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Barnes and Noble in trouble?
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I've never even seen a Barnes and Noble shop in real life, and I've never seen any shops around here selling the Nook. That can't help their sales. I can think of all least a dozen places within 10 mins drive where I can buy a Kindle.
Indeed. Sorry this post appeared twice. I have been doing that a lot recently.Anyway UK wise it would have to be online and I wouldn't know where to buy a nook. I have never seen a real shop of theirs in this country. Anyway thought I would share.
Paul, Not sure where you are, but I know that it was only recently that B&N set up to export Nooks to the UK. They've relied upon online purchase primarily. I own one, because I like it so much more than the Kindle, but you're right that having B&Ns around would make it easy for customers to pick up and try one out. Then, the customers could buy their nook, leave the store, and never venture inside again! Marketing is getting really thorny!
I can only speak for myself, but publishing directly with B&N might not have been the right thing (despite a higher royalty-rate). I first distributed to B&N through Smashwords. At least, SW collects and then forwards all royalties from their various outlets.So far, I have sold ONE book directly through B&N and now am stuck with this $2.50 account...
Once you are in the B&N system, there is little you can do for added visibility (and their author forums are not easy to negotiate).
I am afraid none of this helps the B&N case in the long run.
Inge; When you go to print, make sure you set it up as supplier of record, then everything actually improves. ON the other hand -- my last release, a pre-historic fiction novella named Troll, was trolled by an idiot who left a single star and a joke, and now the one-star comes up in any B&N search for the title! I'm trying to get it removed, but so far it stands. Here's the link... so you can laugh or cry! The book has had very good reviews everywhere else, which makes the B&N idiot's prank all the more effective.
Richard wrote: "my last release, a pre-historic fiction novella named Troll, was t..."Richard,
Not sure I understand about the print comment...I publish through Createspace (Amazon), and they do a great job.
On the other subject, what a nuisance! I looked at that review and reported it as "inappropriate." Hope it helps to have it removed. Readers should immediately realize that it is malicious nonsense, and ignore it. Good luck.
I have a few friend who love their nook since they get help in the store so hope B&N stays around even though I'm a kindle girl!
Inge wrote: "Richard wrote: "my last release, a pre-historic fiction novella named Troll, was t..."Richard,
Not sure I understand about the print comment..."
I also use CS. I found B&N kind of difficult to deal with directly (uploads, etc.), so my eBooks are distributed through Smashwords as well as Kindle DTP. It was just easier than wading through all the B&N BS. Smashwords is pretty slow to pay, but since the numbers aren't enough to pay my bills, I don't sweat it much.
Alexandra wrote: "Oh yes such a helpful review - not."Yeah. Isn't that a nice little kick in the butt? Thing is, nobody wants to take the time to read it now with one star and all. At least it sells in other venues.
Really? That is obvious an idiot review and wouldn't stop me. People leaving reviews like that don't know what damage it does. I hope you get it taken away.
Richard wrote: "my last release, a pre-historic fiction novella named Troll, was trolled by an idiot who left a single star and a joke"Not good. Although when you read the comment it has no substance, the one star visible next to your cover does have a negative impact.
I've just gone into the Nook UK site shop (B&N uk), found Troll with the one star and pressed no button for the Was this comment helpful to you.Maybe if enough people do this B&N / Nook uk might pay attention.
While I'm not completely immersed in the book industry, I am certainly along the edge of it and have been active on publishing, distribution and marketing for the past 5 years. In my anecdotal experience, all brick and mortar bookstores are in trouble. Those that are not ordering books via the Internet or Amazon are not even ordering books, but ebooks. In 2009, ebooks sales went up 300% and every after continued to rise in the 50 percentile.We saw it with music stores and video stores and it's only a matter of time.
This changes the whole game: steep discounts for book sellers, marketing prowess moving from the publisher to the author, increased need for word of mouth marketing, and a leveling of the entire playing field now that the greater portion of the marketplace will be online.
It's a curse and a blessing at the same time. My Barnes & Noble closed here in West Los Angeles and I was sad when I saw it happen. Then I recalled I hadn't stepped foot in there for a year prior to its closure.
And the most interesting thing about my own consumer habits: since I stopped going to bookstores I read far more books.
Thanks! I actually finally found an email to send a request for review moderation to. They may or may not do anything. I'm crossing my fingers!Chris wrote: "I've just gone into the Nook UK site shop (B&N uk), found Troll with the one star and pressed no button for the Was this comment helpful to you.
Maybe if enough people do this B&N / Nook uk might ..."
Christopher;I remember record stores. I worked for one in the Fresno area one summer. It was amazingly busy, with events constantly. I was even invited to a record launch party for a Boz Scaggs record and he cooked amazing dinner for 100 people himself!
All the chatrooms on Amazon couldn't compare. Change happens.
There are still some indy record stores here in L.A. Amoeba, of course, but there's one just a few blocks from me. They still thrive, but they serve a specific niche. As for bookstores, the only one in my neighborhood is a Children's Bookstore. Literally nothing else within 10 miles.
[deleted by user; leaving this comment just as a courtesy placeholder.]
I'd agree that B&N needs to put some serious work into their Nook site. I have a Nook, which I use for reading magazines as well as books, and I'd say it's as good a platform as Kindle. But B&N doesn't have the promotional, technical or interface-designing chops that Amazon has, so they are stuck well behind them. Hopefully they'll figure out that they need to put A-list work into their site and interface, and do it before it's too late.
B&N's website needs work. They're still focusing on print rather than ebooks and as a reader, I don't find their site the least bit enticing or condusive to browsing. On the other hand, I can browse Amazon for hours and usually end up buying more than I intended.As an author, I have 4 books that have made the top 100 in their sub-genres on Amazon with gratifying sales results. Sales of those same books on B&N are next to nothing. I realise we're talking a smaller percentage of the book market, but I sell more on Apple than B&N!
Personally, I think the Nook is the better product, but what good does it do if people aren't encouraged to use it!
Um. I love buying books from this store and I love holding books and I feel at home when I read a book. I don't like the ebooks. Sorry, I just feel more at home and comfortable with a book in my hands, where I flip pages and bookmark pages :)
Me, too BreXetc. I never had even a glimmer of a thought I might use an eReader until B&N ran a promo offering a year of the NYTimes daily with a Nook reader included for less than half of what my print subscription cost me. One thing led to another, and though I still go both ways (print and screen) for reading, I actually am beginning to prefer screen. Never saw that coming at all!
Discussion on another forum I belong to about Barnes and Noble and Nook.
Found these so thought I would share.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98efe91c-76...