Bugging the Strategizing Back-Rooms of Barnes & Noble

Customers at a Nook kiosk in a Barnes & Noble store. The company
said that it would no longer manufacture color tablets

Barnes & Noble is in a 'make-or-break' corner. Beat up pretty bad from its digital dalliance with the Nook e-reader --- bleeding blood-dollars from its coffers.

B&N wanted to expand its business in 2009 so they ventured into the digital field with the introduction of its first black and white e-reader, the Nook. The Nook had some initial success that convinced the B&N strategizers to further expand into more bells and whistles for the Nook --- But, this placed the Nook e-reader-turned-tablet into a field of bigger, heavier hitters which just overwhelmed the bookseller-recently-turned-digital-entrepreneur --- resulting in Barnes & Noble's digital plans being blown to hell.

"For the fiscal fourth quarter, the Nook unit showed a $177 million loss in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, more than doubling the loss from the period a year earlier. Sales fell 34 percent, to $108 million."

On top of this, Mr. William Lynch, the tech wizard hired to run B&N's digital division, quit! Talk about pressure and intrigue.

So now Mr. Leonard Riggio, the chairman of B&N and the one who initially built the bookseller into a powerhouse, is once again in the captain's chair. He also cherishes the physical bookstores.

So you can just see the 'think tank' smoke billowing out of the B&N's boardrooms --- resulting, hopefully, in financial soundness for the last major bookstore chain. 

If B&N survives and grows, you will hear a universal sigh of relief emanating from publishers, authors and agents!

So, stay tuned!

More details by Julie Bosman in the New York Times:  

Fork in the Road for Barnes & Noble

William Lynch was brimming with the enthusiasm of a start-up entrepreneur. It was January 2012, and Mr. Lynch, Barnes & Noble’s chief executive, was showing off the company’s shiny Palo Alto, Calif., offices, a 300-person outpost that was the center of its e-reader operations.

He and other executives proudly displayed their new devices, talked about plans to expand and promised that the bookstore chain could go head-to-head with the giants of Silicon Valley.

“We’re a technology company, believe it or not,” Mr. Lynch said.

But only 16 months later, Barnes & Noble’s digital plans are crumbling. Last month, a disastrous earnings report coincided with the company’s announcement that it would no longer manufacture color tablets. And on Monday,Barnes & Noble announced that Mr. Lynch, the young, tech-savvy architect of the company’s digital strategy, had abruptly resigned. A new chief executive was not named.

That leaves the nation’s only major bookstore chain without a clear path forward, reviving fears among publishers, authors and agents — who are deeply dependent on a viable Barnes & Noble — about its future.

Barnes & Noble executives have acknowledged one fact: the digital business that was to be the centerpiece of its growth strategy must be retooled.

After introducing its first black-and-white e-reader in 2009, called the Nook, Barnes & Noble joined the tablet race, a move that industry experts have pointed to as a source of the company’s current troubles. Barnes & Noble’s inexpensive color tablets aimed for a niche in the market below the iPad. But while the company grabbed close to 25 percent of the e-book market, its digital division was getting pummeled by larger competitors, and bleeding money.

“Barnes & Noble was in a Catch-22. They had to do something in digital and Nook was their best shot at it,” said Peter Wahlstrom, a retail analyst with Morningstar Equity Research. “William Lynch had a good vision, but he was overwhelmed and fighting with one hand behind his back.”

Mr. Lynch’s departure, which was effective immediately, leaves Leonard Riggio, the chairman of Barnes & Noble, with a much more visible and powerful role within the company. Mr. Riggio, who built the company into a national force, is known to cherish the physical bookstores. His increased influence, analysts said, could shift the company’s focus more toward the retail side of the business.

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Nook: From B&N To Microsoft for Cool Billion?

News is out that Microsoft is ready to offer B&N one billion dollars for their Nook ebook and tablet media business.

After this leak found its way into some speculative news media articles last week, B&N’s stock price soared --- All this comes about one year after Microsoft’s $300 million investment into Nook Media to bolster its faltering sales and expand Microsoft into new digital areas. This gave Microsoft about a 17% stake in Nook Media.

If B&N does divest itself of its Nook Media sector – what in the hell is to become of the struggling B&N? It begs questions such as what will B&N do with the one billion? Will they invest it in their brick-and-mortar shops and return to being primarily a purveyor of print and other sidelines? Hmmm.

AND can Microsoft, who actually was one of the first innovators of ebooks (remember?) with their launch of the Microsoft Reader in 2000, manage their foray into this sector better this time around?

Some interesting facts and insights provided by Dennis Abrams and Edward Nawotka in Publishing Perspectives:

If Microsoft Takes Over Nook, What Next?

Last week, ABC News noted that Barnes & Noble stock prices soared afterTechCrunch reported that they had seen internal documents indicating that Microsoft is considering offering Barnes & Noble $1 billion to buyout the Nook Media business. Microsoft, after last year’s $300 million investment, already holds a 16.9% stake in Nook Media. Pearson, which invested $89 million in Nook Media and holds a 5% stake. In exchange for the additional $1bn, Microsoft would then redeem some of its shares in Nook Media, and take control of the Nook ebook and tablet business. According to TechCrunch:

The documents also reveal that Nook Media plans to discontinue its Android-based tablet business by the end of its 2014 fiscal year as it transitions to a model where Nook content is distributed through apps on ‘third party partner’ devices. Speculation about the plan to discontinue the Nook surfaced in February. The documents we have seen are not clear whether the third-party tablets would be Microsoft’s own Windows 8 devices, tablets made by others (including competing platforms) or both. Third-party tablets, according to the document, are due to get introduced in 2014.

