Wednesday, April 29, 2020

D2D Got a Clue, and Maybe Barnes & Noble Did, Too

Last Friday, I talked about D2D's announcement to their indie author clients that Barnes & Noble was only going to pay 30% of the receipts due to them. Meanwhile, indie distributor Smashwords announced Barnes & Noble was paying them in full for their clients' receipts.

(Full disclosure: I use Smashwords for distribution to some smaller retailers, but I upload all books directly to Barnes & Noble.)

Needless to say, Barnes & Noble ("B&N") was major topic of conversation among the various indie forums over the weekend. Maybe B&N realized who's really making money for them during the pandemic. I mean, it's not like the brick & mortar bookstores are considered essential services by the various governors and mayors desperately attempting stop the spread of COVID-19.

In a turnaround over the weekend, both B&N and D2D said B&N was paying D2D in full. The other side of the rumor mill said when B&N ran the numbers, they thought D2D was a larger publisher. And it's the big publisher who were only getting 30% of receipts due.

Oh, boy!

That's not necessarily a good thing either. Especially for writers who are fully trad published.

On a side bar, a note appeared on my B&N dashboard that I would be paid in full this week. We'll see what happens by Friday. It's low double digits since I'm rebuilding my own publishing company. However, I'm not holding my breath.

2 comments:

  1. Ah geez. When this started I didn't think indies would take a shave. I don't know why I didn't think that. It makes sense. Lots of people will get hit. This B&N saga isn't over, said stater of obvious things.

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    1. I'm withholding judgment until Saturday. Frankly, this would not be the first time I've pulled my books from B&N due to non-payment.

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