tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post2824469926554910399..comments2024-03-25T21:30:28.970-07:00Comments on <b>Smashwords</b>: Smashwords Signs Distribution Agreement with OysterDovetail Public Relationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-84161609299108397892013-12-19T07:44:14.196-08:002013-12-19T07:44:14.196-08:00There is another company that is getting ready to ...There is another company that is getting ready to launch after the first of the year called NOKBOK.com. From my understanding, they will be offering readers unlimited reading for $4.95 per month. However, they are a little different from Oyster. The site was created to benefit authors. They take all revenue from the site which consists of membership fees, advertising, book promotions etc and gives 60% back to the authors, 10% goes to charity and they retain 30% to run the company. The 60% is divided by the total number of reads per month for all books to get a price per read then your compensation is the price per read times the number of times your book is read. A book is considered read when the reader reads at least 20% of the book. Further, they are non-exclusive and is just another stage to present your material.<br /><br />I think there is something everyone is missing regarding these sites. When you are a new unproven author, who is going to put out $3-$5 on your book? The reader doesn't want to take the risk on not liking the book and wasting his/her money. With these sites, the reader can read 1 or 100 books at no incremental cost difference. Thus, they are much more likely to click on your book, read it and provide a review. With good reviews comes more reads and the cycle begins!<br /><br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463991062901976868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-12854087733249165212013-11-06T12:56:41.929-08:002013-11-06T12:56:41.929-08:00Achilles, in a more recent blog post, I examined t...Achilles, in a more recent blog post, I examined the business models of these subscription services more closely. Here's a link - <a href="http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/10/examining-business-model-of-ebook.html" rel="nofollow">http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/10/examining-business-model-of-ebook.html</a> In a nutshell, they're betting that they'll lose money on the heavy readers, but make it up on the the moderate readers.Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-53747685526680198032013-11-05T19:20:41.961-08:002013-11-05T19:20:41.961-08:00Gotta agree with Dee. The numbers simply don't...Gotta agree with Dee. The numbers simply don't work or plug in. If the Oyster buyer’s fixed expense is $9.95 monthly and they read 5 books a month that are normally sold at a price of $5.00 each that’s a total of a $25.00 payout. Bingo, Oyster is out of business in a month because they’re paying out more than they take in. Even reducing the payout to authors to 50% leaves a payout of $12.50 a month. Bottom line the only way the figures are workable is with payouts in the pennies to authors. Since Smashwords makes it money from the sum and not the parts I’m sure based on this Mr. Coker is super gung-ho on the deal even if the whole concept fell apart in a couple of years. <br /><br />Show me the figures of how this works. <br /><br />Plus I never got the e-mail.<br />Achilles77https://www.blogger.com/profile/08627945013442291506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-68272612524808886362013-10-29T09:33:08.387-07:002013-10-29T09:33:08.387-07:00Just found the Oyster 'Opt in" button. Ha...Just found the Oyster 'Opt in" button. Had to zoom out the page to see it. I noticed something while looking at the Channel page. Only one of my titles has gone to Oyster so far. I realized it was because I only have one book that hasn't been 'renovated' as part of the new launch. <br />That's pretty cool. I like how you don't just ship the old version while the new one is pending approval. <br />It's those little touches that show Smashwords' agility and commitment to continual improvement.A.G. Claymorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109502266487845431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-23195688945696601922013-10-29T09:23:43.461-07:002013-10-29T09:23:43.461-07:00I completely missed the Oyster email. I was conver...I completely missed the Oyster email. I was converting titles that had come off KDP Select in advance of doing a new title launch on Smashwords (before Kindle) to test out the pre-order function. I had tons of 'Your book is converted' emails from Smashwords and never noticed the Oyster notice until now. <br />Sounds like a great idea, like select but without the excusivity.A.G. Claymorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109502266487845431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-15571272319974694912013-10-26T06:27:29.844-07:002013-10-26T06:27:29.844-07:00@crusader, I'm not sure I understand your ques...@crusader, I'm not sure I understand your question or comment here. All Smashwords Premium Catalog titles that are opted in to Oyster will ship to Oyster. A sizable portion of our catalog is from authors outside the US, and many of our bestsellers come from outside the US. Our international authors have always been well-represented in everything we do.Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-49886045578523117322013-10-26T05:43:02.323-07:002013-10-26T05:43:02.323-07:00While I'm not pleased to hear that authors and...While I'm not pleased to hear that authors and publishers Amazon's payments have declined, I am comforted to know we are not the only ones. What gets me is if our revenues are declining so are Amazon's, so why are they doing this? Are they trying to drive their competition out business? <br /><br />If they did that our incomes would diminish even more. Of course there may be anti-trust issues, but who knows.<br /><br />As for Oyster, the email states: As a Smashwords author or publisher, you’ll earn 60% of you book’s retail list price whenever an Oyster subscriber reads more than 10% of your book, starting from the beginning of the book forward.<br /><br />How is this possible? An avid reader could easily read ten to fifteen books a month. Ten five dollar books equals $50, five times Oysters revenues. There must be something I don't know about but from the info I have the numbers don't work. Uncle Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04455276910545514612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-51653385420957593892013-10-25T17:15:52.799-07:002013-10-25T17:15:52.799-07:00All I can think to add here, from the information ...All I can think to add here, from the information you have sent us, is that not only your bestseller list but new titles and overseas titles lists be included.<br /><br />The world is flooded with US titles, but far too often the courtesy is not reciprocated especially when the printing is done in the US and distribution is done from the US.Crusader eBookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00478866058479259918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-37473989776404240142013-10-25T11:10:51.741-07:002013-10-25T11:10:51.741-07:00The long-awaited email with Oyster terms is now pu...The long-awaited email with Oyster terms is now pulsing its way to the inboxes of Smashwords authors everywhere.<br /><br />@Michelle, what you see in your Channel Manager have been test shipments. The titles at Oyster will not activate until after this 3-day period following the delivery of my email which went out today. At the end of the 3-day period, we will send Oyster a new update which will include new title additions, removals (opt-outs) and metadata changes. Once they ingest that new update, then the books will begin appearing at Oyster. thanks!Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-63094304148587771692013-10-24T20:37:06.206-07:002013-10-24T20:37:06.206-07:00I'm also questioning what happened with Oyster...I'm also questioning what happened with Oyster. I see in the dashboard that 2 of my books have already shipped to them and all of my books automatically were included in distribution to Oyster, but I never received any information about this, no account alert or update as promised, and I can't find anywhere where the terms are or what we will get paid. My books were added without any permission or information on my end--when/how are we going to be updated about this?<br /><br />Thanks!<br />Michy Devonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06333452835450732563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-74309652725705688892013-10-08T22:04:33.669-07:002013-10-08T22:04:33.669-07:00So... what ever happened with this? Three weeks b...So... what ever happened with this? Three weeks became five and there's no update, which is kind of disconcerting. Oyster seems to be up and running and supposedly gaining new books all the time, but no Smashwords integration information as of yet? I'd love to know what's going on and/or when to expect the full details of the distribution agreement.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105367238454474004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-5365439948911694912013-09-10T17:13:24.584-07:002013-09-10T17:13:24.584-07:00I just went back and reread the Wired article. Ten...I just went back and reread the Wired article. Ten books will be available for offline reading. A guess is when you load an eleventh, one of the others has to go.<br /><br />Almost there.<br /><br />Thanks MarkBFunivhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146118550604899547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-77149649360765721832013-09-10T17:00:50.529-07:002013-09-10T17:00:50.529-07:00Wired has an article on Oyster. http://www.wired.c...Wired has an article on Oyster. http://www.wired.com/design/2013/09/is-this-netflix-of-books-the-next-big-thing-in-publishing/ From what I can tell readers will not get the books, but will have the ten most recent streamed onto their device.<br /><br />I imagine their will be a quick rush to look at a lot of books, then a settling down to read at a normal pace. From what we know so far, we get paid when someone reads far enough into the book to not be sampling.<br /><br />As to DRM, I think it's stupid and unenforceable for devices and publishers of any media, and harmful to users. I like my users.<br /><br />I don't buy DRM limited devices or materials, but I'll still upload to all places. If readers want to use a purposely pre-broken device that's their choice. They can have my books in that format. I'd advice them to buy a DRM free device instead.BFunivhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146118550604899547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-60388809778858601692013-09-10T10:34:47.237-07:002013-09-10T10:34:47.237-07:00@Mark Coker:
Thank you for the clarification on D...@Mark Coker:<br /><br />Thank you for the clarification on DRM. Kobo had a DRM-free option for a while before they reached out to you on my behalf, that was available at publisher request. They added this option because it was asked for by publishers. All you had to do was keep asking. By default every publisher was enrolled in DRM even after the DRM-free option was there.<br /><br />This is the problem with Opt-In by default, and not providing all pertinent information up front. Please add a note to the channels page about Sony having DRM, as you do for library distribution. There are some people who would accept DRM on library loans who would never be willing to do the same for purchased titles.<br /><br />I would never distribute to Sony knowing now that they're DRM-only. I've been bitten by purchasing DRM-encumbered content from companies that later shut off their authentication systems. Even Adobe DRM isn't immune from this. When an Adobe Content Server licensee stops paying their fees, Adobe stops authenticating for them, even for previous purchases being redownloaded. Fortunately I was able to liberate my content by violating the law and using cracking software, but a customer should never have to resort to that. I'll sooner they never buy from me than risk that they might ever find themselves in the same position.<br /><br />With a 250K title strong catalog, Smashwords must be one of the biggest publishers that distributes to Sony, if not the largest altogether. Tell them you want DRM-free, even if you already have. The worst that can happen is they'll tell you No again. Or they might surprise you, as Kobo did, by already having an option available you didn't know about, or finally being willing to work on it. And if they say No, keep asking. Not for me, but because Smashwords customers deserve the best product possible, even when they buy it from Sony.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16825992816897820343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-12635739573729021082013-09-10T10:29:20.368-07:002013-09-10T10:29:20.368-07:00@Mark
Thanks for the clarification re: Sony. I -a...@Mark<br /><br />Thanks for the clarification re: Sony. I -am- going to let DRM stop me from distributing books to new channels, though.<br /><br />So at this point I'll opt out of both Sony and Oyster. Going forward I may end up just putting my books into the Smashwords store itself and opting out of the premium catalog entirely. If you guys could specify which channels use DRM and which don't someplace, or (better!) let writers specify whether they generally want to be automatically opted in to new channels...best of all, with an option to be opted into only new channels without DRM...it'd be very handy for those of us who have ethical/moral issues with DRM and the legislation that affects it. It's not just a business decision for some of us. Or at least it's not for me. Of course I have no idea what percentage of the authors using Smashwords actually care about this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-24641858551497530742013-09-10T09:06:39.373-07:002013-09-10T09:06:39.373-07:00David, Oyster is a closed reading environment, so ...David, Oyster is a closed reading environment, so it's fair to call that a form of DRM, just as library ebook checkout systems use DRM. For anyone who's followed us since the beginning, I've always spoken out against DRM and worked to educate readers and authors about its harm. The Smashwords store has always been DRM-free. In instances where we signed on retailers who only supported DRM, we switched to DRM-free once they supported it. When given the option to do DRM-free or DRM, we always choose DRM-free. However, I'm not going to let my opposition to DRM prevent us from opening new channels. DRM makes sense in library checkout systems. Oyster is very much like a library checkout system (though the financials for the author are different, as we'll share at a later date). If Sony ever goes DRM-free, we'll switch to that. Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-91885315864314777312013-09-10T08:10:34.049-07:002013-09-10T08:10:34.049-07:00On the DRM front, I asked Smashwords support about...On the DRM front, I asked Smashwords support about the issue last week. No reply yet.<br /><br />Not looking good--normally I'd be publishing a new story tomorrow, but I may end up pulling all my stuff instead. A shame, 'cause I've always liked the company till now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-35992375473616971462013-09-09T04:17:15.205-07:002013-09-09T04:17:15.205-07:00Oyster is definitely NOT like Netflix.