But what are the implications of such a buyout for Barnes & Noble? Microsoft, while a technological powerhouse, has has been star-crossed when it comes to interacting with the book business.

Microsoft was one of the earliest companies to get into the ebook business, via the launch of Microsoft Reader, which debuted in August 2000. It was tied, in part, to the launch of Microsoft’s Tablet computers, the first on the market, and generally seen as a failure. The Reader software and its proprietary .LIT ebook format were discontinued in 2011. The company’s Live Book Search project — which had scanned 750,000 books and indexed 80 million journal articles — lasted just two years, from 2006 to 2008, before it was scuppered.

Should Microsoft take over Nook Media and opt to put an end to B&N’s own ereaders, where that will leave Nook is anyone’s guess. Windows 8, Microsoft’s latest release, has had a lackluster debut and adoption of their most recent Tablet computers incorporating this software have been lackluster.

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Barnes & Noble's Nook and E-Book Store Are Lagging - Why? Inside the Numbers



Nook device sales declined in part because
of higher third-party retailer returns.



.

  B&N, the world's largest bookseller, is finding a bumpy road competing in the e-reader and digital book world.

They are still maintaining a 25 to 30 percent U.S. market share, but, they have lost ground compared to a year ago.

Why?

Jeffrey A. Tractenberg spells out the reasons and actual analytical numbers in the Wall Street Journal:

Barnes's Nook Seeks Niche

Barnes & Noble Posts Wider Loss for E-Book Division

Nearly three years after Barnes & Noble Inc. opened its e-book store, the retailer continues to report widening losses on its digital business as it competes with larger technology rivals such as Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.


Shedding light on the struggling business—on which it has bet heavily as physical book sales come under continued pressure—Barnes & Noble on Tuesday for the first time broke out results of its Nook digital business. But for some, the results weren't pretty. "Their costs have been greater than expected and they've seen more competition than they expected," said Peter Wahlstrom, an analyst with Morningstar Inc.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended April 28, Nook revenue—a category that includes the e-reading devices as well as all the digital books sold—fell 11% to $164 million, from $183 million a year earlier.

Barnes & Noble said that it continued to maintain its healthy e-book market share in the U.S. of 25% to 30% during the quarter. But Nook device sales declined in the fourth quarter in part because of higher third-party retailer returns and lower average selling prices. Overall, the digital business reported a loss, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $77 million for the quarter, widening from the loss of $47 million in the year-earlier quarter.


Although Barnes & Noble earlier projected $1.5 billion in gross digital sales for the full year ended April 28, it reported only $1.3 billion—a $200 million shortfall.

The latest results underscore the difficulty of competing in a consumer marketplace that is highly price sensitive and appears to be embracing color tablets at the expense of simple black-and-white e-readers. Although Barnes & Noble's devices have won critical praise, the bookseller was forced to take back many of its Nook Simple Touch e-readers in the fourth quarter while delaying the launch of its Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight until May for quality purposes. Nooks range in price from $99 to $249.


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B&N's Nook Gets Huge 'Shot In The Arm' from Microsoft - Sparks Ebook Battle

Propelled by its Nook devices,
Barnes & Noble has more than
 25 percent of the e-book
 market, but it still
lags behind Amazon.

Could Amazon (as well as Apple) be getting a real competitor?

This $600 million dollar investment by Microsoft in Barnes and Noble's Nook will lift both past market leaders who have lost some ground in the recent past.

This deal will give the largest bookstore chain (with 25% of ebook market)a global reach while giving Microsoft a foot in 'one of the the most important battles reshaping the landscape in technology, retailing and media.'

Details given by By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED and JULIE BOSMAN
in the New York Times:

Microsoft Deal Adds to E-Book Battle

By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED and JULIE BOSMAN

Microsoft agreed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Barnes & Noble’s Nook division on Monday, giving the bookstore chain stronger footing in the hotly contested electronic book market and creating an alliance that could intensify the fight over the future of digital reading.

The deal, which gives Microsoft a 17.6 percent stake, values the Nook unit at $1.7 billion — roughly double Barnes & Noble’s entire market value as of last Friday — and bolsters the bookseller’s efforts to make its digital business the linchpin of its future growth.

The announcement was the latest surprise in an unpredictable and rapidly shifting e-book market, which is crowded with technology giants trying to chip away at Amazon.com’s dominance. Amazon once had close to 90 percent of the e-book market, but since then, a handful of players, including Apple, Google and now Microsoft, have edged in.

The alliance binds together two onetime market leaders that have lost ground. Barnes & Noble, which is the nation’s largest bookstore chain and has more than 25 percent of the e-book market but still lags well behind Amazon, has a rich and powerful partner with global reach. At the same time, the deal will give Microsoft a close ally in one of the most important battles reshaping the landscape in technology, retailing and media.

