SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHOR FRIENDS
This *INSANE* email from Barnes & Noble WTF
—no more than 100 books and they start deleting??
—removing titles that don't meet minimum sales?
What the hell? I've been publishing since 2011... I have 145 titles.
AI deluge screwing us but still...it's war on indies.
the injury of indie authors being shoved off platforms because AI is sucking up all the storage space after the insult of those very works being stolen by AI corps to feed their slop machine
(D2D and B&N both)
ME TO B&N:
I've been publishing on Nook since 2011... I have 145 titles, a combination of novels, short stories, etc. So I'm pretty alarmed that you're suddenly limiting books to 100 titles. This is across two pennames. I am a prolific author. Is this new rule intended to drive prolific authors off your platform? I'm wondering if I should be publishing with B&N if you're going to start removing titles arbitrarily.
Please let me know how you will resolve this situation.
1/3
B&N REPLIES:
Hi Susan,
Wanted to reach out personally to assure you that this policy is not meant to drive authors like yourself–with career catalogs and pen names–from the site. We are really going after larger publishers and aggregators who bulk upload.
We intend to have exemptions and I have whitelisted your account so you can continue to publish uninterrupted.
I apologize for any confusion or worry.
Julie Braunschweiger
eCommerce Sr. Manager, B&N Press
2/3
@chantaryu2 I've written 5 novels in a year and they were high quality, thank you very much. Also it's "titles" so short stories, box sets, collections... I'm literally going to upload a 6-volume series of collected short stories that I've written over my entire career (plus new ones!) in the next few months.
Artificial limits like this just inhibit indie publishing creativity. And imagination.
AI slop uploading 200 titles on a single day is characteristically different.
@hiisikoloart I understand, D2D really is betraying indie authors (who *made them as a business* mind you).
I still distribute through them but ONLY for Bookshop and ONLY because that's the only real way for me to get there.
I encourage you to publish widely and not rely just on KDP.
https://wandering.shop/@susankayequinn/115895107254032111
@susankayequinn
I am disabled so I can only do what is the easiest path at the moment. The whole end part of publishing process is very punishing for my brain cells. (^_^)*
I will try to get my books spread wide again, but since D2D is out....well, I don't have the fuel to go to each individual place one at the time to make sure they are available. )*: That would take far too many precious hours I don't have.
@susankayequinn
I hope they back away from this desicion too and instead attack the AI slop - maybe have the books reviewed for slop covers and editing instead, and punish those who seem to publish books constantly (or have them reviewed by a human at least).
If they wont...well, for many of us who have very little energy, this is a dream ender...and AI was already kicking our asses to the highest degree.
Co-op? Find one, start one?
@faduda @susankayequinn
I have my hands more than full with my small art business and can't afford any co-op fees. Nor do I have time for setting up a co-op. (You mean business sense, right?)
I could maybe trade services with someone to help me manage the workload...but thus far haven't found anyone who would barter those skills for art. (^_^)*
My dreams aren't dead yet, but I know some who are so utterly dejected they might not write anymore at all. ):
I want to offer to trade, bc I could really use art for book covers rather than trying to cobble something up myself, and I don't mind doing publishing stuff. But my health is such I'm not very reliable in terms of getting shit done in a timely fashion.
@JessMahler
Would you like to dicuss this more via email?
I would like to know more about your skilllsets and time line that you could possibly work with. (: if your skills match, I'd love to work with you.
My email is: [email protected]
Also my website for you to see my art skills:
https://mxmilo.wixsite.com/hiisikoloart
My very sad author website that has not seen updates for a while: https://mxmilo.wixsite.com/marareboi
(Website updates are on my long to-do list)
I will just toss out that after I stopped paying for Amazon Ads, Google Play Store has become the biggest earning place for me.
And you can't reach them through D2D anyway, you have to go direct with them. They make it fairly easy, too.
It took about a year for my books to take off there, but now I'm glad I publish with them.
(Even if they are evil... *sigh*)
@Firlefanz @susankayequinn @hiisikoloart wait, you can publish on Google Play Store? That's news to me.
Honestly, I only really use KDP for physical copies of my book (in case someone wants one). But I really need to diversify my revenue streams (both as an author and as a content creator)
Yes, you can. They call it the Partner Center, you have to set up an account, and that's it.
https://play.google.com/books/publish/
Their uploading interface is simple, but you can't set up keywords or categories, they do that on their own (and it can be hit and miss for a while).
I'm also not entirely sure how the downloads work, I tried once and it seems they use something from Adobe (and that part was down). But people do buy books through it.
It's only for ebooks and audio, though, they don't have a print branch.
On the other hand, my print sales are far and few between... I'd say 98% of my royalties are ebook.
@Firlefanz @susankayequinn @hiisikoloart same here. People are preferring digital copies of books more than physical copies it seems.
So I think having just one place for physical copies is fine at the moment. And KDP seems to be doing fine for that (as much as I have my own issues with Amazon and their subsidiaries)
I recently started using D2D for print distribution (yes, yes, I know), because they use Ingram Spark without any cost to me.
