ReadCloud - Enabling Indie Bookshops to sell EBooks. Momentum is building.

SPREAD THE WORD, SPREAD THE WORD. 

ReadCloud. A Viable Ebook solution for Independent Bookshops. 

Well, I certainly think so. I wrote about it here a couple of weeks ago and asked any interested bookshops to get in touch. Independent Bookshops can't ignore EBooks, and this offers, we think, the best deal.

Essentially, with ReadCloud 

• the bookshop gets around 35% of the download price.
• bookshops don't have to do anything to process the sales, it's all done for you.
• The look & feel of the e-book section of your website will match that of your existing website. Here is an example of what it looks like. This is a test site for Nigel's shop.
• You can decide the books that are highlighted on the website.
• The prices of the books on sale are negotiable (not necessarily r.r.p.)
• There are over 100,000 books available to download (all major publishers are included, and many smaller imprints) and the number of publishers signing up to it is increasing all the time.

One of the big draws for me personally, is that ReadCloud is an Indie company, just like us. I like to support independent companies and I want to support this one.

Well, the good news is that Bookshops did get in touch.

I've been asking the shops if they'd let me name check them on here and so far the ones that have said yes include;

The Gutter Bookshop

Belgravia Books 

Inkspot & Silverleaf

Dulwich Books

Warwick & Kenilworth Bookshop

Rikaro Books

Cole's Books

Kibworth Bookshop

Allan Hanna's Bookshop

Big Green Bookshop (hurrah)

The Book Barge

There are so far 26 bookshops overall, who've contacted us to say that they're interested. This is all getting very exciting, and now that momentum is gathering, we don't want it to stop. 

If you are an Indie Bookshop, or you are reading this and thinking to yourself that maybe you know a bookshop that would be interested, please help spread the word. 

This could be revolutionary. 

Thanks. 

Bookshop Layout.

A question was raised on Twitter earlier today by Brie (@14NC)

who like me would prefer bookshops to put all fiction together like a library rather than in to genres? 

 

It got a few people thinking, including me.

 

Despite the fact that a lot of libraries do separate genre fiction, the crux of the question was about the layout of bookshops.

 

When we first opened, we tried a couple of things. One of them was incorporating poetry into fiction.

I wrote this about it on the blog, way back in 2008.

 

" At the moment we've got poetry, essays and plays in with fiction. The reason for this was that we hoped people would be doing the usual thing of looking through fiction (the main section people look through) and would find a book of poetry 'by mistake'. It's worked well on some occasions, and I doubt we'd have sold 3 copies of Tarantula by Bob Dylan, if it had been in the poetry section, but at the same time we've uncovered a large population of local poets who are up in arms about this. So we've caved in."

 

Funny thing is though, looking back, we don't sell any poetry from the poetry section. And we did sell it when it was in fiction.

 

There's the argument that if a customer is, say, a sci-fi nut, who reads nothing but science fiction, he/she will want this to be a separate section. If Science Fiction was incorporated into Fiction, I'm worried that it will put those customers off.

 

It's the same with crime, horror etc. But I love the idea of serendipity when it comes to browsing. Finding something that you'd never expect to find. Perhaps having it all under the label "Fiction" will mean that more people will find something unexpected and try something different....

 

Oh man, this is tricky.

 

Daunt Bookshops do things differently again. They shelve books geographically - with guides, phrase books, travel writing, history and fiction grouped by their relevant country. This is brilliant and quirky. And it seems to work for them. But their shops are aimed specifically at book lovers with time to browse and also a bit of disposable income (their branches are located in the more well off areas of London).

 

I would love to integrate horror, crime, science fiction, fantasy and short stories into the general fiction section, but I need persuading that it's a good idea. Oh, and graphic novels too. Perhaps there's a way which the genres can be highlighted within the section. Maybe it doesn't have to be alphabetical. I don't know.

Some of our customers (particularly the ones who like specific genres) will not be keen on this idea. But there's something about it that I like.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be very welcome.

 

 

Reading Habits

Inspired by Scott Pack's blogpost on the same subject, I though it would confess my own personal reading habits.

1. 95% of the books I read are novels.

2. I have a Nook, but I rarely read books with it. I much prefer to read a physical book.

3. Only very very rarely will I read a hardback. I just don't agree with them.

4. I can't read if there are any distractions (TV, music, radio etc).

5. I read anything up to four books at the same time. A morning book, a train book, an evening book and a bed book.

6.Like Scott, I will flick ahead to see how long each chapter is before deciding if i'm going to read it.

7. If i'm reading a novel, I very rarely read the introduction.

8. I don't use a bookmark. I fold the corners down on the pages to keep my place.

9. Despite what I do, there are periods of up to a month when I don't read a book. There are also periods of time when I can read two books a day.

10. There are very few books i've read more than once.

That feels much better.

E-Books For Indies. An Update

I'm delighted that The Bookseller has written this great article about Read Cloud, the E-Book solution that I wrote about a few days ago. 

As I said in the blogpost, we're looking for independent bookshops, who are looking for a credible  opportunity to sell ebooks to get in touch with us. This seems like a very authentic solution. Here's what Readcloud offer.

• around a 35% discount on downloads
• bookshops don't have to do anything to process the sales, it's all done for you.
• The look & feel of the e-book section of your website will match that of your existing website. Here is an example of what it looks like. This is a test site for Nigel's shop.
• You can decide the books that are highlighted on the website.
• The prices of the books on sale are negotiable (not necessarily r.r.p.)
• There are over 100,000 books available to download (all major publishers are included, and many smaller imprints) and the number of publishers signing up to it is increasing all the time.

More than a dozen bookshops have expressed an interest already, including The Gutter Bookshop, Belgravia Books, Under The Greenwood Tree and Waterstones. At least one of these isn't true, but there's a real interest building around Readcloud. And rightly so.

Nigel French from Cole's Bookshop has been a real star. He's been championing Readcloud, and between us we're trying to work out a really authentic e-book solution that works for bookshops in the UK.

This is the big bit.

If you want to sell ebooks, this is a big opportunity. PLEASE get in touch. All you have to do say you're interested. You don't have to sign anything, you don't have to pay anything. You just have to get in touch.

WE NEED YOU TO EXPRESS AN INTEREST.

The more bookshops who get involved, the more chance it'll happen.
If you don't like it, you don't have to sign up, but please give it a look.

enquiries@biggreenbookshop.com
@biggreenbooks
020 8881 6767

I think this is a real opportunity.

COME ON!!