Microsoft has been forced to radically reimagine Windows, its flagship software franchise, for a future in which much Web browsing, movie watching, book reading and other activities occur on tablets.

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Independent Booksellers Reluctant to Carry Amazon Titles in Stores

More intrigue (and actual gossip) RE Amazon's publishing imprints :)

Seems the bricks-and-mortar indy bookstores are bucking selling the Amazon publishing printed versions.

Publishers Weekly says Amazon’s “fast-growing [publishing] group had an outsized impact on the industry.”

But, research seems to indicate that Amazon Publishing has not had an outsized impact on the industry ... in fact their numbers as reported by Nielsen BookScan are quite lackluster.

These details by Laura Hazard Owen in mocoNews.net:

The Truth About Amazon Publishing, Part II


In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) says it will double the number of original titles it publishes next year, to 400, and add more imprints, including a couple in New York. Much more interesting is what the company doesn’t say in that interview—and those omissions reflect the difficulties I explored in “The Truth About Amazon Publishing” last month.


Seth Godin Is Forgotten; Print Sales Are Poor: Publishers Weekly lists Amazon Publishing’s five top sellers in 2011, “in both e-book and print” (i.e., I think, in those formats combined): The Hangman’s Daughter; A Scattered Life; Elizabeth Street; Easily Amused; and Alison Wonderland.

SEE ALSO: The Truth About Amazon Publishing

Now, wait a sec. I checked the print sales numbers for each Amazon Publishing title last month, using Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 75 percent of hardcover and paperback sales (including print sales on Amazon). Here, according to BookScan, are Amazon’s top 5 print bestsellers in 2011 (I verified these titles’ BookScan numbers this morning):

1. The Hangman’s Daughter (imprint: AmazonEncore): 28,467 copies sold in print

2. Poke the Box (imprint: Seth Godin’s The Domino Project): 24,883 copies

3. Do the Work (imprint: The Domino Project): 8,933 copies

4. AWOL on the Appalachian Trail (Imprint: Amazon Encore): 6,000 copies

5. Anything You Want (imprint: The Domino Project): 5,920 copies

Three of these are Domino Project titles and that only The Hangman’s Daughter is listed as a top seller in the PW article. Here are the print sales for the titles PW lists as Amazon Publishing’s bestsellers:

1. The Hangman’s Daughter: 28,467 copies sold in print

2. Elizabeth Street: 1,073 copies

3. Easily Amused: 681 copies*

4. A Scattered Life: 629 copies*

5. Alison Wonderland: 205 copies

*These books are sold in Sam’s Club, which does not report sales to BookScan; their sales are likely higher than the BookScan numbers.

Some thoughts here:


Read and learn more



 

Publishing Industry On The Cusp of “Transformational Growth”

At least that's what Barnes & Noble chairman, Len Riggio, thinks and I tend to agree with him...and have said so numerous times on both my blogs.

There has definitely been a resurgence in reading, and, by natural extension, bookselling...due primarily to the new digital e-readers and peripheral tech gadgets...but, a surprising growth in printed book technology and sales has also been hooked to all this new digital enthusiasm.

And printed book sales are also up among the younger, eReader-exposed generation.

My related posts on this topic are listed together here (Publishing/Writing: Insights, News, Intrigue Blog) and here (Writers Welcome Blog).

These latest details from Publishers Weekly by Jim Milliot:

Riggio Tells Publishers 'Transformational Growth' Ahead

In an upbeat and optimistic keynote speech about the book market at the annual meeting of the Association of American Publishers, Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio said the industry is on the cusp of “transformational growth” led by the sale of digital content, and he urged publishers to produce different kinds of e-books ranging from novellas to books that can be updated. He said it was wrong to view bookselling and publishing as a “zero sum game” in which the only way to grow is to grab market share, with a limit to the number of books people will buy. Riggio said he sees the digital marketplace expanding at a greater pace than many analysts, and said the sale of e-books is adding new customers and is just not replacing bound books. With the addition of e-books, B&N’s long tail is getting even longer, Riggio said. He noted that during the peak two-week holiday period not only did digital sales soar but comp sales of print books rose as well.

As bullish as Riggio is on e-books, he told publishers B&N remains committed to operating its network of stores. He reiterated comments that the bricks-and-mortar stores are crucial to the retailer’s strategy of selling the Nook family of devices and related content. “Our members who own a Nook are buying more than 60% more book units in total, and are spending an average of 120% more with Barnes & Noble,”. Riggio said. Customers have bought “millions of devices,” Riggio said, explaining that some customers come in to a store, browse the shelves and buy an e-book and sometimes buy both an e-book and print book.

He was glad publishers had come to value the importance of full service bookstores and once again predicted that as the mass market paperback fades mass merchants will either downsize or abandon their sale of books. The new bookselling landscape will likely feature, in addition to B&N, smaller format stores and specialty stores as well as independents. Riggio said, telling publishers that he is more confident than ever that booksellers and publishers are aligned.

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Borders's Woes Could Help Barnes & Noble

This post gives an insight into the book publishing/selling financial, deal-making world of SURVIVAL.

