Fictionwise write up from Publisher's Weekly

AnemicOak · 03-24-2009, 09:44 AM

Publisher's Weekly posted a write up on Fictionwise yesterday. Thought some of you might find it of interest.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/arti....html?nid=3329

Nate the great · 03-24-2009, 09:45 AM

Are you sure they didn't post a left up?

I fixed the thread title for you.

AnemicOak · 03-24-2009, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Are you sure they didn't post a left up?

I fixed the thread title for you.

Ooops.

Sweetpea · 03-24-2009, 11:03 AM

And now I'm curious what that that title was!

-------------

Those two sound like really smart brothers, never overdoing it, growing slowly. Sometimes having a long breath gets rewarded!

Nate the great · 03-24-2009, 11:07 AM

right up

pking36330 · 03-24-2009, 02:49 PM

First, let me say I'm only five hours into trying to unlock the first (and probably only) ebook I bought on Fictionwise. Maybe things will improve when (if?) tech support every responds to either of the emails I sent.

Their system is very cumbersome and really makes the case for me to abandon the idea of trying to buy and read books on my Blackberry, I just need to spring a Kindle where the purchase-through-reading experience is really well laid out and intuitive. This purchase today from Fictionwise is VERY un-intuitive and I'm no net-neophyte.

I selected a book I've been wanting to read, The Dante Club, uploaded enough money into their MicroPay system to cover the cost of a couple books, and selected The Dante Club for purchase. I had Mobipocket Reader on my Blackberry already, but their website was touting a 'new' eReader download for the Blackberry so I installed it and purchased the book in the 'recommended' format: eReader.

I downloaded to my Blackberry and it asked for an Unlock code, which I didn't have. So I go back online to the website and find that you have to enter a credit card number and other data to get the unlock code and that you should use a 'permanent credit card number' because that number will forever be tied to your ability to unlock this book. Evidently the credit card number I entered to make the purchase wasn't good enough, so I entered another credit card number (and now I'm pretty nervous about the amount of my data Fictionwise has).

I followed ALL of their procedures, read and re-read their FAQ and Help summaries and after many unsuccessful tries, finally resorted to sending a email from their support page. I wasn't expecting immediate resolution (even though I wanted immediate resolution, I bought the book to read today during travel). After a couple hours and MANY more tries and re-reads of the FAQ and Help information, I still can't unlock the book I purchased and I sent another email request. Still no response five hours later and if I don't hear from them soon I guess I'll have to call the credit card company and dispute the charges (I thought I purchased a ebook, but so far I've only purchased the appearance that I've bought an ebook).

Does anyone here know if Fictionwise is actually a reputable company? Has anyone else solved the riddle of unlocking your purchases on this site? I've taken their advice and put in EXACTLY how my name is spelled on their purchase site and tried unlocking with both of the supplied credit card numbers (last 4), and following ALL their guidance can't make this work. VERY frustrating.

slayda · 03-24-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pking36330

First, let me say I'm only five hours into trying to unlock the first (and probably only) ebook I bought on Fictionwise. Maybe things will improve when (if?) tech support every responds to either of the emails I sent.

...

Does anyone here know if Fictionwise is actually a reputable company? Has anyone else solved the riddle of unlocking your purchases on this site? I've taken their advice and put in EXACTLY how my name is spelled on their purchase site and tried unlocking with both of the supplied credit card numbers (last 4), and following ALL their guidance can't make this work. VERY frustrating.

Yes they are a reputable company. I have purchased many books from them. I prefer Mobipocket since it uses a Personal ID (PID) for each HW reader but have also purchased ereader when that was all I could get. I've never had a problem with either format.

You might try to read it on your computer (Windows OS, not sure if they have a Mac version) and I know nothing about the Blackberry.

daffy4u · 03-24-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pking36330

First, let me say I'm only five hours into trying to unlock the first (and probably only) ebook I bought on Fictionwise. Maybe things will improve when (if?) tech support every responds to either of the emails I sent.

