James Bailey's Blog - Posts Tagged "nook"
Kindle vs Nook
There’s not much question the Kindle dominates the ebook world. As such, it wasn’t that tough of a decision to try KDP Select when I released The Greatest Show on Dirt in February. The program requires a 90-day exclusive commitment to the Kindle, after which an author can make their book available elsewhere. In exchange for the exclusivity, KDP Select offers up to five free promo days and inclusion in the Kindle lending program for Amazon Prime members (which allows them to borrow one free book each month).
Frankly, the free promo days haven’t done much for me. I’ve given away a lot of free downloads, but the Holy Grail of seeing the free promo spin into a jackpot once the book reverts to paid status hasn’t happened. I’ve heard from enough other authors that have ridden the wave to believe it exists, but in mid-April my two-day free trial saw 5,115 copies of The Greatest Show on Dirt downloaded. Once it went back to full price, the bounce was almost nonexistent.
The Kindle lending program has been slightly more successful, with eight borrows so far this month. The payout there depends on how many books were borrowed overall for the month, but average payouts in recent months have ranged from $1.50 to $2 or higher. Not a great deal, but it can add up.
My 90 days ends next week. Now it’s time to decide whether to re-up or branch out. Specifically I’m considering using Barnes & Noble’s PubIt program to make the book available for the Nook. I figure anyone with an Apple tablet of any kind can read Kindle books without any trouble. My question is, what’s the market like for the Nook? I’ve heard conflicting stories from other authors. Some report negligible sales on the Nook, while others feel there is less competition for ebook dollars there, with so many other indie authors tied up in exclusive KDP Select commitments.
Help me sift through all this. Do you use a Kindle, a Nook, or another ereader? If so, which one, and how reliant are you on it? If a book you want to read isn’t available for your device, do you buy the old-fashioned paper version or just skip it?
Frankly, the free promo days haven’t done much for me. I’ve given away a lot of free downloads, but the Holy Grail of seeing the free promo spin into a jackpot once the book reverts to paid status hasn’t happened. I’ve heard from enough other authors that have ridden the wave to believe it exists, but in mid-April my two-day free trial saw 5,115 copies of The Greatest Show on Dirt downloaded. Once it went back to full price, the bounce was almost nonexistent.
The Kindle lending program has been slightly more successful, with eight borrows so far this month. The payout there depends on how many books were borrowed overall for the month, but average payouts in recent months have ranged from $1.50 to $2 or higher. Not a great deal, but it can add up.
My 90 days ends next week. Now it’s time to decide whether to re-up or branch out. Specifically I’m considering using Barnes & Noble’s PubIt program to make the book available for the Nook. I figure anyone with an Apple tablet of any kind can read Kindle books without any trouble. My question is, what’s the market like for the Nook? I’ve heard conflicting stories from other authors. Some report negligible sales on the Nook, while others feel there is less competition for ebook dollars there, with so many other indie authors tied up in exclusive KDP Select commitments.
Help me sift through all this. Do you use a Kindle, a Nook, or another ereader? If so, which one, and how reliant are you on it? If a book you want to read isn’t available for your device, do you buy the old-fashioned paper version or just skip it?
Expanding beyond Amazon
Fire up those Nooks. The Greatest Show on Dirt is now available in Nook format. After wrestling with the decision of whether to renew for another 90 days with Kindle Select or expand to other ereader platforms, I ultimately came down on the expansion side, thanks in part to feedback from friends both here and on Facebook. I’m not sure what to expect in terms of sales, but time will tell.
Kindle’s Select option requires an exclusive commitment to the Kindle platform, as part of Amazon’s master scheme to take over the world. They do build in some nice benefits for authors, or at least potential benefits, which is what makes the decision more complicated than “Duh, more platforms is better.” Ultimately, I didn’t get enough of a bump from those perks to convince me to re-up, so here we are, in phase two.
Over the past few weeks I’ve also been able to expand into a few independent book stores, two down in North Carolina (The Regulator and Quail Ridge Books & Music), where The Greatest Show on Dirt is set, as well as the Lift Bridge Book Shop in Brockport, N.Y., about half an hour from where I live. Small book stores are willing to take a chance on independent authors, though typically they do it by risking little more than shelf space, as most will take the books on consignment.
I suspect in many cases they come out ahead on the deal, even when few books are sold. If other authors are like me, they go in and load up on visits to these shops, spending more on other books than they’re likely to make on their own. I took my son to Lift Bridge last week and walked out with three books for him and one for me.
I don’t get most of my books from small brick-and-mortar shops. I do a lot of Amazon, and I get more baseball books than I can even read as review copies. But I do feel good about supporting the indies when I can. There aren’t many of them left. While Amazon might like to eventually be the only one left, it won’t be good for readers or writers if that day ever arrives.
Kindle’s Select option requires an exclusive commitment to the Kindle platform, as part of Amazon’s master scheme to take over the world. They do build in some nice benefits for authors, or at least potential benefits, which is what makes the decision more complicated than “Duh, more platforms is better.” Ultimately, I didn’t get enough of a bump from those perks to convince me to re-up, so here we are, in phase two.
Over the past few weeks I’ve also been able to expand into a few independent book stores, two down in North Carolina (The Regulator and Quail Ridge Books & Music), where The Greatest Show on Dirt is set, as well as the Lift Bridge Book Shop in Brockport, N.Y., about half an hour from where I live. Small book stores are willing to take a chance on independent authors, though typically they do it by risking little more than shelf space, as most will take the books on consignment.
I suspect in many cases they come out ahead on the deal, even when few books are sold. If other authors are like me, they go in and load up on visits to these shops, spending more on other books than they’re likely to make on their own. I took my son to Lift Bridge last week and walked out with three books for him and one for me.
I don’t get most of my books from small brick-and-mortar shops. I do a lot of Amazon, and I get more baseball books than I can even read as review copies. But I do feel good about supporting the indies when I can. There aren’t many of them left. While Amazon might like to eventually be the only one left, it won’t be good for readers or writers if that day ever arrives.