Boarders's booksellers is squarely on the slippery slope named "last Chance"!

Borders, unlike Barnes & Noble, have not aggressively pursued the digital, ebook market and as a result are not positioned to quickly pull credit based on future market share growth in the ebook world.

Check out the wheeling and dealing Boarders has been involved with to avoid bankruptcy and to better position themselves in the event bankruptcy becomes inevitable in this Reuters article by By Tom Hals and Jennifer Saba:

Borders meetings with publishers could seal fate

* Borders planning more meetings next week-source

* Most publishers have stopped shipping books-source

Bookseller Borders Group Inc (BGP.N) is floating the idea of treating the money it owes publishers as a loan, a way for the company to rework its finances, a publishing source said.

Borders, the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain, which last week said it was delaying payments to some vendors, began meetings with publishing houses on Tuesday and has planned more meetings for next week, said the source.

Borders, whose sales have plummeted in the past three years, warned investors last month that it could face a cash shortfall early this year.

"The idea is that what they owe is considered a loan that they would pay back with interest," said the source, who requested anonymity because the business relationship with Borders is confidential.

A Borders spokeswoman, Mary Davis, declined to discuss the details of those meetings and said on Wednesday that the company is not experiencing a liquidity crisis.

The meetings could determine the bookseller's fate, with publishers playing a role usually reserved for lenders or bondholders of distressed companies.

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Current Publishing News Hither and Yon

I just love that phrase "Hither and Yon"...and have fond memories of the old song Hither, Thither and Yon sung by the great Brook Benton! Ahhh, memories!

Anyway, a little fresh-off-the-press news from Publishers Weekly from here and there RE:

Barnes & Noble and the Riggio family (read my previous posts on the Board of Directors positions fight b/t the Riggio family and Ron Burkle http://alturl.com/3bjvv and http://alturl.com/izybe). More details at link below.

RoyaltyShare Adds Price Monitoring for publishers to track prices charged by online retailers under the agency model (make sure they are charging the price YOU set)...AND discount prices retailers charge under the retail model. More details at link below.

Get additional info on above and more publishing industry briefs at http://alturl.com/q357c

Update on B&N's Self-Publishing Portal 'Pubit!'

An update giving publishing time-frames and author royalties for the Barnes and Noble self-publishing platform Pubit!

For background on Pubit! please refer to my previous posts RE Pubit! : Barnes and Noble Jumping into Self-Publishing! and Barnes & Noble Trumps Amazon with 'Pubit' Self-Publishing Platform

TechShout.com reports these Pubit! updates:

The broadly expanding e-reader arena has opened doors for a string of
innovations. Barnes & Noble further extends it by launching the PubIt!, a self
publishing portal that enables independent writers and publishers to distribute
their content. This self-service Web portal comes with no hidden costs, allowing
qualified content owners to deliver their work across millions of new readers.

Barnes & Noble now adds tens of thousands of titles from numerous independent
publishers and self-publishing writers who have pre-registered for the service.
The titles have been incorporated into Barnes & Noble’s expansive eBookstore.
The PubIt! content that is newly submitted will be put up for sale within 24 to
72 hours after upload.

“We’re delighted at the enthusiastic response we’ve received from thousands of
independent writers and publishers who are eager to introduce their exciting
works to a broader audience of readers,” said Theresa Horner, director, digital
products, Barnes & Noble. “The launch of our PubIt! platform further reinforces
our long-standing commitment to authors and writers, and offers a significant
opportunity to provide an even greater selection of reading material to our
millions of customers.”

Read more http://alturl.com/ydd6y

Barnes & Noble's Fight for Control Moves to Round Two

My 9 September 2010 post, Fight Still on to Control Barnes & Noble , introduced Mr. Ron Burkle, Chairman of the Yucaipa Investment Companies, and told of his attempt to have himself and two associates elected to B&N's board of directors...against the desire of B&N's company Chairman, Leonard Riggio, who fears for his control of the company.

Good stuff, eh?

Tonight we see this fight going into round two.

These details were reported by the Associated Press and carried in Crain's New York Business:

ISS endorses Burkle slate in Barnes & Noble fight

Institutional Shareholders Services Inc. recommended shareholders vote for Mr. Burkle's slate of three—including Mr. Burkle himself—to replace the three directors on the board.

A second proxy firm has weighed in on Barnes & Noble's proxy fight with one of its largest shareholders, billionaire Ron Burkle, this time favoring Mr. Burkle's slate of directors a week before shareholders meet and vote.

Institutional Shareholders Services Inc. said in a report Monday that shareholders should vote for Mr. Burkle's slate of three—including Mr. Burkle himself—to replace the three directors up for election or re-election Sept. 28.

Last week, another proxy advisory firm, Glass Lewis & Co., recommended voting for Barnes & Noble's slate of directors, which includes Chairman Leonard Riggio.

Read more http://alturl.com/wvv73

Book Marketing: Why Digital Booking is Better than Bricks-and-Mortar Booking

I don't ever want to see physical bookstores disappear...and I don't feel they will completely. But, having said that, we as writers need to understand some basic dynamics to survive.