Since you have a Kindle maybe you want to purchase your book from Amazon.

Stringer · 03-24-2009, 03:16 PM

Well, MobiPocket format has been working just nice. It took little bit time to find the place to put new codes after the initial one when I bought a new device, but now that I know it is at the update profile.. After the new codes, just download the book again.

eReader format sounds something to avoid like a plague.

bwaldron · 03-24-2009, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stringer

eReader format sounds something to avoid like a plague.

eReader is fine, and arguably uses a better -- i.e., not locked to specific device(s) -- DRM scheme than Mobi. Of course, you need a device/application that supports the format.

Fictionwise is fine, as well.

JSWolf · 03-24-2009, 03:28 PM

bwaldron, I can just picture your avatar telling Cliff how much his drill means to him.

pking36330 · 03-24-2009, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Since you have a Kindle maybe you want to purchase your book from Amazon.

But I don't have a Kindle. I was stating that this frustration is making me think I need to spring for a Kindle because I've read over and over how well done the customer interface is for purchasing books from Amazon on the Kindle. But $8 bucks of my Kindle fund went up in the ehternet today trying to buy from Fictionwise. Still no response 6 hours after purchase.

daffy4u · 03-24-2009, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pking36330

But I don't have a Kindle. I was stating that this frustration is making me think I need to spring for a Kindle because I've read over and over how well done the customer interface is for purchasing books from Amazon on the Kindle. But $8 bucks of my Kindle fund went up in the ehternet today trying to buy from Fictionwise. Still no response 6 hours after purchase.

Under your name, your device is listed as a Kindle 2. That's why I made my suggestion.

wallcraft · 03-24-2009, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pking36330

I followed ALL of their procedures, read and re-read their FAQ and Help summaries and after many unsuccessful tries, finally resorted to sending a email from their support page. I wasn't expecting immediate resolution (even though I wanted immediate resolution, I bought the book to read today during travel).

They are a reputable company, with many happy customers, but they are also a small company and only have 5 employees. The BlackBerry reader is new, and the Blackberry for eReader FAQ does not really give many details:

Quote:

I downloaded an eBook but am having trouble unlocking it.
First, make sure you are using the correct unlock information. Log in to your eReader.com or Fictionwise.com account (whichever one you bought the eBook from) and go to your bookshelf. You will see your billing name and the last four digits of the default unlock card listed next to every Secure eReader eBook.

Remember that your unlock name must be exactly as listed there, including middle names, middle initials, etc. This is the most common error when trying to unlock. Also make sure you are using the same credit card as listed on the website. The website displays the last four digits for security reasons but you must of course type the entire card number in to unlock the book.

The iPhone version seems to be a bit more user friendly (it fills in the unlock name for you, which is probably the error prone part). I think you need to enter the credit card number with no spaces. The iPhone FAQ includes screenshots, but not screenshots of the credit card unlocking process.

ficbot · 03-24-2009, 04:28 PM

Fictionwise is a great company and I have purchased tons of books from them. What you need to do is for the unlock code, enter the credit card number (ALL of it) that you used to purchase the book. You can change this later if you need to---wen my credit card got replaced I was able to update my profile so the new card would be used to unlock future purchases.

I would not at all say that eReader format should be avoided like the plague. I prefer it to something like mobipocket with relies on using the internet to unlock books (I remember a big hue and cry awhile back because the servers there were down for a day or so and nobody could unlock their books!) I like that you can use it on multiple devices too (FYI they do have a Mac version)

With that said, I have found that many of the FAQ pages at Fictonwise could use a re-write. They need to be a little more plain English and cover more situations that users are likely to encounter.

03-24-2009, 09:44 AM	#1
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Fictionwise write up from Publisher's Weekly Publisher's Weekly posted a write up on Fictionwise yesterday. Thought some of you might find it of interest. http://www.publishersweekly.com/arti....html?nid=3329 Last edited by AnemicOak; 03-24-2009 at 09:47 AM.

