UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion
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New Paperwhite with "Goodreads integration"
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Wow. I guess we could see that coming. It should streamline things though.
Nifty. The Goodreads integration should benefit us Indies (I hope!)I'm sporting a mark 1 Paperwhite and the screen is the best e-reader I've used (although I am told by a friend who has seen it that the Kobo Aura HD blows it out of the water. Have they released the tech specs of the new Paperwhite yet, ie. resolution, pixel density etc?
I wonder if the other paperwhite will be given an update to include the software for the GR thing?If not, I would be sorely tempted to update it and give my paperwhite to a friend.
Interesting the UK version doesn't mention Goodreads or "Free Time"...
Free Time is meant to be for kids but it looks fun LOL
also the US have;Kindle MatchBook
COMING SOON—For thousands of qualifying books, your past, present, and future print-edition purchases will soon allow you to buy the Kindle edition for $2.99, $1.99, $0.99, or free.
that'd be AWESOME
Elle wrote: "also the US have;Kindle MatchBook
COMING SOON—For thousands of qualifying books, your past, present, and future print-edition purchases will soon allow you to buy the Kindle edition for $2.99, $1..."
I received an email from Kindle Direct Publishing regarding that, asking authors to opt in.
Elle wrote: "also the US have;Kindle MatchBook
COMING SOON—For thousands of qualifying books, your past, present, and future print-edition purchases will soon allow you to buy the Kindle edition for $2.99, $1..."
Yes, I've just signed up my book to that :) Basically, if you buy the printed edition, you can have the kindle edition for half price or less.
So it seems the older kindles, or the paperwhite at least, will be getting the free software update to include this although that is US only and nothing about it has been mentioned for the UK :S
Tim wrote: "Elle wrote: "also the US have;Kindle MatchBook
COMING SOON—For thousands of qualifying books, your past, present, and future print-edition purchases will soon allow you to buy the Kindle edition ..."
That'd be lovely. I bought like 90% of my books from Amazon before I got a Kindle and would love to have them on my Kindle.
The Autorip service which gives you a free mp3 copy of most CDs bought historically through Amazon is superb. Hopefully this Matchbook service (another nod towards Fahrenheit 451?) will support a free Kindle copy and publishers won't demand a payment (I've set mine to give a free copy at any rate!)
Not the same thing at all. AutoRip is the music industry facing up to the fact that people are going to rip the CDs they buy, and so they may as well give it to you since you're going to rip it anyway.For books, it's a purely promotional thing - buy the paperback and we'll give you a hefty discount off the ebook. It could be free, but there's no reason why it has to be. You can be pretty sure the trad publishers won't be free.
And like any promotional tool, it makes no sense to jump in on the lowest level - how are you going to do a "free Christmas special - gift one; keep one" or whatever if you start there. You're running into the sweet shop using your eyes for a stomach!
gift one... keep on....everyone will be getting books.....
Tim wrote: "And like any promotional tool, it makes no sense to jump in on the lowest level - how are you going to do a "free Christmas special - gift one; keep one" or whatever if you start there. You're running into the sweet shop using your eyes for a stomach!..."You've got a point, but the way I looked at it was from a purely personal perspective whereby I prefer to read physical books at home but use my Kindle when I'm out and about. Having both of them available from a single purchase would suit me no end. So although the economics behind Matchbook and Autorip might not marry up, the benefit to me as a listener or reader is pretty similar. My physical books are only available through Createspace anyway, so i doubt many people would take me up on the offer. But those that do buy a physical copy are paying a premium when compared to the Kindle version, so I thought that giving them a free "thank you" copy wouldn't exactly harm my sales.
Andy wrote: "You've got a point, but the way I looked at it was from a purely personal perspective whereby I prefer to read physical books at home but use my Kindle when I'm out and about. Having both of them available from a single purchase would suit me no end...."I see this sort of thing a lot. While I obviously agree it's a nice deal, I'd point out that when DVDs were launched, I didn't really expect HMV to hand over a free, or even discounted, copy of Blade Runner just because I'd already bought the VHS from them a couple of years previously.
i think VHS/DVD is completely different. an entirely new physical format.i have loads of films on my itunes now thanks to them coming free with the DVD. i approve.
Andrew wrote: "I see this sort of thing a lot. While I obviously agree it's a nice deal, I'd point out that when DVDs were launched, I didn't really expect HMV to hand over a free, or even discounted, copy of Blade Runner just because I'd already bought the VHS from them a couple of years previously. ..."
Again, I take your point but from a purely personal viewpoint my book has only been out for four months so I don't envisage this thing to eat into any sales as I doubt that those that buy the physical copy would also buy the ebook. Furthermore, paper and ebooks are likely to coexist for some time; DVDs killed off VHS more rapidly.
i have loads of films on my itunes now thanks to them coming free with the DVD. i approve."Again, because people will rip them anyway, so the studios are forced to give away "digital copies" (although people still rip them to get rid of the DRM).
Tim wrote: "Coming soon: Join over 20 million other readers and see what your friends are reading, share highlights, and rate the books you read with Goodreads on Kindle"But isn't that what I am doing now with my laptop?
Yes. And soon you can do it on your kindle too!
Tim wrote: "Yes. And soon you can do it on your kindle too!"I don't think I would though. My kindle is wifi only so I would only be connected to t'internet at home where my laptop is available & much better for typing replies like this.
Yeah, but when the Zon bought GR, well, you knew it was coming, right...?
Jay-me (Janet) ~plum chutney is best~ wrote: "Tim wrote: "Yes. And soon you can do it on your kindle too!"I don't think I would though. My kindle is wifi only so I would only be connected to t'internet at home where my laptop is available &..."
I don't think groups will be available. Just shelves/books of friends
Another caution against the "Just give it away free" idea is that it devalues ebooks in the eyes of the reader. If you set up the expectation that the ebook will be free, people won't want to pay for a standalone ebook either.Given that the vast majority of indies ONLY write and produce ebooks, that could be utterly devastating for indie and SP writers. There is a danger that in years to come people will look back on 2013 and Matchbook as the thing that killed indie ebook publishing.
I'm finding it hard to get too upset at that thought, and I am an e-book only self-published writer.
If amazon ever vacated the indie ebook market someone would soon jump in. Me!
"Coming soon: Join over 20 million other readers and see what your friends are reading, share highlights, and rate the books you read with Goodreads on Kindle"
US prices: $119 Wifi and $189 3G, available 30 September.
No word on UK price or availability.