Re: Re: Why?

>
>
> This would seem to mean that Epic's store is preventing potential
> sales by filtering out the works of non-Epic authors.
> If so, why?
> ... And this is NOT meant as a criticism.
> Evading potential sales is still legal, AFIK.
> I just figured there must be some kind of a reason worth more than any
> successfully evaded sales.
>


Illegal why? Ed, be real. A store admin chooses what books to stock in it.
You can't say Wal-Mart was breaking laws by banning Susan Grant's novel
CONTACT, when it still had a picture of a 747 on the cover. It's perfectly
within their purview in establishing their stock, no matter how ridiculous I
may find those choices, at times. And, I found Grant's situation exceedingly
idiotic, personally. Still, it wasn't illegal. Neither is it illegal for
them to refuse to carry erotic titles from certain publishers. They stock
what they stock.

Neither can you say including EPIC member books is illegal, because it's
somehow unfair to other authors. I have to place my company's books on FW
and on ARe and so on. If I don't opt in, how it that unfair to my authors?
Well, if I'm passing up means of making money, it is, but it's not unfair
that someone else is making sales there; it's unfair that I'm passing up
routes to making money personally. IOW, it's not the other guy's fault.
Heck, it's a lot easier to place books on EPIC's store than it is to place
them in Wal-Mart. Trust me. I checked. And, I'll get back to how EPIC's
store stocks, in a moment.

Evading sales to certain persons (as buyers) is even something that rides
the edges of propriety. If you can prove that someone is refusing you
service because of your race, for instance, you can attempt to sue. If you
don't have the proof that it was a matter of race...or if it's a small
service business, you really can't win it. A corporation must be fair in
hiring and serving. A female sole proprietor (for instance) does not have to
place herself in a position of hiring or taking a job for a man that she
finds intimidating and threatening. As a general thing, courts tend to rule
that way. She just refuses the commission offered to her, and she has the
right to do that. If anything about the deal strikes her wrong, she can
refuse it.

Yes, EPIC's books are EPIC members and EPIC member publishers. The ONLY
books Dan adds to the store are ones that are requested by members (whether
they be publishers or authors) to be there. In fact, nice people that we
are, if an author asks for his/her books at a publisher, whose owner is not
a member, to be added, Dan will blanket add all of the books from that
publisher, since they are represented at EPIC, by owners or not.

We even (demented as this sounds to anyone marketing) REMOVED a book from
our store, at the request of an author. His stated reason? Exposure at the
EPIC store wasn't in his marketing plan, and though we had all books from
his publisher there, he didn't want his book there. The publisher had
already thrown up her hands, at the time. We did the same. Wasn't worth the
headaches.

Let me explain a few things, since you seem to be very confused here.

The first is that being on the EPIC store doesn't benefit the authors and
publishers, save in having one more place show up on web searches and the
slim possibility that someone will click on the EPIC store link from the
EPIC site and decide to purchase books from it. They make the same amount of
Fictionwise royalties, whether the book sells at the FW site proper or at
EPIC's storefront with FW. The difference is whether or not EPIC makes 10%
off of FW's side of the deal. And, believe me, EPIC makes almost no money on
this deal. Never has. One year, I think we made $75 total for the year. Why?
Because authors and publishers don't send people to the EPIC store. Whenever
possible, we want the books selling from the publisher site. I don't send
readers there, personally, to purchase my books. Why would I? I make twice
as much money, if one of my books sells at the publisher site. Common sense
time. Unless someone has an ebookwise reader, I'm not pointing them that
way.

The second was one of the original thought processes behind the store. We
were attempting something former-PR head Valerie wanted to accomplish...an
EPIC-members' bestseller list. It didn't work out, of course, because
drumming up business to the EPIC store, when everyone wants to sell from the
home site... Well, I'm beating a dead horse.

Suffice it to say that the store was a PR project that year. Nothing more.
Nothing less. And, it's one that stays up in perpetuity. We order more than
$1000 in PR gear to be handed out and EPIC ads, every year. Even if it did
cost $1000 to opt in, I could nod and say, yeah...might have been on the
budget that year. I don't have budgets that old in my files. They are in the
boxed files the Treasurer has. But, we started this up when the option first
became available. I wasn't on the board then, and I can check with Dan, but
I don't believe the buy-in was anywhere near that high, at the time.


> An author that vain or naive?
> Do such critters really exist? :)

We don't tout it as a benefit of membership anywhere on our paperwork.
People opt into it for another place to sell books. Since it doesn't cost
them time or elbow grease to do it, they do it. Why? Just for another
possible place to make a sale. Remember the old rule of a dozen impressions
to make a sale? That's one...and a painless one.

>
> Besides, they list a ton of mainstream authors who can't possibly be
> members of Epic 'cuz they died before Epic came along, so I think
> their author list simply very deliberately excludes certain
> contemporary -- but non-Epic-member -- authors whose works are
> otherwise available through Fictionwise.

WRONG! Sorry. I'll bet I know which authors you mean, and you need some
fact-checking. Mundania Press is home to the back lists of several deceased
NYT Bestsellers, including Robert Adams and Frank O'Rourke. We also have TK
Sheils and Ariana Overton (both deceased), come to think of it. Just because
they're dead doesn't mean there is no one benefiting from their work or
managing their interests. In Terry's case, for instance, his wife Dee
manages his. In Ariana Overton's case, her husband Max oversees hers.
Robert's wife oversees his. We were even in negotiation for Andre Norton's
back list, shortly before her death. Had her heirs finished that deal, we
would have her books out, too. Mundania is an EPIC member and places all of
our books on the EPIC store. I'm sure other publishers have similar
situations. For instance, several publishers carry the books of Emy Naso,
and he's been dead for several years. His son Nicky oversees his father's
book deals.

In addition, Tony is right. There are some publishers that offer public
domain books. If they have them in their FW catalog, they will show on
EPIC's site.

Brenna
-- 
http://www.brennalyons.com http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons
All dreams have a meaning, even those that cannot possibly be true. Mollie
hopes so, anyway.  Is she losing her mind or learning her destiny? FAIRY
DREAMS -Mundania Press, LLC.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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