03-24-2009, 02:49 PM	#6
pking36330 FT Parent PT Reader Posts: 322 Karma: 187838 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South Alabama Device: Shocked by how much I've read on an iPod Touch received as a gift!	Can't unlock on Fictionwise First, let me say I'm only five hours into trying to unlock the first (and probably only) ebook I bought on Fictionwise. Maybe things will improve when (if?) tech support every responds to either of the emails I sent. Their system is very cumbersome and really makes the case for me to abandon the idea of trying to buy and read books on my Blackberry, I just need to spring a Kindle where the purchase-through-reading experience is really well laid out and intuitive. This purchase today from Fictionwise is VERY un-intuitive and I'm no net-neophyte. I selected a book I've been wanting to read, The Dante Club, uploaded enough money into their MicroPay system to cover the cost of a couple books, and selected The Dante Club for purchase. I had Mobipocket Reader on my Blackberry already, but their website was touting a 'new' eReader download for the Blackberry so I installed it and purchased the book in the 'recommended' format: eReader. I downloaded to my Blackberry and it asked for an Unlock code, which I didn't have. So I go back online to the website and find that you have to enter a credit card number and other data to get the unlock code and that you should use a 'permanent credit card number' because that number will forever be tied to your ability to unlock this book. Evidently the credit card number I entered to make the purchase wasn't good enough, so I entered another credit card number (and now I'm pretty nervous about the amount of my data Fictionwise has). I followed ALL of their procedures, read and re-read their FAQ and Help summaries and after many unsuccessful tries, finally resorted to sending a email from their support page. I wasn't expecting immediate resolution (even though I wanted immediate resolution, I bought the book to read today during travel). After a couple hours and MANY more tries and re-reads of the FAQ and Help information, I still can't unlock the book I purchased and I sent another email request. Still no response five hours later and if I don't hear from them soon I guess I'll have to call the credit card company and dispute the charges (I thought I purchased a ebook, but so far I've only purchased the appearance that I've bought an ebook). Does anyone here know if Fictionwise is actually a reputable company? Has anyone else solved the riddle of unlocking your purchases on this site? I've taken their advice and put in EXACTLY how my name is spelled on their purchase site and tried unlocking with both of the supplied credit card numbers (last 4), and following ALL their guidance can't make this work. VERY frustrating.

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03-24-2009, 09:45 AM	#2
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Are you sure they didn't post a left up? I fixed the thread title for you.

03-24-2009, 11:03 AM	#4
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	And now I'm curious what that that title was! ------------- Those two sound like really smart brothers, never overdoing it, growing slowly. Sometimes having a long breath gets rewarded!

03-24-2009, 11:07 AM	#5
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	right up

03-24-2009, 03:16 PM	#9
Stringer Connoisseur Posts: 81 Karma: 22 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 1 and 2	Well, MobiPocket format has been working just nice. It took little bit time to find the place to put new codes after the initial one when I bought a new device, but now that I know it is at the update profile.. After the new codes, just download the book again. eReader format sounds something to avoid like a plague.

03-24-2009, 03:28 PM	#11
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,413 Karma: 145491800 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	bwaldron, I can just picture your avatar telling Cliff how much his drill means to him.

03-24-2009, 04:28 PM	#15
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Fictionwise is a great company and I have purchased tons of books from them. What you need to do is for the unlock code, enter the credit card number (ALL of it) that you used to purchase the book. You can change this later if you need to---wen my credit card got replaced I was able to update my profile so the new card would be used to unlock future purchases. I would not at all say that eReader format should be avoided like the plague. I prefer it to something like mobipocket with relies on using the internet to unlock books (I remember a big hue and cry awhile back because the servers there were down for a day or so and nobody could unlock their books!) I like that you can use it on multiple devices too (FYI they do have a Mac version) With that said, I have found that many of the FAQ pages at Fictonwise could use a re-write. They need to be a little more plain English and cover more situations that users are likely to encounter.