New Bitcoin eBook store looking for a few testers

[mynameismonkey]

Hi all, I posted in a massive welcome thread, but I think I should have just started my own, so forgive me if I'm breaking etiquette.

I'm mostly done building a new eBook store ( http://bitbooks.co ) that will allow self publishing authors to post their eBooks for sale and accept Bitcoins. This will be a Bitcoin-only marketplace. I still have some finishing touches, but I'm at this point in need of some testers. I would love to have some folks come in, kick the tires, try the upload deal, place a file for sale in the store etc.

The site is at http://bitbooks.co and all feedback is greatly appreciated. I can't offer much, but I will shoot a copy of one of my author's books to you if you like, at least get something new to read

I started with Bitpay but I cannot get the gateway to play nice so I've opted for a plugin that will watch the blockchain and deliver an ordered book to you as soon as it sees the transaction, for now I'm limiting to one or two confirmations. It's a small spend and i hope to soak the few transactions that don't take. It's pretty fast turnaround and quite cool to get the note in your inbox that the file is ready.

Anyway, I've lurked here a bunch but finally registered to make this announcement, I'm pretty excited, worked hard on it, so I'm hoping to get some eyeballs on the thing and hear some comments from any members, whether you like books, eBooks or not. Cheers in advance, and I'll collect questions and respond here. Pull no punches!

[mynameismonkey]

Some questions I'm looking to have answered:

• What formats do people want? Is ePub good enough or should I offer multiple formats?
• If multiple, would you want them zipped, or separated?
• Would you use an on-the-fly currency converter to see prices in all currencies including BTC?
• Would you shop in mBTC mode? (1mBTC is easier on the eye than 0.001BTC)
• What other file types would you like to see for sale? Product keys? MP3s?
• Is it clear how to checkout?

[n.montross1]

I would be curious to check this out..thanks for the tip.

[mynameismonkey]

I would be curious to check this out..thanks for the tip.

Jump in and look around, and feel free to become a "vendor", there's no obligation or price and I'd learn a lot from you taking a stab at going through the process.

[ooeygooeygold]

Looking good! keep up the good work

[mynameismonkey]

Thank you! Good to hear the positive feedback, makes me feel like I'm not wasting my time ;o)

[Mike Christ]

The Kindle format (I forget what it is exactly) would be dandy.  I think it's .mobi.  Also, .pdf would be good too.

Would it be possible to list a novel without a price tag on it?  I'm releasing a novel soon that's going to include a BTC address so people would only pay for it if they liked it.

Finally, would it be possible to list the prices in Bitcoin instead of USD?  mBTC would be fine.

[mynameismonkey]

The Kindle format (I forget what it is exactly) would be dandy.  I think it's .mobi.  Also, .pdf would be good too.

These can easily be done, would you prefer to get a zip of all three or choose a format each time and get one file?

Would it be possible to list a novel without a price tag on it?  I'm releasing a novel soon that's going to include a BTC address so people would only pay for it if they liked it.

This is doable, I would have to extend the software a little to accommodate, but a "name your price" module is something I can do.

Finally, would it be possible to list the prices in Bitcoin instead of USD?  mBTC would be fine.

I have a currency conversion plugin that can update prices to most currencies on the fly, but only to BTC. Until I can find something that will get the current exchange rate for a number of major currencies AND consider mBTC a single unit of currency my hands are tied.

Minor point to think about. Given an infinitely divisible unit of currency, eCommerce accepting BTC is going to have to rewrite currency conversion software every time the value increases tenfold.

[mynameismonkey]

Finally, would it be possible to list the prices in Bitcoin instead of USD?  mBTC would be fine.

I have now reset all pricing so that the base currency is BTC, and I've added a currency converter to most major currencies. Let me know if you think this is an improvement.

[katie1348]

How will you stop people copying the books and posting them online for free?

I like the idea and I have a book, that might be of interest. But I also want to make some money from my books, so would want them to be protected from direct posting online.

K

[mynameismonkey]

How will you stop people copying the books and posting them online for free?

I like the idea and I have a book, that might be of interest. But I also want to make some money from my books, so would want them to be protected from direct posting online.

K

As with any file you are free to use the DRM of your choice. However, the simple truth is unless you want your readers to sign up for accounts on things like Adobe Content Service you are either going to need to publish through a DRM-enabled store (like Apple or Amazon) or forgo DRM and drive sales through ease of use, knowing that there may indeed be copies being made. If it is important to preserve digital rights, you should not be self-publishing unless it's on a platform that controls the reader from sale to reading, in other words, a platform that sells the file and safeguards it, usually by tying it to certain devices or software readers.

I would appreciate hearing more from you on the subject. http://electricbookworks.com/kb/self-publishing-ebooks/drm-and-self-publishing/ might point you in the right direction also.

[katie1348]

How will you stop people copying the books and posting them online for free?

I like the idea and I have a book, that might be of interest. But I also want to make some money from my books, so would want them to be protected from direct posting online.