I am a lon...<b>Oyster is definitely NOT like Netflix.</b><br /><br />I am a long time filmmaker and television producer and had gotten healthy royalties from DVD sales of my films until the DVD market tanked in 2007-2008. What many folks do not know about the Netflix model is that they "buy" or license a show ONCE and resell it thousands and thousands of times over and the producer does not see a penny - nothing. In recent years I held my films back from Netflix in favor of Hulu and Hulu should really be more the model for a book subscription site. Producers who have their shows and films on Hulu share in the ad revenue as well as the subscription fees of the users and receive 50% of the gross revenue of sales aka "views" of their programs or films. I don't know all the details of Oyster but at least the author is being compensated for people actually reading their book. Imagine if it were a model like Netflix where Oyster paid you said $50 and lent the book out thousands of times.Robert Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06841868305209263495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-13132562422512552622013-09-08T20:58:16.807-07:002013-09-08T20:58:16.807-07:00For me, this is just another way to become 'vi...For me, this is just another way to become 'visible' in the overwhelming world of ebooks. <br /><br />Thank you Mark, and Thank you SWHenry Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00732946143264967588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-2912896214362574552013-09-08T14:14:09.716-07:002013-09-08T14:14:09.716-07:00Dave, the reason is that Oyster requested the disc...Dave, the reason is that Oyster requested the disclosure delay. There's no benefit to authors, but there's no harm either. Authors can opt out until they have received the information. Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-91545607219228007002013-09-08T13:56:12.394-07:002013-09-08T13:56:12.394-07:00Mark - Count me in!!! I want to voice my excitemen...Mark - Count me in!!! I want to voice my excitement about this new partnership with Oyster. I have seen the benefit of people being able to borrow and share my book through the physical copies I have donated to libraries - resulting in sales spikes of ebooks. I see huge promise in taking this to a bigger scale - bigger audience, more buzz, more promotion, more sales. Quick testimonial - I have followed up on distribution of my book on every channel that partners with Smashwords and the results have been consistently positive. The broad international distribution profile circularizes promotion. I'll be leaving the radio button under "Oyster" on the "distribute" setting!<br /><br /><br /><br />W.D. Curriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13702602656869594652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-12949893287679039572013-09-08T13:26:48.631-07:002013-09-08T13:26:48.631-07:00Mark,
I'm hopeful about the possibilities Oy...Mark,<br /><br />I'm hopeful about the possibilities Oyster offers, but have to confess, I confess I don't understand your decision to wait until 72 hours prior to shipping in order to announce these "author friendly" terms, especially when one considers that all our books were automatically opted in. <br /><br />Can you explain your reasoning, and how the delay benefits authors and publishers? ("It's not the first time" isn't a reason.)<br /><br />Thanks!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01948358769751290881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-27421626749966713282013-09-08T07:56:09.018-07:002013-09-08T07:56:09.018-07:00Thank you, Mark Coker, for always being on the lea...Thank you, Mark Coker, for always being on the leading edge.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18168691303788469536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-83501661816145356522013-09-07T02:59:26.613-07:002013-09-07T02:59:26.613-07:00I'm a lifelong library user. Services like Net...I'm a lifelong library user. Services like Netflix and Oyster are made for people like me, who will borrow borrow borrow till we find a series/author we like, and then we'll put down cold hard cash to own every single title from that series/author. Nearly every author whose book I've bought new is someone I encountered first at the library.<br /><br />That's my take on Oyster as a reader. As an author, I'll be interested to see what impact subscription models have on the e-book industry. At any rate, thank you to Smashwords for giving us more distribution options.Dusk Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17240494243900782524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-63328612907661095142013-09-06T21:05:31.606-07:002013-09-06T21:05:31.606-07:00While we're lacking details at the moment, I d...While we're lacking details at the moment, I doubt that it would be possible to download a bunch of books and then quit - no subscription service is going to make that a possibility if they can help because that is money lost for them and bad business practice. I have Netflix and if I don;t pay my netflix subscription my movies won't load. The movies are never in a format where I can save them, the same with Slacker, a subscription music service I pay for. When my membership lapsed I went back to "free" and the playlists i had "cached" on my phone no longer work because my slacker account is not paid up. It's fair to assume Oyster will do something like this too. They aren't going to want people to have a way to save the items permanently or else they are eliminating themselves. And if that's the case then they'll tank very quickly and again it will be a non issue. As a big user of subscription services (if you can tell, LOL!) I find this quite interesting. <br /><br />RE: The Amazon sales - buyers on Amazon now expect ALL books to have "free days" since KDP select started. I have read reviews on several books, including one of my own, that say "Wait until it goes free", because they expect that it will. Why pay for a book when they are sure it will go free soon? But then, a lot of people did predict this would happen....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com