Why are more books available for the Kindle than the Nook?

[Maggie_A]

Frequently I find a book unavailable on B&N for the Nook but available for the Kindle at Amazon. Why is this? For a year or more I have been requesting these books from B&N and also going direct to the publisher or author to request a Nook version...but I have seen no progress. I see this problem in older books as well as in new releases from small publishing companies. Can someone explain this?

[beeyebickiebuy]

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Maggie_A wrote:

Frequently I find a book unavailable on B&N for the Nook but available for the Kindle at Amazon. Why is this? For a year or more I have been requesting these books from B&N and also going direct to the publisher or author to request a Nook version...but I have seen no progress. I see this problem in older books as well as in new releases from small publishing companies. Can someone explain this?

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Probably for the same reason that years ago video stores stocked more titles on VHS than on Beta.  I just hope that the NC does not go away like Beta did. 

[Maggie_A]

Maybe. One of the reasons I choose Nook over the Kindle is that Nook uses epub which is "open" and used by other book providers...and I have the option of buying elsewhere and loading the book to my Nook. Kindle format is unique to itself. So, I thought more publishers would provide material to B&N. Since my assumption appears to be wrong, I'm wondering what I missed - or if it just a matter of time for B&N to catch up. In the meantime I am frequently frustrated when a book I am looking for is available for the Kindle and not the Nook. And still looking for an answer.

[RHWright]

It takes time & money to do the various conversions. With Amazon being the leading player for so long, some publishers, especially smaller ones, have put most of their resources there.

That said, I have found that some books I would like to get directly from B&N, which are available on Amazon, are also available from retailers (such as Kobo) that sell editions that are compatible with the NOOK when B&N does not sell them.

So it's worth double checking those sources and not assuming that if B&N doesn't have it an epub is not available anywhere.

[sirwillard]

You're asking a question that can't be answered so broadly. If you mentioned specific titles we could probably help you better, but a blanket statement that Amazon has more books doesn't really leave room for giving you an answer.

[Scott_Nagele]

I can't speak to this question from the perspective of the commercial publisher, but I may be able to give some insight regarding independent authors and self/small press published books.

As an independent author, I favor the Kindle for a couple of reasons. First, I have found it to be much easier to format my books so that they look good using the KDP (Kindle) upload system than it is to format them for the Nook. With KDP, I have never had to use third-party software to upload a book, but I have to go this route with Nook. This involves a longer learning curve and provides more opotunities to make errors.

The second factor is that it seems much easier for the non-famous author to garner sales at Amazon than at B&N. Whether this is because Amazon has more steady traffic, more active reviewers, more dynamic message boards, or something else, I can't say. But it does seem more difficult to draw attention to your titles on B&N.com.

That being said, I think that any indie/small pubbed author makes a mistake ignoring Nook as an important medium of distribution. Every sale matters, and any author who ignores Nook readers is turning his/her back on important potential sales.

Just one man's opinion.

Scott

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 A Smile Through a Tear

[AVID-JT]

Pinky contacted several publishers regarding this issue.  The response can be read on her blog.

http://freenookbooksummary.blogspot.com/

[Maggie_A]

Thanks to all for responses. It is helping me understand. Some examples of what I have found at Amazon for Kindle but not for the Nook:

Witness by Whittaker Chambers

George Washington's Sacred Fire by Peter Lillback

When deciding to buy the Nook rather than the Kindle I thought epub rather than a unique software would mean more books would be available. I always have a long "want" list so I can just go to something else when I can't find a book for my Nook - but my "can't find" list is getting longer and nothing seems to be moving off so I am getting concerned.

Thanks again for all the comments.

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

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AVID-JT wrote:

Pinky contacted several publishers regarding this issue.  The response can be read on her blog.

http://freenookbooksummary.blogspot.com/

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Keep in mind that is only a response from one publisher (Abingdon) which doesn't necessarily mean that other publishers will say the same thing.

[geertm]

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Maggie_A wrote:

Thanks to all for responses. It is helping me understand. Some examples of what I have found at Amazon for Kindle but not for the Nook:

Witness by Whittaker Chambers

George Washington's Sacred Fire by Peter Lillback

When deciding to buy the Nook rather than the Kindle I thought epub rather than a unique software would mean more books would be available. I always have a long "want" list so I can just go to something else when I can't find a book for my Nook - but my "can't find" list is getting longer and nothing seems to be moving off so I am getting concerned.

Thanks again for all the comments.

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Using the Inkmesh search engine you will find that for both books there is no ePub edition available, only a Kindle one.

Both publishers have only released a Kindle version, so there is nothing that B&N (or other e-books stores) can do.