K

As with any file you are free to use the DRM of your choice. However, the simple truth is unless you want your readers to sign up for accounts on things like Adobe Content Service you are either going to need to publish through a DRM-enabled store (like Apple or Amazon) or forgo DRM and drive sales through ease of use, knowing that there may indeed be copies being made. If it is important to preserve digital rights, you should not be self-publishing unless it's on a platform that controls the reader from sale to reading, in other words, a platform that sells the file and safeguards it, usually by tying it to certain devices or software readers.

I would appreciate hearing more from you on the subject. http://electricbookworks.com/kb/self-publishing-ebooks/drm-and-self-publishing/ might point you in the right direction also.

This exactly highlights my problem. I very much doubt that I will be selling significant quantities of my books, as they are not that kind of book. So if there are lots of shared copies, then there might only be a handful of sales, and at that point, it is not worth me releasing an e-book version of a book.

On the other hand, I don't sell many printed books either, since I have stopped pushing them, too much profit for the shops and not enough for me. Which is why the e-book would be really nice.

If anyone has any thoughts of how to get round this problem, I would appreciate it.

K

 

[mynameismonkey]

How will you stop people copying the books and posting them online for free?

I like the idea and I have a book, that might be of interest. But I also want to make some money from my books, so would want them to be protected from direct posting online.

K

As with any file you are free to use the DRM of your choice. However, the simple truth is unless you want your readers to sign up for accounts on things like Adobe Content Service you are either going to need to publish through a DRM-enabled store (like Apple or Amazon) or forgo DRM and drive sales through ease of use, knowing that there may indeed be copies being made. If it is important to preserve digital rights, you should not be self-publishing unless it's on a platform that controls the reader from sale to reading, in other words, a platform that sells the file and safeguards it, usually by tying it to certain devices or software readers.

I would appreciate hearing more from you on the subject. http://electricbookworks.com/kb/self-publishing-ebooks/drm-and-self-publishing/ might point you in the right direction also.

This exactly highlights my problem. I very much doubt that I will be selling significant quantities of my books, as they are not that kind of book. So if there are lots of shared copies, then there might only be a handful of sales, and at that point, it is not worth me releasing an e-book version of a book.

On the other hand, I don't sell many printed books either, since I have stopped pushing them, too much profit for the shops and not enough for me. Which is why the e-book would be really nice.

If anyone has any thoughts of how to get round this problem, I would appreciate it.

K

 

I think you have to decide between two competing forces: one the one hand, publishing a DRM-free ebook makes it easy for people to obtain it which hopefully diminishes copying. Ease of use and ease of purchase drive sales. On the other hand, if copies are made and you do not follow up with takedown notices, you will see a bigger amount of unlicensed copying. Going with a bigger vendor reduces this significantly, but that's what you pay the hefty fees for. If you're selling a $200 textbook, you probably need protection. if you're selling a less than $5 ebook, you probably should just self-publish and admit that some people will copy it. Middle ground is to get the book on the apple store, on kindle store etc.

[angelafairie]

Not trying to put you down or anything. I think you can have a more polished logo? There are designers here you can hire.

[Petracarter]

I would like to test it, mainly to understand the roots of this math based coins.
I understand the logic, but the deeper part...... :\

[mynameismonkey]

Not trying to put you down or anything. I think you can have a more polished logo? There are designers here you can hire.

You are 100% correct. I know it's poor. It's a placeholder, I'm working on something that incorporates the Bitcoin B into the main logo. Functionality first, form second. Once the site is fully working, I'll be spending more time on the design.

[katie1348]

I think you have to decide between two competing forces: one the one hand, publishing a DRM-free ebook makes it easy for people to obtain it which hopefully diminishes copying. Ease of use and ease of purchase drive sales. On the other hand, if copies are made and you do not follow up with takedown notices, you will see a bigger amount of unlicensed copying. Going with a bigger vendor reduces this significantly, but that's what you pay the hefty fees for. If you're selling a $200 textbook, you probably need protection. if you're selling a less than $5 ebook, you probably should just self-publish and admit that some people will copy it. Middle ground is to get the book on the apple store, on kindle store etc.

Yes, I suppose you are right, it is a difficult balance, as once you put the work out there, it is too late to take it back.

It is a permanent choice. Your words had the ring of sensible, so I will think on it and see how things progress.

K

P.S. Thanks for the input and the time to help.

[mynameismonkey]

I would like to test it, mainly to understand the roots of this math based coins.
I understand the logic, but the deeper part...... :\

Not sure exactly what you mean, but it's free to test, please help yourself to look around and let me know if you have questions.

[mynameismonkey]

After a few hiccups we are back online and now processing payments through BitPay and Blockchain your choice. I'd love to get more feedback on this, as well as hear from any authors or eBook sellers who would like to experiment with the system!

[tadcroz81]

what are the accepted payments ? LTC ?