This just in from INGRAM!

Received this via Ingram because I've got an edition of Never Ceese published through Lightning Source. Oh do read on:

August 19, 2011

Dear Publisher:



Earlier this week Microsoft announced the discontinuation of the Microsoft Reader effective August 30, 2012. This includes download access of the Microsoft Reader application. Users can continue to use the Microsoft Reader application and their .lit eBooks after full discontinuation on August 30, 2012. Ingram and Microsoft will continue to provide technical support until July 10, 2012.

At Microsoft's request, Ingram will cease making .lit eBooks available for initial download on November 8, 2011. Users will still be able to re-download .lit eBooks from original links through August 20, 2012, but no new purchases can be made after November 7, 2011 (US).

If .lit is the only format currently submitted to Ingram, we recommended replacing those files with industry standard EPUBs (http://idpf.org/epub) or PDF's.

For questions or more information, please contact your Account Manager.

Sincerely,



Ingram Content Group

What does this mean? It means you should go straight away to Black Bed Sheet Books to buy ALL your ebooks because they WON'T stop offering .lit format. Many folks still use MicroSoft Reader and will for quite some time. Here's a bigger question: if ebooks are in such demand, why is microsoft getting out of the ebook business? Because e-books aren't in big demand. Amazon and Barnes & Noble and Apple just want you to think that so you'll buy their "exclusive" reader. All of Black Bed Sheet Books e-books are DRM free. No exclusivity here. ;)



Oh, the link: http://blackbedsheet.goshopper.net/



And to reply on this claim: "At Microsoft's request, Ingram will cease making .lit eBooks available . . . " More like, Ingram decided all by themselves to do this. Why would Microsoft care? They don't. But it's a nice spin that keeps Ingram from looking bad I guess.



Oh and notice how INGRAM came right out and said the "industry" standard was EPUB or PDF. Oh, I'm laughing my butt off at that. *sniff, sniff* I smell "big dog" publishers marking their territory. Hear that Amazon. MOBI isn't the "industry" standard according to Ingram. You better go set them straight. LOLROFL Oh, I love starting things.



Hey Ingram, did you know that the New York Times Best Selling e-book statistics are pulled from AMAZON Kindles ONLY!!! So much for your idea of what "industry standard" is and so much for anyone who chooses NOT to publish a Kindle through Amazon (because they take returns on ebooks and offer ebooks published through them out for free without the publisher's permission) ever making that list. RACKET!!!!

Oh Let's do dicuss Random House shall we!

Alternante-Title: How many times do we have to watch large publishers go down this road?

New article out and hot of the press. What are large publishers doing now besides running around blindly as they hit wall after wall after wall. Well here ya go! A nice article on Random House's goings on.

Again just a link to support my discussion about parts of it. ;)

Random House, one of the largest book publishers in the world, has finally joined its peers in coming on board to Apple's digital e-book platform, the last of the major publishers to do so.

Oh boy! Small publishers of the world rejoice as one. The large publishers who could care less about your existence and step on you at every turn have now ALL decided on a way to hopefully keep you locked out of the market.

Random House books do appear on the Kindle and Nook stores . . .

No! Really? Of course they showed up on Kinde and Nook stores. The Nook is Barnes & Nobles ereader format. Barnes & Noble is a chain bookstore set up to distribute books published by large publishers. DUH! And Amazon . . . well, they're just Amazon and for Random House another safe haven because the books are DRM encrypted (which really means very little if you know anything about anything.)

Apple has tweaked its guidelines and enforcement for apps like Kindle and Nook, which means it may soon not be possible to buy e-books on an iPad from any place other than the official iBooks outlet. . .

What? What? What?

Oh YEAH!!!! Another distributor attempting to corner the market by making something digital impossible to buy from anyone but them. *Sue chanting* "Go Apple, it's your birthday . . . go Apple . . .!"

I'm so glad all the large publishers know what they're doing. Aren't y'all? All I can say about this particular news is that, well, the APPLE doesn't fall far from the tree! HA!

Did you really think large publishers weren't going to band together to try and form some sort of alliance. They did it during the depression to survive with Simon and Schuster going out on that proverbial limb to extend that insane return policy to keep their bookstores from going under. All the other publishers of the day had to follow suit or go under.

Just keep this in mind. When it says large publishers have all joined together to do something, it doesn't mean they all agree. It simply means they don't trust each other. They're all in heated competition and each one is so influential that if something works for one of them the others are sure to fail if they don't go along with it.

This should all be very interesting to watch. *Sue sits back with her bucket of popcorn.* Very interesting indeed.

Black Bed Sheet Books now offering Kindle, Nook and other Ebook formats!

For those of you waiting for Black Bed Sheet Book titles for your Kindle Reader, Nook Reader or Palm Reader and various other readers as well, then wait no more.

Never Ceese, republished by Black Bed Sheet Books in 2010, is now available in all these formats via SmashWords. All other titles will be added very soon. Not only will these titles be available, they are all DRM free meaning you won't just find one e-book format specific to one reader but many ebook formats that will work with ANY reader.

Since I, Sue Dent, have tackled the task of transferring these titles to e-book format for Black Bed Sheet books I will share that while the .PDB format reads fine, I've yet to find a way to tackle the translate accent marks when found in the text. I've checked and re-checked the other versions and found NO problems. You can see for yourself in the 20% preview that you can read for free.

Smashword's own style guide nails the accent mark as one of those codes they've yet been able to address with their "meatgrinder" so there ya go. Just wanted to let you know as BBS strives not to put below quality work out there.

If you want to purchase the $3.99 PDB version it will most likely print a "funky" character wherever a word is accented. There really aren't many but it is what it is for now.

Unlike Amazon and Barnes & Noble, SmashWords DOES NOT accept returns which is the way it should be. The publisher should decide whether they want to make a book returnable not distributors. Amazon and Barnes & Noble are distributors period. Also you get to read a 20% preview would should let you know right away whether it's something you want.

So support the CORRECT way to do things and purchase from SmashWords. The fact that bigger published authors are sticking with Amazon and Barnes & Noble should tell you a little about them. They aren't interested in providing you with quality fiction at a reasonable price. They're only interested in taking your money and as much of it as you'll let them.

There is a link to all copies of Never Ceese in many e-book formats over on the left and here's one here as well: Never Ceese for sale at SmashWords.

Black BED SHEET BOOKS Friday!!

Don't forget to support all of us Small Press Authors this Black Friday and here's a way for you to easily do this. Black Bed Sheet Books will be showcasing their latest and greatest books at downwarden.com/blackbedsheet this Black Friday and have deemed it "Black BED SHEET BOOKS Friday!"

I'm particularly excited because it is the official date that BBS will release Never Ceese under their name with special cover art by Mr. Halloween himself, Nicholas Grabowsky! I'd make you wait to see that but I can't. So here ya go. ;)

Click on Book Cover to purchase from Black Bed Sheet Books!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D



Of course not only will this version be available WORLD WIDE it will be available in many different e-book formats including but not limited to Kindle! I know, right?

Of course my work is for the general market reader so you won't be able to find it for purchase at bookstores that don't carry such books and no plans are being made to seek approval by Spring Arbor for distribution to the Christian market as there is no real advantage.

That being said, YEP!! IT'S AVAILABLE WORLD WIDE!!!! So make my Christmas and snatch you up a copy right away. Do mark Black BED SHEET BOOK Friday on your calendar. You won't be sorry. ;D