[AVID-JT]

AlanNJ wrote:

Keep in mind that is only a response from one publisher (Abingdon) which doesn't necessarily mean that other publishers will say the same thing.

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Very true.  I should have said 'One' response could be read on Pinky's site.  I wonder if she ever heard from the others?

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

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AVID-JT wrote:

AlanNJ wrote:

Keep in mind that is only a response from one publisher (Abingdon) which doesn't necessarily mean that other publishers will say the same thing.

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Very true.  I should have said 'One' response could be read on Pinky's site.  I wonder if she ever heard from the others?

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I somehow think she will tell everyone as soon as it happens.  She doesn't seem shy.

[bklvr896]

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geertm wrote:

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Maggie_A wrote:

Thanks to all for responses. It is helping me understand. Some examples of what I have found at Amazon for Kindle but not for the Nook:

Witness by Whittaker Chambers

George Washington's Sacred Fire by Peter Lillback

When deciding to buy the Nook rather than the Kindle I thought epub rather than a unique software would mean more books would be available. I always have a long "want" list so I can just go to something else when I can't find a book for my Nook - but my "can't find" list is getting longer and nothing seems to be moving off so I am getting concerned.

Thanks again for all the comments.

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Using the Inkmesh search engine you will find that for both books there is no ePub edition available, only a Kindle one.

Both publishers have only released a Kindle version, so there is nothing that B&N (or other e-books stores) can do.

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A while back there was talk that there were some authors who had signed exclusive contracts with Amazon.  Don't know which authors, but that could cause some of this also.

[AVID-JT]

AlanNJ wrote:

I somehow think she will tell everyone as soon as it happens.  She doesn't seem shy.

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Well......she did make the effort and I appreciate it.  I sure didn't do anything to find out why the free books were so absent.  No, she's definately not shy.   

[Zion21]

It's simply because B&N and Amazon are different companies. They have different contracts and different demands and that effects what books are released. I am very satisfied with B&N's online selection however.

[Scott_Nagele]

 It looks like this situation might have just taken a new turn for the worse, from he Nook perspective. Amazon has just announced a new program called Kindle Select.

    http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect

This program offers extra perks to authors and publishers who agree to sell the electronic versions of their books exclusively through Kindle for 90 days. The program looks fairly tempting at first glance, but since I have already made my books available for Nook, and promoted them as such, it seems wrong to now make them unavailable so I can go collect some largess from Amazon. I don't know how many people would truly be disappointed if I did this, but it still seems wrong in principle.

I wonder how it will affect the disparity of e-book availability though.

Scott

 Temp

 A Smile Through a Tear

[A_Wilson]

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Scott_Nagele wrote:

 It looks like this situation might have just taken a new turn for the worse, from he Nook perspective. Amazon has just announced a new program called Kindle Select.

    http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect

This program offers extra perks to authors and publishers who agree to sell the electronic versions of their books exclusively through Kindle for 90 days. The program looks fairly tempting at first glance, but since I have already made my books available for Nook, and promoted them as such, it seems wrong to now make them unavailable so I can go collect some largess from Amazon. I don't know how many people would truly be disappointed if I did this, but it still seems wrong in principle.

I wonder how it will affect the disparity of e-book availability though.

Scott

 Temp

 A Smile Through a Tear

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What I find interesting in the fine print is this...

"Once you include a Digital Book in KDP Select, your Digital Book will be in KDP Select for a period of 90 days, unless we remove your Digital Book from KDP Select. Your Digital Book’s participation will automatically renew for additional 90-day periods, unless you opt out through the KDP website before renewal."

So unless they opt out at some point, Amazon will have the exclusive rights to distribute the electronic format of the book.  I wonder if this will apply/appeal to the BIG 6 publishers?

[LarryOnLI]

My feeling is that if any author/publisher chooses to release their eBook exclusively for only one eReader, and that eReader is not mine, then they are clearly telling me that they don't want my business.

Being the obliging guy that I am, they won't get it, ever.

[altreco]

Sometimes I feel like Burgess Meredith sitting on the steps in front of the library.  I have so many unread books in my Nook...and I still keep downloading more! Free books, cheap books, old books, new books; if I stopped downloading completely and just read an hour a day I'd probably be reasding for 3 years!

I don't mean to be snarky (well maybe a little ) but the continually renewed discussion of Nook vs the other guys seems unnecessary. When I get through all the other side loading lending library processes, I'll still have more books than I can read in 3 years!

[AVID-JT]

altreco, you are absolutely right!  I have over nine hundred unread books on my Nook and the majority were free.  Normally I read about 3 full-length novels a week.  Considering that many are short stories, it will take me 5 years to read them all.  Even though I don't need any more books, I still check to see what's new.  Like you said, we don't have any reason to complain about the free books available from B&N.