One Year On Mobipocket

Never has one website and its users had such an effect on my life.

Since I uploaded my books on Mobipocket, who I thought would be more of a distributor than a direct conduit to readers, I've gone from working in a cubicle to writing full time. Mobipocket hasn't made me rich, far from it, but thanks to the readers who enjoy my work I have just enough to do what I love without making time for another full time job.

"Why are you leaving Mobipocket?" Someone asked me this week. They interpreted my inclusion by other online eBook retailers catalogs as a move to separate myself from Mobipocket. My answer was simple; "I'm not leaving Mobipocket!"

My books will always be listed there. I've always been treated fairly by the site runners and there are a lot of readers who still very much enjoy Mobipocket, so there's no way I'll leave them behind when I have no reason to, especially after having a great year on their listings. For most of my time there I've been listed as the top selling science fiction author, an honour bestowed upon me by hundreds of readers who wait patiently for each Broadcast and spread the word (most of the time).

The reasons why I'm listing on Smashwords and Shortcovers are many, but mainly it's because Amazon.com, the owners of Mobipocket don't seem to be letting Mobipocket grow or change with the times. Just in case Amazon.com does something that really damages Mobipocket (and I don't know that they will, I hope they don't), I need to know my readers have a place to go to get my books.

There's also a need for more compatibility and people are very irritated with DRM, so there has to be an alternative to Mobipocket for any publisher or independent author. [EDIT: Smashwords doesn't add DRM to their eBooks and are compatible with all readers, even one I saw from Hong Kong recently] Things change, especially in the digital world, and I want my readers to feel confident that they can find my work no matter what reader they're using. I'll be the last person to force someone to buy print.

So, thank you very much Mobipocket, without you I wouldn't have met most of my readers. Thank you readers, without you and your reviews I would still be working in cubicle hell! Here's to another year on Mobipocket, may they remain viable and vital.

There is one more thing I should mention. I'm trying to spread the success I've had on Mobipocket to Shortcovers, Amazon.com and Smashwords. There are a few ways people can help and the one I'd like to focus on right now is getting reader reviews for the First Light Chronicles Omnibus on Amazon.com and Smashwords. I can't send signed copies out to everyone who posts a review, I simply can't afford it, but I can provide free eBooks! So if you post a review, send me an email with a link to it and you'll be rewarded! It doesn't have to be exhaustive, overly long or even an essay. Just a paragraph or two.

Spinward Fringe Arrives At Shortcovers!

Some time ago I received an Email from someone at Shortcovers in response to a blog post I made concluding that they weren't ready to do business with independents. I didn't state it that directly, but it was difficult to conclude anything else after reading my comment.
After speaking with someone on the telephone (he was actually one of the top enders), I started the process of listing my work with them.

Even though they don't have an automated eBook conversion system in place yet and things are still in the refinement stage behind the scenes, the people at that company made it work. That's what was impressive about this organization, there are people behind each step of the conversion, listing and posting process. Even though it's frantic over there, it's a new subsidiary of the Indigo / Chapters corporation, they're improving things.

As far as the readers are concerned, they're working with publishers to bring prices down and their site is pretty slick. I have their eBook reader on my iPod Touch and it's very easy to navigate.

They are the best Canadian eBook company around by far, and they're positioned to be one of the top in the world from what I've seen so far. They currently have apps for iPhone, iPod Touch, Google Android (TM), and Blackberry.

You can see my listings at Shortcovers here.

RL