Did Amazon.com Kill the Dinosaur, Too?

Today, I received news that The Mystery Bookstore in Hollywood was closing. Argh!!

The Mystery Bookstore was known for its author events, sometimes hosting up to three a day on the weekends, and showed consistent support for first-time crime novelists. Stephen Jay Schwartz, author of Boulevard and Beat, laments the closing of the store. “This is terrible – it’s the end of an era,” he says. “My career began at the Mystery Bookstore and I count the owners and booksellers as personal friends.  There is a loyal community of authors and readers who will simply not recover from the loss of this iconic bookstore.” The Mystery Bookstore to Close

 

The reason for the closing is a coupling of losing to book buying clients to Amazon and the decline in store client’s pockets because of the economy.

I’ve participated in discussions both on and offline about the extinction of bookstores and what can be done to stop it. Everything we suggested The Mystery Bookstore has done since its opening in 2008: hosting great events, staffing knowledge & passionate readers, using PR to build community value, change…mys

This sad news has kicked the bricks against my confidence now.

Related articles

• Traditional Bookstores are Doomed-Becker (becker-posner-blog.com)
• Will Readers be Queens of Publishing in 2011? (deegospelpr.com)
• Amazon's Early Christmas Gift to its Authors (deegospelpr.com)
• Acclaimed Literary Agent Manie Barron February Memorial Announced (deegospelpr.com)
• Melanie Benjamin: Going on a Book Tour? Dream Big or Stay Home (huffingtonpost.com)

Bookbyte: Kindle app for Android

Some Fun: GhostBusters at the NYP

Your source for trending topics in book publishing in 3 small bites. I ask you three questions, you can respond via your favorite social media service or blog use the hashtag #bookbyte so that we can respond and catalog your response. Here are the three newsmakers of the week with my question…

1. Is Your Bookshelf Your Phone?

If you could get digital books on the smartphone you already carry, would you still buy a dedicated e-reader? That's the question running through my mind after hearing that Amazon is developing a Kindle app for Android. The upcoming Kindle for Android app is set to hit smartphones this summer. (Source:  Will Amazon's Kindle Android App Hurt Kindle Sales? by JR Raphael, PC World)

2. Louis Gossett, JR. Signs at New York Book Week

In conjunction with BEA, New York Book Week will house author programs at venues such as Times Talks, the 92nd Street Y, and the main branches of the New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library, as well as smaller events at other libraries in the NYPL system and chain and independent bookstores throughout New York City and its boroughs. Gossett will present An Actor and a Gentleman
Monday, May 24 at 7:30 PM at Barnes & Noble, 1972 Broadway @ 66th Street. Question: Don’t get me wrong I love Gossett, Jr. But what’s up with all these AA celebs becoming authors now? Hollywood shortfall? (Source: New York Book Week)

3. Barnes and Noble launches Self-Publishing Program

Barnes & Noble has announced that this summer it will launchPubIT!, a new DIY publishing option for independent publishers and self-publishing writers to distribute their works digitally through BN.com and the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. (Source: http://bit.ly/aLj80d)

Related articles by Zemanta

• BookByte: This Year Get Published (deegospelpr.com)
• BookByte: Do You Facebook Like Me? (deegospelpr.com)
• Barnes & Noble launching PubIt! self-publishing platform this summer (news.cnet.com)
• Dime Novel Publishing Resurrects Dime Novel for the E-Book Generation (prweb.com)

You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook to respond as well

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How will the Battle of Amazon Macmillan Affect Authors in the Ebook War?

Unless you've been on a vacation then you know that the publishing world shifted slightly on its axis when Steve Jobs announced the iPad last month. Honestly, when I watched the announcement online I had no clue that two days later Amazon and Macmillan would go to war and Hachette would join the battle with Macmillan a week later. But when Amazon quietly conceded this weeked to Macmillan, thereby raising the price of ebooks I wondered not what concessions Amazon was getting to seal this deal, but how would these changes affect authors?

Continue reading "How will the Battle of Amazon Macmillan Affect Authors in the Ebook War?"  at TMA»

Weekend Chatterbox: Does Amazon own Your Publisher?

If you've been hanging around Amazon much, then you noticed some weird things happen after Steve Jobs announced the iPad, particularly the iBook feature in it. Some St. Martins Press books and their sisters and brothers living in the Macmillan house have disappeared from Amazon. According to The New York Times they didn't just disappear they were yanked. Apparently Amazon is standing firm on its point to keep e-books under $10. The i-books are around $12-15. As a reader I admit I like the reduced price, but I am concerned that the selections on the Kindle would be reduced. Moreover, I'm a huge fan of Farrar and St. Martin's Press, so now Amazon is pushing me toward the iPad. Not coll.
As an author I'm also concerned. Ooh the conundrum. Most publisher's pay a small royalty percentage to authors for e-books. Don't know if there will be addendums made to contracts for i-book sales. If not, then it doesn't matter what price is set, the author gets the slim pickings. But what it does set forth is a problem for authors on the part of distribution. Since online book sales continue to increase, and we know Amazon is one of the top reasons why, then if our books become ghost over there, how large of a chunk will that suspension take out of our sales? An even larger question--one I open up to the community--what does that mean for the publishing industry? Are they owned by Amazon? If so, then the ramifications about the future of publishing,especially whether authors would benefit from being independent over being published by a major publishing house matter anymore? Can we make money writing stories anymore? If you discuss over Twitter or Facebook, please use the #iYank hashtag


