them.

JSWolf · 08-18-2011, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

If they don't do Kindle then they aren't customers.

If they don't care about their customers, they can go out of business and good riddance to them.

JSWolf · 08-18-2011, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Many companies/publishers/authors simply do not see the value in duplicating their effort and making multiple formats, each of which has to be maintained, edited and compared to each other with every small change. And as various sources publicly credit Amazon a healthy 70%, give or take, of the ebook market (whatever Amazon itself says), picking a Kindle-only product would seem to make sense for a lot of book producers.

It's the same attitude that kept publishers from releasing backlist books as ebooks (of any format), until they were convinced there was a reasonable market for them.

But what a lot of people do not realize is that 70% is BS. There are also claims of B&N having 25%. That makes it 95%. So 5% split between Sony, Kobo, Jetbook, Pandigital, etc? Not possible. So the numbers for Amazon are seriously inflated and highly incorrect. This is US only of course.

Also, eBooks don't just stop at the US border. ePub is the #1 world wide format. so why is it that people cannot see past their own noses to see what's really going on in the world?

You go Amazon exclusive and you leave out more potential customers then you get.

ProfCrash · 08-18-2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Ever hear of multi-quote JSWolf? For someone who was carping about how bad it was for people to top post, you certainly don't seem to mind having several posts in a row.

Many folks have explained multi-quote to him but he never uses multi-quote. How do you think his post count got so high? He responds to every pro-Kindle post with an anti-Mobi and Amazon is closed rant. Then he responds to all the responses to his silly comment with an individual post.

I cannot use multi-quote at work but I do use it at home.

speakingtohe · 08-18-2011, 03:12 PM

Don't you feel the urge to pat his little head and say "There there now"?

JSWolf · 08-18-2011, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Many folks have explained multi-quote to him but he never uses multi-quote. How do you think his post count got so high? He responds to every pro-Kindle post with an anti-Mobi and Amazon is closed rant. Then he responds to all the responses to his silly comment with an individual post.

I cannot use multi-quote at work but I do use it at home.

Multi-quote is in most cases, is not appropriate.

ucfgrad93 · 08-18-2011, 03:31 PM

Why not?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Multi-quote is in most cases, is not appropriate.

JSWolf · 08-18-2011, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Why not?

Differing ideas that don't go together.

ApK · 08-18-2011, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Why not?

I don't know his reasons (and heaven knows JSWolf sees thing differently than I do) but I see no reason why, say, a response to one person about the comparison between MS and Amazon should be multiquoted responses about Kindle's marketshare and the awesomeness of the Amiga.

It's more appropriate to give each person/topic a separate reply, and it's not like it's that much more effort to read, unless you have a way too big signature block.

[EDIT: Wow. JSWolf and I agree on something. Kumbaya.]

ProfCrash · 08-18-2011, 03:46 PM

Multi Quote is nice because you don't scroll through 15 posts by the same person who is quoting other people. I fail to see why 5 -15 posts is somehow better then one post that includes the 5-15 quotes any way.

anamardoll · 08-18-2011, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Saying a billion dollar company with the most successful ereader, and most popular ebook store is "shooting themselves in the foot" for not taking another path might be slightly over-stating it.

I'd agree that they could reach even more people and and have even more happy customers by adopting ADE/epub.

I believe OneandOnlyDoc meant that authors are shooting themselves in the foot if they only release in mobi.

I agree with hir -- I didn't buy from Amazon until recently because I didn't know how to convert the files. Many non-Kindle owners don't know how to convert files and won't bother to learn. So, yes, if an author only releases on Amazon, they are missing out on potential sales.

ApK · 08-18-2011, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Multi Quote is nice because you don't scroll through 15 posts by the same person who is quoting other people. I fail to see why 5 -15 posts is somehow better then one post that includes the 5-15 quotes any way.

With multiquote, stuff can get lost and hard to find in a dense wall of text. I think, for example, that even this small two-quoter is a bad use of multiquote.
Anamardoll deserved her her own reply post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I believe OneandOnlyDoc meant that authors are shooting themselves in the foot if they only release in mobi.

Oh. True, no doubt, but despite protests of exaggeration, Amazon's customer base is so much larger than any other, I agree with the previous poster who said that some folks might be willing to give up a few extra sales for the convenience of only having to manage one format in one place.
On the other hand, someone who ONLY does, say, Smashwords, and NOT Amazon is shooting themselves much higher than the foot.
In my small, personal, anecdotal case, for example, I sell more in any one month at Amazon than I've sold through all of Smashword's outlets (B&N, Apple, Diesel, etc) in the several months I've been available there combined.

So, I'd say going only to Amazon might be shooting yourself in the pinky toe with an under-powered BB gun.

Quote:

I agree with hir

"Hir?" A gender-neutral neologism?

anamardoll · 08-18-2011, 04:12 PM

Apk,

(I agree with you on multi-quoting, incidentally.

)

It's true that Amazon has a very large customer base. However, I remain skeptical on whether user base interests are spread equally across, say, Amazon customers and B&N customers. My own anecdata indicates that Nook owners are more indie-author oriented and Kindle owners are less so. Note that this worthless anecdata is based on about 3 people I know in Real Life.

Hir is gender-neutral for his/her. Zie is gender-neutral for she/he. No idea where I picked it up -- Slacktivist, probably.

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08-18-2011, 01:29 PM	#78
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Many companies/publishers/authors simply do not see the value in duplicating their effort and making multiple formats, each of which has to be maintained, edited and compared to each other with every small change. And as various sources publicly credit Amazon a healthy 70%, give or take, of the ebook market (whatever Amazon itself says), picking a Kindle-only product would seem to make sense for a lot of book producers. It's the same attitude that kept publishers from releasing backlist books as ebooks (of any format), until they were convinced there was a reasonable market for them.

08-18-2011, 03:12 PM	#82
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	Don't you feel the urge to pat his little head and say "There there now"?

08-18-2011, 03:46 PM	#87
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Multi Quote is nice because you don't scroll through 15 posts by the same person who is quoting other people. I fail to see why 5 -15 posts is somehow better then one post that includes the 5-15 quotes any way.

08-18-2011, 04:12 PM	#90
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Apk, (I agree with you on multi-quoting, incidentally. ) It's true that Amazon has a very large customer base. However, I remain skeptical on whether user base interests are spread equally across, say, Amazon customers and B&N customers. My own anecdata indicates that Nook owners are more indie-author oriented and Kindle owners are less so. Note that this worthless anecdata is based on about 3 people I know in Real Life. Hir is gender-neutral for his/her. Zie is gender-neutral for she/he. No idea where I picked it up -- Slacktivist, probably.