Re: The death of an industry innovator

On 16/11/2012 10:49, Brenna Lyons wrote:
>
> They finally did it. B&N finally shot the goose that laid the golden 
> egg and
> decided to close all the other ebook lines they purchased. As of Dec 4,
> Fictionwise, eBookwise, and eReader.com will all cease operation.
>
> Believe me, this didn't come quickly or lightly. B&N killed these 
> wonderful
> sites over time. ................. are more likely to gravitate either 
> to a retailer that
> sells their favorite format of ebook OR go to another multi-format site
> (like AllRomanceeBooks and OmniLit).
>
> This is a sad day for the entire industry. The death of an early 
> innovator.
> The death of a beloved companion in the building of a new industry. All my
> hopes that B&N would see sense eventually and rebuild Fictionwise were 
> sadly
> misplaced.
>

Brenna,

I have noted you as a fighter for Fictionwise and the others for some 
years. And your recognition of where this was leading. Now that the 
other shoe has dropped, I can only raise my idea again :-) .

Somehow I think small publishers must consider some form of joint sales, 
and note the power of a bigger platform. A ring, or set of rings, is one 
possibility; a joint sales or shopping basket to build buyer confidence; 
some sort of joint selling, without an actual link - perhaps an agreed 
version of affiliate; maybe an associate with a seal of quality. Perhaps 
more than one, or something else.

This might even be done by some sort of unity between the smaller 
etailers. The alternative is the swamping of endeavour and the shrinking 
income which Amazon will impose. There is always some sort of room for 
independence and for small groupings, as well as big players; at the 
moment one big player, while a great entry point for many, is - in my 
opinion - less conducive to future profit! and the influence of Amazon 
decisions is pervasive.

It does seem to me a good idea, and that is in a business sense, not 
some misguided idealism.

Joseph Harris



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