Catching UP and question about book sites

Catching up

VIKING CROWN went to press last week.

Galleys went out (or went out again) on:

CRASH LANDINGS
TRAVELER


Work continued, or started on print editions of:

Grandfather's Gift
Playing with Fire
Second Republic
FacePainter Murders


Question from the e-mail: My latest book is not listed at Barnes&Noble, though it is listed on their affiliate sites and at all your other sales venues. How can I get them to put it up for sale there?

Answer: You can't. Neither can I. One book, one author, one publisher means NOTHING in Barnes&Noble's grand scheme of things. That's the sorry truth. They are concentrating on getting a new business venture under way and will not stop to consider details.

There is nothing either YOU or I can do to make them pick a book up one bit faster, or more accurately, until or unless, the get a separate upload platform like the one amazon recently installed. Until then, the computers automatically update the information about once every three days and books can show up or disappear again whenever those updates take place.

As long as the computers are in charge of the data, information and communication, books will appear and disappear at whim, covers will display, or NOT, at whim. There is no way for them, or US to fix it until or unless the glitch in the operating software is revised. I do believe, in time, they will set up such a platform that will allow authors or publishers to make changes. It took amazon five years to do it after they bought out Mobipocket to get inventory and the reader program that later became Kindle.

B&N bought Fictionwise to get their books inventory and their e-reader, that later became NOOK. They wanted the inventory, and to get a store in operation as soon as possible. That was last July. Last July we sold $23 worth of books at B&N. Last January we reported $336.10 in sales through the Nook outlet (including reported sales from all their affiliates). So as you can see, B&N is building a growing customer base. Also they are doing a lot of Nook advertising on TV, another good sign, as far as I'm concerned