Kindle only - Page 17

JSWolf · 08-25-2011, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

I feel the same way. I have quite a few .mobi books from Smashwords, and I find the quality too variable. Many of them are okay, but others have botched formatting, missing covers, wacky metadata, etc. That's why I was hoping to upload ePub to the stores directly rather than going through Smashwords. But, except for Barnes & Noble (and Amazon

), the major e-book stores don't make it easy for authors!

I prefer DRM free. But if it's ePub and it's not from Apple, I can strip the DRM.

I've had some eBooks from Smashwords where things were not all that neat. I like putting in my own embedded font if one is not already embedded. I like not having margins on my reader. It's not as easy as it should be to edit ePub from Smashwords as the code is a mess.

I've had an ePub from Smashwords come out with every line underlined. I've had an ePub come out with different fonts as Word sometimes puts in font family codes where they don't belong. Yes, if you follow the style guide, you get some generic eBook. But sometimes it's nice to get something that's not generic and has decent code under the hood.

DreamWriter · 08-25-2011, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I prefer DRM free. But if it's ePub and it's not from Apple, I can strip the DRM.

I prefer DRM-free too. The Kindle book at Amazon is DRM-free, and I would make the ePub at B&N DRM-free also. From what I've been told, though, the only way anyone would know that the ePub's DRM-free at B&N is if I specify that in the book description. At least at Amazon, if you see "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited" in the Product Details, you know it's a DRM-free ebook. I wish there was a way to find those books by using their search engines.

RockdaMan · 08-26-2011, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So why would people who don't deal with Amazon for eBooks even bother with any of his books?

Because they like the author more than they dislike Amazon.

ProfCrash · 08-26-2011, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murraypaul

But you are odd. You must realise this.
Not everyone has the obsessive hate of Amazon that you do.

It is because of people like Jon that I learned to let go of my irrational hatred of all things Apple (excluding my IPod because when I bought that I loved it and I am too damn lazy to change music devices).

pholy · 08-26-2011, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

...
...

Can anyone confirm that Barnes & Noble sells ePubs internationally?

...

B&N only sells to customers with US addresses and credit cards.

And I'm too lazy to try to get around that. "Plenty of fish in the sea."

DreamWriter · 08-26-2011, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

B&N only sells to customers with US addresses and credit cards.

Well, that certainly is a drawback! I wonder why B&N (PubIt) asks authors if they have worldwide rights during the publishing process then. Oh well.

Where do most buyers outside the U.S. purchase their ePubs?

starrigger · 08-26-2011, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem is though that you cannot do some things that were done in the hand crafted version via the meatgrinder. Can you have different fonts via the meatgrinder like say serif, sans-serif, & monosapce? I think Sunborn lends itself to font changes very nicely.

Craft brew versus Bud, that's what I'm saying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWhat was done int he hand crafted edition of [i

Sunborn[/i] can be fixed. If I recall correctly, I believe it was the use of the <pre> tag that was the issue.

I'm sure it could have been done from that version (I don't remember the issues), but the trail was cold, a bunch of finicky proofreading corrections had been made in the Tor edition, and since I had to leave the nice design elements behind anyway, it just seemed easier to start with Tor's edition. If I had known the difficulties I would encounter, I might have done it differently. But it's done now, and I've already spent way too much time on it.

And it sits in the Apple store, awaiting review.

starrigger · 08-26-2011, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murraypaul

You get 90% of your sales through Amazon. How much of your time and effort is it worth spending on the other 10% of the market?

Just because Konrath makes 90% at Amazon doesn't mean everyone does. I make more at B&N than at Amazon, usually, and I'm not alone.

Hellmark · 08-26-2011, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

Well, I did try that with the .mobi and eReader size-optimized .pdf versions (for seven months), with disappointing results.

I just published the Kindle version of my husband's book at Amazon last month. In that short period of time, there have been six times the number of sales at Amazon when compared to website sales over the entire seven-month period. Our website doesn't get a lot of traffic, I think there's a "trust factor" involved, and many people don't like PayPal. I don't think I want to go there again.

At this point, I'm leaning toward publishing directly at Barnes & Noble and then submitting to Smashwords for distribution to Apple, Sony, Kobo, etc. It's going to be a lot of work getting the files ready for submission, but I'll get to it one of these days, in between my other projects.

Thanks so much for your help, everyone!

For Kobo, I think they start the process via email to content@kobobooks.com. Ask to set up an account, and go from there.

According to their CEO, they're supposed to start making it easier

wannabee · 08-26-2011, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

B&N only sells to customers with US addresses and credit cards.

And I'm too lazy to try to get around that. "Plenty of fish in the sea."

I tried to buy one of diana gabaldon's books on B&N last night and they refuse me with this in their response.

If you received this email regarding your order for a Barnes & Noble NOOK Book or NOOK App, please be advised that these purchases are limited to those customers physically located in the United States and Canada.

It was based upon my ISP address because I used the USA address we have as our registered office when I uploaded all our company's books to make the account.,

ucfgrad93 · 08-26-2011, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starrigger

Just because Konrath makes 90% at Amazon doesn't mean everyone does. I make more at B&N than at Amazon, usually, and I'm not alone.

Of course, each author needs to do what is best for them. If Konrath makes 90% of his money from sales at Amazon, then it makes sense for him to focus on Amazon. If you make most of your money from B&N then it makes sense for you to focus on their store and not others.

JSWolf · 08-26-2011, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Of course, each author needs to do what is best for them. If Konrath makes 90% of his money from sales at Amazon, then it makes sense for him to focus on Amazon. If you make most of your money from B&N then it makes sense for you to focus on their store and not others.

But that is 10% of the customers he's screwing over. That's not fair to them. And it's not fair to people who do not buy from Amazon who do want to continue reading his Jack Daniels series. I don't see why he cannot be at Amazon and elsewhere at the same time. If Amazon paid Konrath to go exclusive, then Amazon is just as bad as Konrath is.

ucfgrad93 · 08-26-2011, 11:55 AM

Life is not always fair.

Geez, why is that so difficult to comprehend? Konrath is free to make his own decisions where he sells his books.

ProfCrash · 08-26-2011, 11:57 AM

And Jon is free to whine about said decision.

Many, many, many, many times.

DiapDealer · 08-26-2011, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Many, many, many, many times.

Ad infinitum

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08-26-2011, 11:55 AM	#253
ucfgrad93 Wizard Posts: 2,372 Karma: 9026681 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Colorado Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2nd Gen	Life is not always fair. Geez, why is that so difficult to comprehend? Konrath is free to make his own decisions where he sells his books.

08-26-2011, 11:57 AM	#254
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	And Jon is free to whine about said decision. Many, many, many, many times.