Related posts:

• 4 Questions for the ibook from an Author's POV
• iThink Thursday: iBookstore vs Amazon

Related Blogs Chatting About this:

• http://digitalbookworld.com/2010/more-reactions-to-the-amazonmacmillan-battle/
• http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/bookselling/macmillan_and_amazon_report_round_up_150534.asp
• http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/technology/30amazon.html
• http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/login.php/lunch/archives/006196.php
• http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2010/01/31/why-my-books-are-no-longer-for-sale-via-amazon/

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iThink Thursday: iBookstore vs Amazon

This morning my newstream buzz is all the Twitter over Apple's Steve Jobs announcement of iPad yesterday. Below are the most interesting thoughts, all regarding e-book pricing and ending Amazon domination.

1. Flavorwire's 5 Ways the Applie iPad Could Change e-books...
   

   if Amazon ends up as the primary distributor and sets the prices for ebooks — well, that leaves publishers pretty scared they’ll be cut out... But — for now — it looks like the iBook store may allow publishers more say in setting the prices of ebooks. Which puts Amazon’s marketshare squarely in Apple’s sights.
   

   This is a huge concern for authors. Not predicting the future, but let's be real eventually ebooks/ibooks will begin to profit, but will authors?
   
2. Washington Post's "Think iBooks Looks Familiar? You're Not The Only One"...Was the iBook interface copied from Delicious Library. Delicious Monster Founder Will Shipley says, "yes."This story interested me most. I don't understand why there wasn't a nod to Delicious Monster like there was to Amazon.
3. Economist's Steve Jobs & the Table of Hope... The funniest title by far
4. Mashable's 4 Reason's the Kindle is Dead, 4 Reasons It's Not.
   

   "In fact, because the iPad can run any iPhone app with no modification, that means even the Kindle for iPhone() app will run on the iPad, giving iPad users instant access to Amazon’s library of Kindle-formatted books."
   

   
   

Please discuss here or on Twitter. Use hashtag #iThink.
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Photo credit Engadget

Christian Fiction Blog January Top Ten List 2007 ScreenShot

During this time of year I began compiling a list of fiction books written with a Christian worldview. One of my purposes for Christian Fiction Blog has always been to champion books written by Christian authors, who for whatever reason weren't published under the Christian Booksellers Association(CBA.) So every year I pull these books together for my readers and people like me who values a compelling and well-written story over any other read.

In the fall I compartmentalize these lists by genre, topic, subscriber feedback, candid book store manager chats and bookclub presidents polling. Some examples of my lists were:

• Christian Fiction's October 2009 Top Ten List
• Best of 2008
  

If you want to take your blog to the next level, then I encourage you to create a list, because:

• Lists are user friendly for your blog subscribers. Simply they are easy to read.
  
• Lists can be downloaded and printed for bookclub presidents and blog readers who need a good booklist before they began purchasing books as Christmas gifts.
  
• List's visual simplicity make it easy to read on a smartphone (Blackberry, Palm, iPhone.)
• Lists build blog credibility because it takes snapshots of your great blog content.
• Lists are media friendly. Media outlets can easily pull your lists for filler items for the publications.
• Lists can be used to bring unique visitor's to your site. I often take my lists and duplicate them on Amazon Lists. Here's an example: The Last Good Reads of the Summer. There a gazillion of other places online to post your lists.
  
• Lists can help decrease your bounce rate. If you embed links in your list that direct readers to other areas and posts on your blog readers will stick around longer and may become curious about what else you have on your blog.
  
• You can monetize your blog using lists. You can become an affiliate member of a bookstore or a book like 31 Days to Build a Better Blog.
• You can turn your blog into an industry source using links. My blog is a source not just for Christian book publishers, but literary publicists, authors, and agents. You may even see my content repackaged on other blogs...(we'll talk about that later.)
• You can use lists in your sidebar to showcase your favorite blogs or books. Check out the CFB sidebar.
  

Your homework assignment for Day 20 is up at the 30 Days...the Facebook Group.

For those of you who aren't members, if you have a great book list on your blog, please drop the link in our comments so that we can take a look at them.

