Books-a-Million (US) New eBookstore

[neilmarr]

Ingrams have handled our ebooks for the past eight years, Brian. They started to disappear from the major US stores (Amazon, B&N, etc) when they opened their own ebook-specific retail outlets.

For the time being, we get around this by using Smashwords as a 'partner', which gives us US status (albeit with 30% of revenue withheld at source for the IRS). We prefer our own carefully prepared in house ebooks, though, so we've had a lawyer and accountant on the case for a couple of months to establish a US-base. Even though it will be only on paper, it will be legal and recognised by the US authorities.

Oh, what a tangled web is international tax law. Hoots. Neil

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Ingrams have handled our ebooks for the past eight years, Brian. They started to disappear from the major US stores (Amazon, B&N, etc) when they opened their own ebook-specific retail outlets.

For the time being, we get around this by using Smashwords as a 'partner', which gives us US status (albeit with 30% of revenue withheld at source for the IRS). We prefer our own carefully prepared in house ebooks, though, so we've had a lawyer and accountant on the case for a couple of months to establish a US-base. Even though it will be only on paper, it will be legal and recognised by the US authorities.

Oh, what a tangled web is international tax law. Hoots. Neil

Interesting. Of course B&N and Amazon don't use distributors (they act as their own) I just figured Books A Million would be using one of the big distros, but maybe not. Seems more and more the distros are going by the way side in favor of the store itself being, in effect, it's own distributor getting titles right from the publisher and setting up it's own DRM servers.

I certainly don't blame you for wanting the use the books you've crafted in-house to your specifications in general I find those to be better than books from Smashwords or a lot of the Fictionwise (while they last) Multiformat offerings.

[neilmarr]

That's the way it's headed, Brian, because the retailers will take uploads from independent authors, they call themselves 'publishers'. The system gets more tangled every day with the lines between author, publisher and retailer becoming blurred.

This, for instance, is why there are such raves at MR and elsewhere from self-published authors who laud Amazon's generous 70% royalty on ebooks. This is NOT a royalty. The Kindle store is not a publisher in any accepted sense of the word. It is a retailer taking 30% commission. What's so generous and new about that?

Best. Neil

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

What's so generous and new about that?

Probably the fact that they were taking much more than that before.

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

Books-a-Million has opened an online ebookstore. They are also giving away Sony eReaders all through July.

I don't see that anywhere on their website. Where are they hiding that fact away?

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Seems more and more the distros are going by the way side in favor of the store itself being, in effect, it's own distributor getting titles right from the publisher and setting up it's own DRM servers.

Wouldnt it be more cost efficient to cut out the middleman? Get your product straight from the source either publisher or author.

BN's PubIt will be available for the independents but (I believe) will add DRM to the files.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Spiffy

I don't see that anywhere on their website. Where are they hiding that fact away?

If you're using Firefox, turn off ABP or other add-away software.

[neilmarr]

***Probably the fact that they were taking much more than that before***

Yes, sixty-five percent! But only because they thought their simplistic, hyped, tricky wording could fool all of the people all of the time. Amazon's greed is equalled only by its transparency. Neil