To understand why digital processing of books is completely dominating the book publishing, marketing and selling world, you have to understand what happened in the demise of giants like Blockbuster and Barnes and Noble and the rise of companies such as Netflix and Amazon.

Randall Stross , writer of the NYTimes Digital Domain column, gives us a good insight to changing business models and, in my opinion, how and why they can affect us as writers:

Why Bricks and Clicks Don’t Always Mix

NOT so long ago, in 2005, Blockbuster seemed invincible. However you preferred to rent movies — in stores or online — the company was ready to accommodate you.

At the time, Netflix could offer only one way of obtaining a movie (the mail) and one way of returning it (the mail). It was clicks, with no bricks.

Of course, we now know that Netflix has done just fine. In January 2005, its shares traded in the $11 range. On Friday, they closed at $140.46, giving the company a market capitalization of $7.35 billion.

As for Blockbuster, which was spun off from Viacom in 2004, it’s now a penny stock, and its woes are as visible as the “Closing” banner in the window of a store in your neighborhood. The company recently warned that it might file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Last week, its chief financial officer resigned. (A spokeswoman for Blockbuster declined a request for an interview with a company representative.)

Blockbuster’s experience shows that executing a bricks-and-clicks strategy entails a high degree of difficulty, managing not just two very different kinds of businesses, with dissimilar domains of expertise, but also a third challenge: integrating two separate systems. An online-only service can remain a best-in-class operation because its executives focus, focus, focus on just the online business.

In the handicapping of likely winners and losers in 2005, Netflix seemed unlikely to survive, let alone thrive. Netflix is “not a sustainable business,” Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities, told SmartMoney that year. In his view, successful Internet businesses tended to “have a bricks-and-mortar component.” That is, retail stores.

Read more http://alturl.com/6ygtw

Fight Still on to Control Barnes & Noble

Who said there was no intrigue in the publishing and bookselling industries? Phooey, it's loaded!

Ron Burkle, Chairman of the Yucaipa Investment Companies (possibly a preditor group at times), owns a 19% share of B&N and wants to get himself and two associates on the B&N board of directors...But, B&N company Chairman, Leonard Riggio, wants to stay in control by limiting Burkle's involvement and has been campaigning shareholders to beware of Mr. Burkle, who he believes is trying to seize control of the company.

Matthew Flamm has more details in this article from Crain's New York Business:

The battle for Barnes & Noble just got noisier.

In a letter to shareholders on Thursday, the board of directors of the largest brick-and-mortar bookseller raised the volume on its shouting match with Ron Burkle, chairman of Yucaipa Cos., who is engaged in a proxy fight to put himself and two associates on the Barnes & Noble board.

“Don't be fooled by Mr. Burkle,” the letter states, and urges shareholders to “stop what we believe is Burkle's thinly veiled attempt to seize control of Barnes & Noble.”

It asks shareholders to support the board's nominees, company Chairman Leonard Riggio, David Golden and David Wilson.

Mr. Burkle, who has a 19% stake in the bookseller and argues that its share price has been hurt by mismanagement, has been fighting Mr. Riggio for control of the company for most of the last year. He recently lost a court fight aimed at overturning a poison pill provision that has kept his stake from going above 20%.

Read more http://alturl.com/qt22s

There's Something About Barnes and Noble

Just like the old country store in past eras became a gathering and resting place, so has the Barnes and Noble bookstores in present time...or is it getting to be the recent past?

Anyway, B&N is a great place for a good cup of joe!

This insightful slice of literary Americana was reported in the New York Times by Julie Bosman:

At Bookstore, Even Nonbuyers Regret Its End

On Monday afternoon, Jai Cha walked out of the Barnes & Noble at 66th Street and Broadway in Manhattan as he does nearly every week — without a book.

“I’m just killing time,” said Mr. Cha, a 30-year-old lawyer, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. “I’ve been coming here to read Bill Simmons’s ‘Book of Basketball,’ about a chapter at a time.”

He might have to hurry. Barnes & Noble announced on Monday that at the end of January it would close the store, a four-story space across the street from Lincoln Center that has been a neighborhood landmark since it opened nearly 15 years ago.

“We recognize that this store has been an important part of the fabric of the Upper West Side community since we opened our doors on Oct. 20, 1995,” Mary Ellen Keating, a company spokeswoman, said in a statement. “However, the current lease is at its end of term, and the increased rent that would be required to stay in the location makes it economically impossible for us to extend the lease.”

It has been a bumpy year for Barnes & Noble, the country’s largest book chain, with 720 stores. Sales and store traffic have suffered as the book business has shifted online; Amazon has held its early lead in the e-reader war; and early this month, Barnes & Noble put itself up for sale and is now in the midst of a battle for control of the company with Ronald W. Burkle, the billionaire investor.

Read more http://alturl.com/io3xc

Barnes and Noble Jumping into Self-Publishing!

Why not B&N in the self-publishing world? Everybody else and their brothers are flying to this forecasted-to-be-explosive field!

From Publishers Weekly (PW) Industry News:

Barnes & Noble is entering the self-publishing business with the summer launch of PubIt! by Barnes & Noble that will allow independent publishers and self-publishing writers to distribute their works digitally through Barnes & Noble.com and the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. Publication and distribution will be limited to digital works with no sales through the B&N stores. The company said it will release details of the royalty model and compensation process at a later date.

