Tuesday, April 5, 2011

B&N- not just an erotica issue

There's a long thread here on Kindleboards discussing the B&N situation. I want to repeat here what I've said there-- this is not just an erotica issue. Based on the information we have, B&N is apparently manipulating its rankings system in order to change the composition of its bestseller lists. This should make all indie writers very, very nervous. If the bestseller lists aren't based on real and verifiable data, but simply on someone's whim, then the the entire system's validity falls into question. It means that B&N and Amazon can create bestsellers at will, and exclude books from the bestseller list at will. In the long run, this could affect far more than just erotica writers.

2 comments:

  1. It's a truly terrifying thought.

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  2. Apparently booting a book out of the top X books also makes sure it doesn't SELL....much less appear to be selling.

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