Lois’s answer to “So with the deal between Kobo and Walmart (see, for example, http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart…” > Likes and Comments
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I had a terrible experience with making a purchase from Kobo. I was actually considering buying one their e-readers and I can't even begin to convey how relieved I am that I did a trial purchase of a couple of books first. I would hate to be stuck dealing with that company EVER again. The customer service is not just bad, it's incompetent.
Ugh. If they're that terrible to their customers, I have to wonder what they're like to authors!
Walmart distribution may make a difference to the economics and more competition would be good for amazon and all of us.
As the cost of displays and computer chips continue to go down, specialized ereaders would seem to be on the way out. General-purpose devices are a better overall purchase, letting us do many things beside read books.
I do have a Kobo ereader and for my own personal reasons I try to avoid buying ebooks from Amazon, I'm not completely opposed, in fact the Penric books are ones of the few I buy from them, as I haven't been able to find them in other ebookstore, but I already have your books in my "automatically buy" list. For other authors that are only available on Amazon, I have a few that have their books sitting in my To buy list for some years as I like their books, but I'm not so eager to buy everything they publish to go out of my way.
Having said that, I read some blogs from self-published authors and I understand the extra work that involves having your books on other bookstores, and being an stablished author with an audience that goes wherever your books are available like me, it might be not worth the hassle, but I wouldn't recommend the same for new authors building their audience, not only because Amazon needs competition or they would set the rules for their own convenience (which they are already doing), but because I have also read stories from authors falling into misunderstandings with Amazon and having their books retired from the Kindle store.
I also have been around here with e-ink readers for a while, before the first Kindle was out, so I have had some ebookstores close (Fictionwise, BooksOnBoard, Sony... to begin with, and being Spanish I can mention other ebookstores here) and I know the importance of not relaying that your favourite store will stay there forever, so I prefer buying from different bookstores.
I've heard of Amazon unilaterally axing customer's collection of books, often for insane reasons (one famous instance a few years ago: https://www.theguardian.com/money/201...). I've only heard good things from indie authors using Kobo. I haven't had any problems as a customer, which isn't to say there might not be (I've had problems with Amazon).
I prefer an e-reader to an all-purpose device, and I don't like Amazon's approach to digital content rights, at all. Besides, Kindle isn't compatible with Canadian libraries, so Kobo it is~~! (You can also use Nook and Sony with Canadian libraries, but both are harder to find than Kobo). Plus, I'd run into the same trouble as the woman from the article - I have an address in both the US and Canada as I work and live in both. Amazon ironically doesn't believe in globalization at the individual level, so any Kindle books I buy are at risk. So, I reduce risk.
Another vote for Kobo from me, although I know it's not up to you.
Kobos are quite popular in Canada (as they were originally launched by the biggest Canadian chain of bookstores) - so a good choice for this market. I've been reading the Penric novellas on a Kindle app on my phone but would really prefer the larger screen of my Kobo.
Kobo can read epubs so if you can get epubs in a general store (google for example) you can load them on Kobo, and most other ereaders, except for Kindle, who has its own format
I'm another long-time reader of your books who has a Kobo and would love to get the Penric stories on it. I, too, have been reading them on a Kindle app on my phone, which is a less-than-ideal reading platform.
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I had a terrible experience with making a purchase from Kobo. I was actually considering buying one their e-readers and I can't even begin to convey how relieved I am that I did a trial purchase of a couple of books first. I would hate to be stuck dealing with that company EVER again. The customer service is not just bad, it's incompetent. Ugh. If they're that terrible to their customers, I have to wonder what they're like to authors!
Walmart distribution may make a difference to the economics and more competition would be good for amazon and all of us.
As the cost of displays and computer chips continue to go down, specialized ereaders would seem to be on the way out. General-purpose devices are a better overall purchase, letting us do many things beside read books.
I do have a Kobo ereader and for my own personal reasons I try to avoid buying ebooks from Amazon, I'm not completely opposed, in fact the Penric books are ones of the few I buy from them, as I haven't been able to find them in other ebookstore, but I already have your books in my "automatically buy" list. For other authors that are only available on Amazon, I have a few that have their books sitting in my To buy list for some years as I like their books, but I'm not so eager to buy everything they publish to go out of my way.Having said that, I read some blogs from self-published authors and I understand the extra work that involves having your books on other bookstores, and being an stablished author with an audience that goes wherever your books are available like me, it might be not worth the hassle, but I wouldn't recommend the same for new authors building their audience, not only because Amazon needs competition or they would set the rules for their own convenience (which they are already doing), but because I have also read stories from authors falling into misunderstandings with Amazon and having their books retired from the Kindle store.
I also have been around here with e-ink readers for a while, before the first Kindle was out, so I have had some ebookstores close (Fictionwise, BooksOnBoard, Sony... to begin with, and being Spanish I can mention other ebookstores here) and I know the importance of not relaying that your favourite store will stay there forever, so I prefer buying from different bookstores.
I've heard of Amazon unilaterally axing customer's collection of books, often for insane reasons (one famous instance a few years ago: https://www.theguardian.com/money/201...). I've only heard good things from indie authors using Kobo. I haven't had any problems as a customer, which isn't to say there might not be (I've had problems with Amazon). I prefer an e-reader to an all-purpose device, and I don't like Amazon's approach to digital content rights, at all. Besides, Kindle isn't compatible with Canadian libraries, so Kobo it is~~! (You can also use Nook and Sony with Canadian libraries, but both are harder to find than Kobo). Plus, I'd run into the same trouble as the woman from the article - I have an address in both the US and Canada as I work and live in both. Amazon ironically doesn't believe in globalization at the individual level, so any Kindle books I buy are at risk. So, I reduce risk.
Another vote for Kobo from me, although I know it's not up to you.
Kobos are quite popular in Canada (as they were originally launched by the biggest Canadian chain of bookstores) - so a good choice for this market. I've been reading the Penric novellas on a Kindle app on my phone but would really prefer the larger screen of my Kobo.
Kobo can read epubs so if you can get epubs in a general store (google for example) you can load them on Kobo, and most other ereaders, except for Kindle, who has its own format
I'm another long-time reader of your books who has a Kobo and would love to get the Penric stories on it. I, too, have been reading them on a Kindle app on my phone, which is a less-than-ideal reading platform.
Hidden business matters like this, or licensing issues, not visible to end-customers, are often the explanation for what would appear to be distribution oddities.
Ta, L.