To distinguish itself from other companies offering digital self-publishing services, B&N is highlighting access through the Nook and other devices compatible with the ePub format. “As a company that has achieved much of its success by building mutually beneficial relationships with publishers and authors, Barnes & Noble’s new PubIt! service represents an exciting evolution and significant opportunity in the digital content arena,” said Theresa Horner, director, Digital Products, Barnes & Noble. “Barnes & Noble is uniquely positioned to support writers and publishers and bring their exciting digital works to the broadest audience of readers anywhere.”

B&N Adds Browser To E-reader, Competes With Ipad

I see the other e-readers, that were slightly diminished when the "more options" iPad came bursting on the scene, are scrambling to add extras NOW so they can stand a little taller against king iPad and keep a viable share of the market...Look forward to seeing many more improvements from all...including iPad!

From Associated press through Cain's New York Business:

An update to Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader will also allow users to browse complete books in B&N stores at no cost in another application in testing.

(AP) - Barnes & Noble says a software update to its electronic reader the Nook will let users surf the Web and play games.

The update will also allow users to browse complete books in Barnes & Noble stores at no cost in another application in testing.

Barnes & Noble's Nook uses Google's Android operating system. When it was launched, executives said Android applications could be developed for the Nook. The games, which includes chess and Sudoku, are the first Android applications.

Dedicated e-readers have been threatened by the launch of Apple's iPad earlier this month. Amazon.com's Kindle also offers a basic Web browser.

Nook users can download the update at www.nook.com/update.

BN's Nook Expanding Its Retail Presence

The competition between e-readers is heating up...as expected! The Barnes & Noble's Nook will be sold in the Best Buy chain beginning next week per the Associated Press:

Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. has struck a deal with electronics retailer Best Buy to start selling its Nook e-reader in more than 1,000 of the mega stores next week.

Electronics seller Best Buy Co. will sell Barnes & Noble Inc.'s electronic reader Nook beginning Sunday, the companies said Monday.

The $259.99 e-reader and its will be sold at 1,070 Best Buy stores in the U.S.

Previously, the device was sold only at Barnes & Noble stores and online.

Barnes & Noble introduced the Nook last year to compete against Amazon.com's Kindle and other e-readers.

Shares of the book seller rose 10 cents to $22.87 in morning trading. Best Buy shares rose 14 cents to $45.03.

Barnes and Noble Ushers In New CEO

More intrigue and drama in the publishing world. Changes are a-going-on! Crain's New York Business reports the following bit of drama:

New CEO William Lynch, who was promoted from president, helped launch the company's electronic book store and oversaw the introduction of its electronic book reader, the Nook.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble announced a chief executive switch Thursday, elevating the president of its Web site to lead the company and replace Steve Riggio.

The company said Thursday that Mr. Riggio will be actively involved with the company and will stay on as vice chairman.

New CEO William Lynch helped launch the company's electronic book store and oversaw the introduction of its electronic book reader, the Nook. It is crucial technology that the company is counting on to boost sales and ward off intense competition from online retailers and from rival e-readers like the Kindle and now the iPad.

Mr. Lynch, 39, has served as president of Barnes & Noble's Web site since February 2009.

Barnes & Noble is under pressure from shareholders as sales at its stores flag. Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle has blamed company management.

In February Barnes & Noble blocked an attempt by Mr. Burkle, whose Yucaipa Cos. holds a 19% stake in the company, to amass more shares.

"William came to us as a skillful leader in e-commerce who, in a short period of time, has done a superb job in quickly establishing Barnes & Noble as a major player in e-commerce and digital content," Chairman Leonard Riggio said in printed statement. "Given the dynamic nature of the book industry, William is uniquely qualified to lead the company's transition to multi-channel distribution and drive the continuing expansion of our e-commerce platform, eBooks and other digital content and products."

Steve Riggio is the brother of Leonard Riggio, who is the company's biggest shareholder.

The company also promoted Chief Operating Officer Mitchell Klipper, 52, to CEO of its retail group.

Last month Barnes & Noble, based in New York said the launch of the Nook helped spur online sales, but weakness at its bookstores led to a drop in profit during the fourth quarter.

Its outlook for the beginning of this year left many investors disappointed.

In premarket trading, Barnes & Noble shares edged up 12 cents to $22.45.

E-books Spark Battle Inside the Publishing Industry

Publishers want to maintain their disproportionate profit margins, writers want a larger share of revenue and readers want plentiful books at cheaper prices! A large order but one that is being brought into focus by the coming of the digital age and e-books.

Washington Post Staff Writer, Marion Maneker, nailed the archaic publishing industry in her article on 27 Dec 2009:

The evolution of publishing from print to digital has caused a schism in the reading world. There are now two constituencies: readers (and writers) on the one hand, and the publishing world on the other. And they don't want to hear each other.

Readers want books that are plentiful and cheap, publishers want to preserve their profit, and authors want a larger share of revenue. The conflict has created a strident internecine battle inside the publishing industry. At issue are the price and timing of e-books, and who owns the rights to backlist titles. While publishers, agents and Amazon.com bicker, there is little time for conceiving new content that satisfies customer demand. If the book business doesn't tune in to that demand, it could wind up as a transitional source for the e-readers.