What AmazonFail Can Teach Bookstores Not just Amazon.com: Christian Fiction Blog

This past weekend while most of us were participating in Easter/Resurrection Day events Amazon.com was having an event of its own. Amazon.com removed sales rankings and listing on the main search page for 57 000 of its registered titles, many of which were books with gay/lesbian themes. When some of these authors realized what happened and more importantly that Amazon.com still had not responded to their challenge, they organized a social media campaign via Twitter, coined the term AmazonFail, and got media attention. Amazon.com later told Publishers Weekly...

that a "glitch" had occurred in its sales ranking feature that was in the process of being fixed. The spokesperson added that there was no new policy regarding "adult" titles. As of Monday morning, a number of titles affected by the glitch were still without sales rankings. No one at Amazon was available this morning to discuss when the problem might be fixed or what caused the glitch.

An interesting article here that suggests culprits behind AmazonFail.

Last night during #journchat we discussed #AmazonFail as a teaching tool for other pr firms. Long after the discussion I wondered how this event could serve as a teaching tool for online bookstores, authors, and brick and mortar stores.

Whether we want to believe it or not Twitter is more than a microblogging service. It can be used for many things, one of which is a tool for rapid response CS. If book stores whether mobile, online or in a store want to build value with their customers, they are going to have to devise a way to respond in real time to their base, especially when "glitches" and stuff happens. Because if they don't then they will experience a bit of the venom that was spewn onto Amazon this past weekend. I've been tempted at times myself to tweet a few crappers I've experienced dealing with publishing houses, bookstore chains, churches, you name it. But I didn't, haven't yet. However, as more and more Twittercotts tweet up, you'd be more than the wiser to have a contingency plan designed.

One tip I will throw at you: Use Twitter to monitor your brand. There are various twitter tools you can use to do that. Search through my blog I've shared some on here already.

Also this Saturday I will be hosting a workshop on The Virtual Fiction Writer's Conference about book events and I will be talking about the power of Twitter, of course, and designing your own instore event contingency plans. ;)

Online Bookselling101: Amazon Widgets

If you are an author, bookstore owner or budding problogger, are you an Amazon Affiliate? And if so, are you familiar with Amazon's New Widget Applications. This year at CFB I want to help people connect with book buyers, especially Christian book buyers. With an increase in bookstores closings coupled against an increase in books hitting the shelves , the opportunities for online retail gets brighter every day. Here at Christian Fiction Blog we have seen significant increases in book sale purchases via Amazon. After studying my latest Amazon report I have learned that many of the sales come from one application-Amazon Widgets. This week I will try to tackle a few of those widgets.

Today let's look at :

Slideshow Widgets

If you look at the top center of Christian Fiction Blog you will see my top book picks for February 2008 in a slideshow called CFB's Feb Faves. I sell about one or two books a day with this feature alone. Here are some other great ways to use Slideshow Widgets for your book blog/site: 1.To drive traffic to your site I don't upload all my blog entries to every social network platform that I have, because my purpose for joining those networks is to drive my members here to Christian Fiction Blog. However, the slideshow widget is so dynamic and eye catching that my Myspace buddies will recognize and remember to come to my site when they want to purchase a book. Amazon has made duplicating this widget so easy that you can plug your show into your:

• Facebook
• Ning
• MySpace
• Wordpress
• Any site that takes ajax application
• Any page that willl take javascript. You could copy and embed the code to your site

2. To make your site eye-catching No brainer idea here. Amazon has done a great job with making these book covers pop on your screen.

3.To invite new visitors to linger on your site Just like soft music in a grocery store site visitors will stick around your site to watch the slideshow. As they watch they will peruse the site. They may see entries of interest to them.

4. To increase your subscriber base Send an email to your subscribers, who may not visit your site every month because they have an email subscription to alert them of the new books that you are highlighting on your site

5. To showcase bookstore specials I have not set this up on CFb yet because of time, but if you are an online bookseller you should use SLideshow WIdgets and Twitter to promote your store specials and book signings.

6. ??? You tell me what are other great reasons to use Slideshow Widgets?
Dee
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Holiday 2007 Book Sales Questionable

According to RetailMetrics...Barnes & Noble, Borders Group and Books-A-Million offered holiday sales reports with mixed news. At B&N, comp-store sales fell, and the company had to revise earnings downward, leading to a 19.1% drop in its stock price. In Borders's case, comp-store sales rose 2.4%, a healthy figure this season, but profits were hurt by discounting. BAM had flat comp-store sales. Still, book sales at the trio were relatively solid...

In a statement, BAM president and CEO Sandra B. Cochran said, "The sales environment for the holiday season proved challenging as we confronted softening economic conditions and a value-conscious consumer. Nonetheless, we saw good results in a number of our core book categories as well as strong performances in bargain books and the gift department. Bestsellers for the season included James Patterson's Double Cross, Tony Dungy's Quiet Strength, Glenn Beck's Inconvenient Book and Jan Karon's Home to Holly Springs."

Source: ShelfAwareness.

I see the stats, but I wonder how well did online bookselling do? My Amazon conversation rate tripled during the Holiday Season with no charge backs.

Question: Did any other book bloggers sales increase in 2007?