(2010-09-23) Book Stakeholders Picking Channels

As part of my Book Server thinking, I should document current non-random practice of how various non-retailers (e.g. authors, publishers) generate sales (Printed Book and EBook). Do publishers sell themselves? Do they also point to Amazon and others? Do authors point to their publisher's site (if that publisher does self-selling), or point to retailers? (Business Models For Information)

Books I've bought/read recently

• William Gibson: Zero History - published by Putname (Penguin)

  • official all-books website links to bunch of Book Store-s.

  • blog links back to official-all-books site, etc.

  • about-Putnam page doesn't even link to their books. You can search/browse the overall Penguin site to find [it](http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/Book Display/0,,9780399156823,00.html), then buy it from them.

• Charlie Stross: The Fuller Memorandum - published by AceBooks (Penguin again!)

  • Charlie doesn't have a non-blog site.

  • blog has page for US editions (grouped by series, with Fuller Memorandum in group at end of page! That title links to PowellsBooks page.

  • see earlier Penguin notes

• Cory Doctorow: For The Win

• PeterAbrahams: Behind The Curtain (not new) - published by HarperCollins Childrens'

  • his site has a page about the book, which links only to Amazon.

  • It also links to a page on HarperCollins site which doesn't exist. Book page links to Purchase page which says they don't sell directly to public, and has links to lots of Book Store-s.

• Joel Fuhrman: Eat To Live

• Lenore Skenazy: Free Range Kids

Current Ny Times best-sellers...

• Fiction: NicholasSparks: Safe Haven - published by Grand Center (Hachette)

  • his site's [page](http://nicholassparks.com/Learn More.asp?BookID=35) for the book has Purchase button which expands to link to 4 Book Store-s.

  • Hachette site home page links to Sparks author page, which has no info or links to his books!

    • searching site by book title finds lots of matches

      • entries for "Nicholas Sparks (adult)" and "Nicholas Sparks (children)" - the former gives a page with useful info and links.

      • lots of links for the book - the various editions - hardcover page links to book Purchase page which has links to lots of Book Store-s.

So it appears that there's no "standard" practice in terms of whether publisher sells book directly, and whether author links to publisher vs 1 Book Store vs many Book Store-s.