21
| May 2014 |
I generally do an Ask Nadia session on Wednesdays, but I decided to talk about something else, which several people have asked me about.
Where can I buy a copy of a Nadia Lee book?
If you're buying a print copy, any store is fine. And just for the record, I don't mind if you buy new or used when it comes to print copies. Amazon, B&N and other bookstores should carry them or be able to order them for you if they're not in stock.
For ebooks, I currently distribute to the following stores only:
- Apple iBooks — All 51 international stores
- Amazon — All territories
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- Google Play
- All Romance eBooks
Several people have asked me about my distribution plans at Smashwords. I think this is because I used to distribute my books via Smashwords, and I currently have one book available on Smashwords (Vengeful in Love).
I plan to pull that book down from Smashwords soon and close my account with them. I basically used Smashwords to distribute Vengeful in Love to Barnes & Noble, because Barnes & Noble does not accept books that are free. So I had no choice but to use Smashwords.
But recently, the negatives are considerably outweighing the positives.
Pro(s)
- You can make your book free on Barnes & Noble.
Con(s)
- Reporting is extremely slow. Oftentimes I have to wait for weeks for updates.
- And the reports are confusing. I have a degree in finance and minored in economics and took more accounting courses than I should have in college. I still get a headache when I look at their reports.
- Their payments are slow.
- Their ebook file vetting system is inconsistent and slow. (I'm not complaining about having to create a consistent and/or proper epub file. I've been doing that for years now, and Apple, which is one of the pickiest vendors out there, has no problem with my files. What I object to is random errors that don't make any sense.)
- Their support is slow (if you get a response at all).
- I've received my tax forms late a few times, and they were often the wrong forms.
- The biggest problem: Smashwords opts me in for new vendors without my consent or notifying me first. There are certain vendors I do not want to do business with. I understand Smashwords wants to grow its business, but it should respect my wishes as well and not send my books to places without my explicit permission.
I know many overseas readers buy from Smashwords because it's easy and convenient. But I can no longer distribute my books to a place that routinely disregards my wishes (in addition to all the other issues). I try to accommodate overseas readers by making my books available on all 51 Apple iBooks Store, localized Amazon stores and putting them on All Romance eBooks and Google Play.
Thanks for your understanding!
