ROBUST discussion

Here's a bit of trivia for us to mull over.

I have two books that are always free on Barnes & Noble. The first is "Impressive Bravado" - it gets about 10 d/l per month and has sat at a rank of 101k for a couple of years. It's published via Smashwords.

I just recently uploaded "The Emissary" to Barnes & Noble, via Draft 2 Digital, it's also a free book and it gets about 10 d/ls a month. It's rank has been steadily rising, unlike that of "Impressive Bravado."

This week, it broke the "100k Rank Ceiling" and is now at 84k. It still gets about 10 l/d a month.

For a few weeks, there were two versions of "The Emissary" on Barnes & Noble, the Smashwords version had been free for over a year, and the rank was...drumroll...101k.

Meanwhile, on Apple's iBooks, I'm getting an average of 50 d/ls per month via Smashwords for the same books.

This is my theory:

Since Smashwords is notorious for their pornography, Barnes & Noble has auto-loaded an additional 101k rank points on all Smashwords e-books.

I know they added rank points back in 2011 because I couldn't FIND anything but erotica in 2011 and stopped using my Nook until the authors of said erotica started screaming that their sales had tanked and their ranking had dropped.

It looks like Barnes & Noble has put a blanket filter on ALL Smashwords e-books, not just the erotica, so they can't rise above 101k in rank.

I've uploaded my novels to D2D and am going to give them a free run sometime this summer, just to test out my theory. As far as I know, B&N's ranks are accumulative. In theory, a free run via D2D will bring my novels out of the mulch layer, on B&N for several weeks.

Has anyone else seen this?

If it is true that B&N has handicapped the pornography to give other readers a chance to see something interesting, I can only say I wish every vendor would do it!

However, though I don't know since I normally search by the author, I would have thought that readers could search any vendor by generic category, say "western", which would in any event exclude pornography. Of course, that would not apply to the impulse buyer trying to cruise best sellers or popular books or the latest publications, who in each case could be swamped by pornography.

Let us know when you conduct the experiment so we can watch the outcome.

So far 'The Emissary' is 20k points higher than 'Impressive Bravado' ever got.

I have the new cover ready for 'Impressive Bravado' I'll upload it this week to D2D. We'll see how high it ranks on a week to week basis.

The new Impressive Bravado had 4 downloads yesterday.

No rank on B&N yet.

Still no rank for the D2D version of 'Impressive Bravado' though it's had a half-dozen downloads.

Meanwhile, 'The Emissary' has slipped below 100k for the first time in a week. D/ls are 2 per day.

There's something hidden here that most indies don't grasp. It is that an e-book is forever, always out there.

Contrast what happens in trad, print publishing, where a new book has a print run of x number of hardcover copies. They go to the stores and sell out or are returned. There are now no copies. Then the paperback edition comes out and fights for shelf space, sells or is pulped. Then there are no copies, except in libraries, perhaps. There is either a substantial sale, or no sale. Eventually, when the author is established by more books that sold through this process, and builds a following, in the larger stores there may be reissues of older books, if the publisher is on the ball.

In hardcover books, in the days of the gentlemen publishers, even in the days of the conglomerate publishers, Kat would soon be celebrated as a cult novelist for a book that, several years after publication, sold 700 copies a year.

Andre Jute wrote: "There's something hidden here that most indies don't grasp. It is that an e-book is forever, always out there."

Which means that the 250,000 new ebooks published this quarter, regardless of genre or style, will further surround our currently available novels with an even thicker wall that prevents primary discovery. Every year that goes by, the selection gets larger, and our novels get swamped even more by the growing crowd.

I get it. I truly do. Most readers don't know how lucky they have it right now. It's a reader's market out there. They have so much to choose from, they're like a bunch of fat kids in a candy store that never runs out from the penny candy bin.

On the flip side, unless we get something all sparkly or downright outstanding, we aren't going to get picked by the majority any time soon.

I won't be the gummy bear. Or the gummy worm. I want to be the gummie-godzilla-super-seven-flavor gob-smacking thrill-candy...

but the sugar bowl is empty.

/cries

/laughs hysterically

/implodes

In hardcover books, in the days of the gentlemen publishers, even in the days of the conglomerate publishers, Kat would soon be celebrated as a cult novelist for a book that, several years after publication, sold 700 copies a year.

Damn, a couple decades late and a dollar short!

Daniel, the thing to remember it this: Amazon might have 5 million e-books, but B&N and iBooks don't have as many. They're better markets because the 'average Indie' has gone all in with Amazon.

K.A. wrote: "Daniel, the thing to remember it this: Amazon might have 5 million e-books, but B&N and iBooks don't have as many. Their better markets because the 'average Indie' has gone all in with Amazon."

In the pitch black world, a solitary door cracks opens. A slice of light streaks across the abyss, allowing hope to be illuminated.....

Thank you, K.A. :) Don't let my sense of dramatization get those eyes rolling. I fast feel a Metaphor Monday coming on... it's a Monday where I do nothing but talk in metaphors. My wife usually locks me up until its over. When it's out of my system, I'll be somewhat normal again.

For a little while.

A very little while...

I knew a fellow who wrote several best selling books for the snobby set. He lived in a (small) csstle on the Scottish border, and every morning his wife would lock his study door and refuse to give him whisky or coffee or food until he could show a thousand new words.

Wow, what a gal!

