The Disappointing Nook
So far, coming off of Kindle exclusivity has been a very painful experience. Not being on the Lending Library means my “borrows” have disappeared. A lot of readers were picking up the Wool series because it was free with their Prime account, which is factored into our standings on the charts. Even though the book is still selling well, I’ve seen a slide in rankings the past 10 days from the 60s to the 90s.
Meanwhile, despite receiving dozens of emails begging for a release on the Nook, the sales there are paltry. I’m not completely giving up hope, and will wait a few more weeks to see if things pick up, but if this holds steady, the Wool series will once again become a Kindle exclusive by the end of this month.
iTunes, amazingly, still hasn’t published the Wool Omnibus, even though I submitted it over two weeks ago! Amazon publishes in 12 hours. B&N gets it done in 24-48 hours. iTunes? I’m hearing from other authors that it has taken over a month.
That’s ridiculous. I feel awful for the iBook readers who’ve picked up the first four Wool stories and can’t snag #5. It’s been in Apple’s hands for two weeks. Amazon has really spoiled me (and by extension, you) with their turnaround time.
If you are pulling for the books to stay available on the Nook, stop by and leave a review. I’m going to give them this month to see if sales pick up, but I’m not hopeful. I think the discoverability over there doesn’t favor indies the way it does on Amazon. If you have Nook-toting friends, recommend a halfway decent read. Keep hope alive, people!
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If publishing on iTunes is anything like putting music out through them, it does take a while. Which is a shame. I only have a Kindle Fire and that's how I first heard about Wool...so, more power to the Kindle! I hope things go well with the Nook.
I just posted 5 stars and my review from Amazon and jcmiller.net over on the B&N website. I hope it helps! Do you get any money from the lending library or is it mostly to spread your book around to new people who otherwise might not read it?
Josh: The Lending Library pays per "borrow." It's less than you get for a sale, but I've found quite a few will pay for the book after reading it on the lend simply because they want a version they can keep. It costs them the same, but the author gets a little bonus for making the reader happy.Also, Amazon treats a borrow like a purchase for the purpose of ranking books, so you get a nice boost in the top lists if your book is heavily borrowed, which mine was.
All in all, I'm taking a financial hit in the interest of supporting readers who own every kind of device. I'm now on the iTunes store. I'm just hoping to catch on elsewhere so I can remain an equal-opportunity writer. :)
If it makes you feel any better about iTunes, I submitted an app to their appstore and it takes over 2 weeks for them to process and approve and publish it. It's just the way they do things-but the massive exposure will be worth it.