We know that readers want content, because it's clear they're not dazzled by the device. Consumers have made Amazon's limited and rudimentary device a hit, which speaks to their desire for books that are cheaper and easier to obtain. It surely isn't the device's design or functionality. Both are closer to the computer aesthetic of the 1980s than today's digital world. The Kindle may have lots of titles available -- but good luck using the device to decide what to read next.

But publishers have ignored this demand. In response, several conglomerates have aggressively moved to protect their legacy. Macmillan recently announced a plan to delay the publication of e-books and offer enhancements that will justify a higher price. This tactic is aimed at Amazon's policy of trying to set $9.99 as the expected price for an e-book. Most are priced much higher -- but that's beside the point. Amazon and publishers are fighting over this fiction, not the reality. Because Amazon's customers have made it clear that $9.99 is still too high for their taste. Most titles in the company's list of top 100 Kindle bestsellers are priced below $9.99, and the most popular price point is $0.00. But publishers can't hear this, because they're a little distracted right now.

The New York Times recently played up friction between publishers and agents over the electronic rights to backlist books. Random House has sent a letter to literary agents claiming to hold these rights even though it lost a court case on the subject. But agent, e-book publisher and blogger Richard Curtis puts the issue in perspective when he points out that few books are actually at stake here, because electronic rights became a contractual standard in 1990.

The real battle here is not over who controls the backlist rights but what royalties the publisher will pay. Stephen Covey caused a lot of consternation at Simon & Schuster last week when it was announced that he was taking his best backlist titles and publishing them with RosettaBooks, the e-book publisher that tangled with Random House on the issue and won. RosettaBooks is offering Covey half of the publishing proceeds, not the 25 percent or less he'd get from Simon. Publishers want these backlist books to add dollars to their bottom line; authors want to get a higher royalty for the backlist titles because the publisher doesn't need to make any further investment to generate sales. There's not a lot of room here to meet in the middle.

The stalemate ignores an important shift that digital publishing accelerates. The success of the book business over the past two decades was about expanding the supply of books. Growth came through increased volume, more titles and more title availability. That's the story of the six big conglomerates and the growth of the superstores. But digital publishing inverts that formula -- its magic is in the way it meets demand efficiently.

Barnes & Noble discovered that recently when the first of its Nook devices landed in the hands of reviewers. David Pogue and Walt Mossberg have both judged it a dud. The device seems to be a great packaging concept (dual-screen reader) marred by sloppy execution (slow navigation and refresh rates) that may leave them forever playing catch-up. Just building a device is not enough to capture sales. Amazon's advantage is its customer base and brand loyalty. BN's was going to be better functionality. If the books-and-mortar giant cannot make the breakthrough, more devices are coming to market -- and one of them will make a meaningful move forward.

This doesn't need to mean the end of book publishing. Publishers can no longer be vast containers of intellectual property distributed in paper form to bookstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs. But they don't have to be: They can become highly selective distributors to bookstores, supermarkets and price clubs. That's the lesson of the television, music and movie businesses.

But if the publishers want a role in the e-books business, they'll need to get over it and get on with it, embracing lower-priced e-books with higher author royalties. That seems unlikely. Because it's now clear that publishers just don't want to listen to what their customers are telling them.

The Keys to a Barnes and Noble Book Signing

Getting book signings at major bookstore chains is a real plus in marketing and selling your book. However, if you are self-published or have a print-on-demand (POD) book, it is more difficult to arrange these type of book signings.

But, do not despair! There are ways around the obstacles to obtain major bookstore signings AND other means available to you: independent bookstore signings and speaking engagements with backroom sales that allow you to keep more of the retail price, to name two.

Sallie Goetsch, a writer and small business consultant, has written an insightful article on ezinearticles.com explaining how to best obtain book signings, what the major chain book stores have to go through to provide you with one and what you need to have in place to land a major signing. I present her article here for your information:

Dan Poynter wrote in Successful Nonfiction that authors should never host autograph parties. Instead of merely signing their books, the thing to do was offer "mini-seminars." In an August 27th, 2006 interview with Tee Morris for "The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy," Annie Hololob, Community Relations Manager for the Harrisonburg, VA Barnes & Noble, confirms the value of making your book signing into an event. (Tee himself apparently has a habit of staging sword fights during his book signings, which definitely livens things up.) If you want to have an event at a Barnes & Noble, the Community Relations Manager is the person to talk to. This is the person who knows whether the store's customers are the right market for your book, or whether you'd do better at a store in a different city. (My local Barnes & Noble, for instance, doesn't even have author events, just a children's story time.) This is the person whose good side you want to get on.

There are two important things you need before you start assembling your press kit and cultivating the CRM at your local Barnes & Noble, however. Without them, there's no way the store can carry your books. Large chain bookstores have to operate by certain rules in order to stay in business, and those rules may exclude you and your book for reasons that have nothing to do with your merits as a writer.

