Need Help with Barnes & Nobel

[Jan]

I self-publish on Amazon (KDP). I want to add my book to B&N. My interior uploads great. But they say to upload a PDF cover that is slightly larger than my existing Amazon cover. I don't have a PDF editor. Can anyone help me take my Amazon cover and make it into a B&N PDF? ALSO, will the barcode be the same? I don't know how I'd create a different barcode.

Any guidance or help would be greatly appreciated. Or services that I can use to do that.

Thanks!

[Judith]

B&N uses BOOKS IN PRINT as the catalog for their website, so your Amazon-published book will show up there eventually. That said, if you still want to have Nook Press print your book, and you used the free Amazon isbn, you'll need a different bar code because you'll need a different isbn. You can't use your Amazon-issued isbn anywhere else. If you have your own isbns, you can use the same one both places. Any photo-editing program should allow you to open the PDF and add more around the edges and erase the Amazon isbn (probably by cloning over it.)

[Cindy]

I was of the impression that B&N was discontinuing Nook. No?

[Eric]

No idea about B&N and Nook, but perhaps consider signing up (for free) with Draft2Digital. It's really really easy to publish through them, they publish through a wide variety of platforms, including AMZ if you don't want to do that yourself, and then you don't have to go through hoops on a retailer-by-retailer basis. I'm pretty sure B&N is part of their outlets.

And whether B&N discontinues the device (Nook) won't change things. As I recall, the "epub" format was created by B&N, and while AMZ is the 900 pound gorilla in the tiny tiny room, AMZ has not only stopped using the Kindle-compatible "mobi" format, but when you publish through AMZ, instead of submitting a Word doc (docx), you can send in an epub, which will already have your formatting done.

Last, another free program: Calibre. It's a program that allows you to create and manage an ebook library and undoubtedly has many fine features I don't understand and have never used. But I can also upload my Word docx (having already created my own table of contents, hyperlinks and all) and after uploading the cover image, a click of an icon creates the epub.

Which in turn means I'm ready to send it off to AMZ, Draft2Digital, and Smashwords.

Just my USD .02.

Eric (of the Eric Alan Westfall variety)

[Jan]

Thanks Judith! I checked and Barnes and Nobel does have my earlier books. So I'll just wait and see when my 3rd in the spy novel series shows up.

[Talia]

Jan wrote: "I self-publish on Amazon (KDP). I want to add my book to B&N. My interior uploads great. But they say to upload a PDF cover that is slightly larger than my existing Amazon cover. I don't have a PDF..."

I have long entered two backlist novels with Smashwords.com. They converted each book to 10 different platforms, including Nook, Apple, etc. Since then I haven't touched the books, just notice the monthly deposit in my bank account.

I believe that Smashwords is in the midst of folding into Drafts2Digital. But they sent me an email to let me know that business goes on as usual. I recommend them wholeheartedly.

That said, I believe that Amazon KDP requires exclusivity, so you are not at liberty to sell your book elsewhere without first checking your contract.

[Eric]

I agree with Talia's note. My modest sales go through both D2D and Smashwords, and for some time to come, according to D2D updates, it'll still be necessary to publish through both systems. I'm guessing it'll be a year or more before their software is integrated so that you just go to one place (or they may keep SMW "open" but with an identical "experience" when publishing) and your book then goes out to all the combined outlets.

As for KDP, I've never tried it, because it does require exclusivity, and I think it's for 90 days. I've just preferred getting my books out and about as far and wide as I can as soon as I can.

Just my USD .02.

Eric

[Frances]

When CreateSpace ended and Kindle began, did that alter agreements made with Create Space? Does anyone know? I was told by Create Space that I would sell exclusively with them for two years, and then I was a ‘’free agent,’’ so to speak. But, having never used Smashwords, etc. I am familiar only with Kindle.

Thank you.

[Mellie]

Talia wrote: "I believe that Amazon KDP requires exclusivity"

No it doesn't. KDP is Amazon's self publishing arm. It is Kindle Unlimited (or KU) that requires exclusivity.

[Eric]

Mellie wrote: "Talia wrote: "I believe that Amazon KDP requires exclusivity"

No it doesn't. KDP is Amazon's self publishing arm. It is Kindle Unlimited (or KU) that requires exclusivity."

You're quite right. I was reading "KDP" and interpreting it as "Kindle Unlimited."

Thanks.

eric