# Question about e-book publishing: Amazon exclusively or go broader? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-e-book-publishing-amazon-exclusively-or-go-broader/652563 "2013-03-10T19:45:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-e-book-publishing-amazon-exclusively-or-go-broader/652563/1 "2013-03-10T19:45:59Z")
I currently have three science fiction novels available on Amazon for Kindle: > **[Rick Partlow: books, biography, latest update](https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rick%20Partlow/author/B00B1GNL4E)** > > Follow Rick Partlow and explore their bibliography from Amazon.com's Rick Partlow Author Page. I made the newest one exclusive to Amazon so I could sign up for the KDP Select Program so Amazon Prime customers could download it free for three months but the other two I have put up for sale as e-books for Nook on Barnes and Noble’s website via the Smashwords website. My question is this: for those of you who have experience in e-publishing, is it better to keep the books exclusively Amazon so you can take advantage of special promotions via KDP Select or does it make more sense to make them available through as many channels as possible? The reason I ask is, I have had pretty good sales via Amazon but in the short time I have had two of the books on B&N, I haven’t sold a single copy via that website. I hate to close off a market for the books, which is why I am wondering if having access to KDP Select is worth pulling the books off of Smashwords and [Lulu.com](http://Lulu.com). If the mods think this should be in General Questions, please go ahead and move it. I put it in Cafe Society because it’s about books. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-e-book-publishing-amazon-exclusively-or-go-broader/652563/2 "2013-03-10T20:18:14Z")
I’d guess that Amazon/Kindle will reach 90% or more of your potential audience. Even readers with a Nook can use a Kindle app on another platform, and probably do. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-e-book-publishing-amazon-exclusively-or-go-broader/652563/3 "2013-03-10T21:05:31Z")
When I finally started getting caught up with the 21st century & bought an Android phone, I was happy to see that Amazon had a free Kindle reader ready to download. And the PC version works well on my netbook & standalone PC’s. So I was buying Kindle books before I bought a Kindle. I’d be tempted to stick with Amazon if they offer you a good deal… ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-e-book-publishing-amazon-exclusively-or-go-broader/652563/4 "2013-03-10T22:46:55Z")
I’ve read that Amazon has roughly 60% of e-book sales (I assume by dollars not units) while Barnes & Noble is between 20% and 25%. Apple has about 10%, and the rest is split between other vendors. Microsoft recently bought a 17.6% share in Nook Media. So take those rough numbers and figure out whether giving Amazon the exclusive is worth it to you. **NitroPress** , I don’t know why you think Nook owners would buy from Amazon and read on other devices. That would mean they can’t read it on the Nook, which defeats the purpose of owning one. The caveat is people that buy from wherever the book is cheaper then remove the DRM, then convert the book to the format used by their readers. This is technically easy but still much more time consuming than paying a couple bucks more for the book on your platform of choice. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-e-book-publishing-amazon-exclusively-or-go-broader/652563/5 "2013-03-10T23:05:09Z")
From my experience, Amazon is responsible for better than 99% of e-book sales of my self-published works. For my traditionally published works, I think the ratio is along the lines of what **theR** notes. So in terms of my sample of one, I’d say that putting the ebook on platforms aside from Kindle is nearly irrelevant. And if KDP Select, etc., actually have an additional positive impact, that’s just gravy. I have no experience with KDP Select, though. I haven’t had the time to think about taking the books down from other sites and letting Amazon know I’m exclusive to them. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-e-book-publishing-amazon-exclusively-or-go-broader/652563/6 "2013-03-10T23:33:56Z")
> [@theR](#): > > **NitroPress** , I don’t know why you think Nook owners would buy from Amazon and read on other devices. Um, because I know several who do? It’s both a matter of price (sometimes), gift certificates for one or the other (often) and the fact that you don’t need a hard device to read Kindle works if you have virtually any tablet, smartphone or computer. So there’s no real downside to having some works on Nook and others on Kindle. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-e-book-publishing-amazon-exclusively-or-go-broader/652563/7 "2013-03-11T00:47:21Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Um, because I know several who do? > > It’s both a matter of price (sometimes), gift certificates for one or the other (often) and the fact that you don’t need a hard device to read Kindle works if you have virtually any tablet, smartphone or computer. So there’s no real downside to having some works on Nook and others on Kindle. I’ve heard others talk about being able to hack their Nooks to be able to run a Kindle app. But yeah, I don’t have a Kindle, but I have a Nexus 7 that can run a Kindle app or a Nook app.