Distribution

In order for BN to order, stock, and sell your books, they have to be available through a wholesaler or distributor such as Ingram or Baker & Taylor--one BN already has a relationship with. That means BN can buy the book at a wholesale price, usually 40-60% off the cover price, without going to extra trouble to special-order it. If your book is traditionally published, there should be no problem with this. One of the reasons for choosing to go with a major publisher or established small press is that they are already BN Vendors of Record. The traditionally self-published, those like Dan Poynter who start their own publishing companies, can become Vendors of Record by filling out the BN Publisher Information Form.

The authors who run into real trouble in the distribution department are those with POD books. These books may be good-looking and high quality. They may even be available through Baker & Taylor or Ingram. But unless ordered in very high quantities, they are offered only for the retail price. BN's standard order when dealing with a new publisher is two copies of every title. Even an order of 30-50 books for a signing isn't going to provide enough of a profit margin to make it worth the bookstore's while. And because Print on Demand books are literally printed only when ordered, each copy is much more expensive to produce than a comparable mass-produced book.

Returns

The other thing that keeps POD books-and their authors-out of chain stores like Barnes & Noble is the lack of a returns policy. Bookstores expect to be able to return all unsold books to a publisher, and not to pay the publisher for any of the books until after they sell. Unsold books aren't even returned intact: the covers get ripped off and they're sent away to be pulped. (I kid you not. I was horrified to learn this, even after reading all those warnings about not buying books without covers.)

POD houses don't warehouse books and can't provide that kind of returns policy, and very few self-published authors are going to want to. But no matter how barbaric a practice pulping is, it's a fact of life at all major book outlets, and Barnes & Noble didn't invent it. Nor does a Community Relations Manager have the power to bend the rules about this, however flexible s/he may be about the form your signing takes if you can meet the store's requirements.

Alternatives

If you're a self-published or POD author and touring the major chain bookstores is something you can't live without, you can try to interest a traditional publisher in your book, though you need to make sure that you really own the book in its current form before you do this. (Most POD houses lay claim to the final, formatted version of your book, though the content remains yours.)

Or you can skip Barnes & Noble altogether and hold your book events elsewhere. Independent bookstores are often in a better position than large chains to take a chance on an author, though they, too, need to be able to buy the books at a low enough price to make a profit. Public libraries are almost always willing to accept the donation of a book or two and host a reading.

And, of course, if you make your living as a speaker, back-of-room sales may be your best bet and an opportunity to take advantage of the plus side of self-publishing and POD: getting to keep a far greater percentage of the book's retail price.

Barnes & Noble: Please Avoid These Kindle Mistakes

As a follow up to yesterday's post on Barnes & Noble's venturing into the eBook field (to save their struggling book store business) and coupling with an e-Reader called "Plastic Logic," I have extracted the following article from PCWorld magazine which further discusses favored designs to include in the new "Plastic Logic" e-Reader. These favored designs point out the drawbacks in the current "Kindle" e-Readers.

by Todd R. Weiss
Jul 21, 2009 8:11 am:

Now that Barnes & Noble has unveiled its plans for an e-book reader and an e-book store to take on rivals such as Amazon.com and Sony, we want to get them out the door on the right track.
So here are the top five features we'd love to see them include so that the new Barnes & Noble e-reader doesn't have the same glaring shortcomings that many of us found in Amazon's original Kindle and new Kindle 2.
1) Please include great and easy file handling from the start. Amazon's Kindle 2 still hasn't gotten this right, which is very frustrating. The Kindle 2 still doesn't have integrated PDF reading capabilities. That means it requires a kludgy conversion process where the user has to send a PDF or other document file to themselves to be able to convert it so it can be read on the device. Not cool. Imagine how useful an e-book reader can be (Sony's Digital Reader PRS-700 reader includes this) if it can natively read various common document formats. Eureka! Don't disappoint us, Barnes & Noble.
2) The new Kindle 2 finally added USB support after the original Kindle came without it. Don't put us through that, please. Just give us USB capabilities from the start. It means one less bulky power adapter to have to lug along and less aggravation for users.
3) Get the price lower from the start. Amazon's new lower $299 price for the Kindle 2 is nicer, but it's still probably too high for consumers to wildly embrace these e-readers. Yes, it's $60 less than it was earlier this year, but if you get the price to the right spot from the start, say maybe a loss-leading $99, all the catching-up that would follow would be the Kindle 2 trying to catch up with your new success.
4) Please give us a backlit screen. The Kindle 2 still doesn't have one, which makes it hard to read in dimly lit places. The Sony e-reader has one. We like it. Give us one on your new reader, Barnes & Noble!
5) Be DRM friendly with your new reader. Digital Rights Management is a very emotional issue. Musicians, filmmakers, and authors deserve to be paid and shouldn't have to give up their profits due to illegal distribution of their works without payment. At the same time, a consumer who legally buys such a work should have reasonable rights to use it on any compatible device he or she owns without having to purchase it separately for other devices. If I buy a printed book, I can read it in an airplane or in a car or in my living room, without having to buy separate copies for each. The same should go for my e-reader or computer or other device. Consumers have rights, too.
That's it for now. Thanks, Barnes & Noble, for bringing us more options in the e-reader marketplace. Now get to work and make us all proud.
(Todd R. Weiss is a freelance technology journalist who formerly wrote for Computerworld.com. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TechManTalking)
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