And that means I can get my print books into the German bookstores and distribution system, among others. This is huge.
@Firlefanz @susankayequinn @hiisikoloart wow. This change must really suck for you then.
I tried using it for print distribution as well, but the page count just didn't line up for me.
I basically just take the print files I toss up on KDP and dump them into D2D. Works easily.
Haven't *sold* a print copy that way yet, but... it's all about making it possible for readers.
@Firlefanz @MisWiredKE @hiisikoloart
Just FYI: I use IngramSpark direct for print distribution (to get to Bookshop, libraries and bookstores worldwide, etc). They did away with upload fees, free ISBN, same (if not better) quality as KDP. I haven't got all my books moved over there yet, but just because I have a big catalog.
Kobo also has an option to distribute ebooks to libraries, which is a great reason to go direct with them.
In case you haven't seen it: https://wandering.shop/@susankayequinn/115895107254032111
@susankayequinn @Firlefanz @hiisikoloart I was actually considering Kobo, but I'm still struggling to get my bank details sorted (branch location issue).
But I'll definitely check out IngramSpark
@susankayequinn @MisWiredKE Might be tempting to go print-only, but now, a quarter of the way into the 21st century, that would limit sales very drastically.
The only time I buy print books now, for example, is whem they're ancient collectibles on my long-term want-list that I can't get as ebooks. (Or occasionally when the ebook versions of newer books are super-expensive and DRM-encumbered.)
@smashedratonpress @MisWiredKE
print is actually on the rise (witness: the rise of indie bookstore, Bookshop.org, even zines and The Onion going print edition)... in fact, special edition print Kickstarters are also making a splash
But that said, yes, you are right that most indies make their money on digital and that has been true for me as well (although I'm diversified into audio and print and libraries and it all adds up)
@smashedratonpress
After Amazon dropped magazine subscriptions, I lost several years of issues.
If I'd bought them in paper, *I would still have them*.
Now I buy only paper or EPUB, no more proprietary formats!
Also, paper books never seem to have their batteries run out, or simply break and stop working. 😉
@susankayequinn @MisWiredKE
I just sent email to D2D about this. I find it especially galling that they are making those earning the least pay for those who make more money on their system.
Why not make it a subscription system if they need money so badly? That would be more honest.
I agree.
They should be ASHAMED.
I use them for everything except Amazon and Google Play Store. I was so happy they finally finagled that contract with Bookshop.org.
And now this. It's so depressing.
I use them for *everything* except Google and Amazon.
I *can* set up directly with Kobo and Tolino, but that's about it.
B&N demands a US checking account.
Apple demands a freaking Apple computer.
I *just* started using them for print through IngramSpark.
I am so freaking disappointed in Draft2Digital. I used to recommend them everywhere. I will no longer do that. (Yes, I told them that, too.)
@Firlefanz You should be able to go direct to IngramSpark (although I honestly don't know if it works for authors outside the US). B&N I understand -- they're a pain. Apple has long been that way, although I think there's a workaround now that doesn't require a Mac (I still use a Mac but I think the need for that went away a while ago): https://www.indiepublishinggroup.com/complete-guide-to-self-publishing-on-apple-books-for-authors/
(Kobo direct also allows you to apply for their promo and distribute to libraries)
Yeah. I actually do sell the odd book on B&N. *sigh*
Biggest sales channel on D2D for me is Apple.
It's very good to know that Kobo distributes to libraries, though, that might actually convince me to go direct with them.
Funny enough, Google Play Store is now doing best for me.
So for now, I'll probably grit my teeth and stay on D2D, but it's high time we Indies team up and build our own sales platform.
And then D2D can forget their business.
I started with them to list with Apple. I'd been direct with them until they changed their policy and insisted I had to post a webpage with my address and phone number. Wasn't going to post my real address so I had to pay for a UPS address twice a year to remain direct. Going through D2D bypasses that requirement. I do make sales on Apple. $12 a year is cheaper than what I was paying UPS. And you can't go direct with bookshop--I tried. 😌
@mwl I have already done so! But that's good to hear... but also not? What about the upcoming prolific authors? Maybe it won't have the impact on new authors (hello that could be their future revenue!) that the D2D stuff does, but what about minimum sales? How is an author supposed to get STARTED? Is it like some kind of Book Hunger Games now that if you don't make X sales (which of course they don't specify!) out of the gate, they'll pull your books!
It's just nuts.
(but thanks for the info!)
@susankayequinn I suspect retailers and aggregators will need to judge between AI and humans.
Which will end... poorly.
As a short-run strategy, the only thing I can think of as mitigation is what @mwl and some others are already doing: Diversify, build fans, sell directly whenever possible, encourage doing something other than exclusives with giant corps that don't have your interests in mind.
A creator's only safety lies in business disintermediation. Highly recommended.
And federation when it comes to online stuff. Yup.
"sane people wouldn't publish more than 100 books." 
writers: a notoriously sane bunch
self-published writers: writers but without the rules
@kaidenshi
IT.IS.INSANE
I halfway think this "new policy" was written by AI
Josh Grams
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