However, I need coffee and food, before I write.

Meanwhile back on D2D - Apple downloads of are catching up to B&N downloads.

May:
Apple had 2 downloads
B&N had 8 downloads

June
Apple has 11 downloads
B&N had 14 downloads

It's a tie for the month!

June:
Apple has 14 downloads
B&N has 14 downloads

The Emissary 14
Impressive Bravado 14

In just a couple of days, Apple has leaped ahead.

June:
Apple has 21 downloads
B&N has 16 downloads

This is new: Page Foundry 3 downloads

The Emissary 15
Impressive Bravado 21

I've noticed the two books appear to be moving on different vendors. Both are free. Impressive Bravado has an excerpt of The Emissary.

Yes, I'm happy with D2D. Gonna stay there.

We'll see if Scribd deletes my romance novels.

Well, that closes the little mini-arguments I've been having with myself.

My next big release of a new novel will happen at D2D. I won't use Smashwords and see how it all works out.

I'm loath to unpublish with Smashwords and move everything over. Once you unpublish, the retail pages with those years and years of hard won positive reviews will go away forever.

So for newer content, I'll upload over there and see how it plays out with the other retailers.

Thanks for keeping us informed, K.A. Your efforts are appreciated.

^_^

This business with Scribd is not Smashword's fault.

But, for some invisible reason, it looks like books published through D2D to the same vendors sell better...

In any event: There is no reason you shouldn't publish any book with both D2D and Smashwords. Just keep it alive at Smashwords with some vendor you don't tick on D2D, and voila, your reviews are still alive.

You're a brick, Kat.

Thanks guys!

June:
Apple 24
B&n 23
Page Foundry 10
Scribd 1
Tolino 4

I've never had sales on Scribd or Tolino and only 1 on Page Foundry. It could be because these books are 'new' through D2D, and their 5 years old everywhere else.

Daniel, What I've done is leave my books via Smashwords, and not use the channels that I've chosen on D2D. I did have a good experience with Pre-orders on both Amazon and SMashwords, but I made $2 on Smashwords and $14 on Amazon.

I understand why you wouldn't want to lose your reviews.

Mine appeared to move via ISBN - I had both 'versions' up for a time. The reviews were the same.

B&N revamped their website - it's full of bugs.

Well, K.A. does have a bit of theory here. I know it's not Smashwords fault, but the burning question is... do these retailers do something in their programming to lock away Smashwords titles into a higher ranking.

As for Scribd, I'm totally cheesed off at them. They removed all three of my romance novels from my author's page with them, though the individual links still works...for now.

If they can't sell all of my novels, then they can't sell any of them. I'm yanking them all later this evening from Scribd. The single payout I've seen from them in the last six months means I'm not shedding any real tears here.

If my newer stuff picks up and takes off, then I know it's not Smashwords at all. It's the retailers. *Conspiracy Music Here*

You have an author page on Scribd? Interesting.

I'll have to look into it. In all honesty, since I've never sold anything, they shouldn't be able to find them.

LOL HIdden in the mulch layer.

This should be an interesting month.

B&N changed their websites. KU changed their pay structure and Scribd cleaned house.

The next Reading Season is coming. This is the perfect time to make major changes.

B&N is back up.

They re-launched the site and I haven't had any sales in at least a week. But it appears to be back up and I've got a sale from yesterday.

K.A. wrote: "You have an author page on Scribd? Interesting.

I'll have to look into it. In all honesty, since I've never sold anything, they shouldn't be able to find them.

LOL HIdden in the mulch layer."

It wasn't a page directly designated as an author's page. If you're in Scribd and have one of your novels listed, click your name. You should get to a page where every book you have for sale is listed. Across the top is a 'series' tab if you have your novels in a certain series, they are listed there.

Everything you publish under one page, with your author name as the landing url. Nothing official to it, nothing we can do to edit it, but is a nice link to offer customers if you want them to see everything you have on Scribd in one shot.

I cleaned out Scribd before they cleaned me out. They're not seeing a single novel from me anymore.

My sales on the 'Zon has flatlined since July 4th. My slow boil novels are cooling off. I promised my fans that when a title goes no-sale for a month, I'll remove it from the 'Zon, but continue with other retailers as always.

I'll be checking out B&N in a few minutes. Thanks for the heads up. :)

Here's the year long total from D2D:

Jan 0
Feb 1
March 1
Apr 0
May 20
June 45
July 80 - so far

I'm happier with D2D than I was with Smashwords.

D2D does appear to be doing something right that isn't obvious, because on the surface they just do what Smashwords does, but more smoothly.

It's better than Smashwords in two years. Interesting how to similar companies have different results.

Interesting data to share:

July
Apple 48
B&N 14 = 2.37 Royalties

August
Apple 17
B&N 48 = $2.96 royalties

I set Let's Do Lunch free for a week. Now Swallow the Moon is free for a week.

Switched around. Why?

My novels went fast on B&N, Apple only Impressive Bravado goes out.

Brilliant discussion. I've not been with Smashwords long, but am increasingly concerned this week with all the blue stuff that is "dominating" (no pun intended!)and thanks to your topic, am thinking now of downloading straight to D2D or direct.
~As a newbie though, I was surprised to read it would be okay to leave books on S/W and upload the same book directly to B&N or D2V. Thanks guys !

Welcome to ROBUST, Georgina.