Choose One: Ranking Or Earning

Amazon withdraws ebook explaining how to manipulate its sales rankings

In The Day the Kindle Died, Thomas Hertog claims it is possible to get your own book to the number one bestseller spot in its category on Amazon simply by posting fake reviews, voting on them favourably and downloading copies of the Kindle ebook yourself.

Hertog claimed he managed to do just this with his own 2009 personal finance book Wealth Hazards, pushing it above books by established bestselling authors including Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump, despite having actually sold a mere 32 copies to third parties.

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

I’d seen a link to this swim by in my Twitterstream but I didn’t click through until writer Steve Mosby asked if I saw it. I’m glad I clicked!

I know there have been reports over the years of writers checking their Amazon rankings like a drug addict.

Now it’s all shown to be manipulable and probably fraudulent too.

Given a choice between seeing a book of mine as number one on some damned list versus getting rich off a steady seller waaaay down on that list, I’ll take the cash over the ego any day.

What about you?

DC Comics Almost Wakes Up To Market Potential

BATMAN BEYOND To Be Published Digitally Day-and-Date

“Batman Beyond was a critically acclaimed, fan favorite animated series that still has a large number of fans to this day,” said Hank Kanalz, SVP Digital, DC Entertainment, “By releasing the ongoing comic series digitally, we’re hoping we reach that audience and bring back any fans of the show who may be lapsed comic readers.”

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

That’s great news, realizing they have an audience out there to win back.

But then they sabotage themselves with this:

Day and date digital comics will match the print cover price of $2.99.

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

That is not the way to do it.

All of those stores people like me won’t step back into? Let them sink. They are doing you no favors. And they are going to sink anyway. Give them a push over the cliff and join the 21st century.

Borders Hanged Itself Slowly Over Two Years

FLASHBACK, January 15, 2008: Does Borders Know The Sony Reader Exists?

What’s interesting is that someone from Borders actually Commented at my post:

February 18, 2008 at 7:02 am

Hi Mike,

Actually, we love the Sony Reader. In fact, we are selling them in almost all of our stores, and we have a co-branded ebook site with Sony at http://ebooks.bordersstores.com. We’ll be looking to incorporate ebooks into our new Borders.com later this year.

Thanks,
Kevin Ertell
VP, E-Business
Borders

I wonder if he’s still with Borders?

They had a lead over Barnes & Noble right there. The Nook was still over a year away from being released.

Had they pimped the hell out of the Sony Reader and really invested in an eBook-centric model, would they have been in better shape than they are now?

Additional flashbacks at Mike Cane 2008:

March 20, 2008: Borders Catches Cold, Sony Reader Gets Pneumonia?
September 20, 2008: The Sony Reader Revolution: Poor Planning!
September 21, 2008: Sony Reader Revolution: FAIL!
November 28, 2008: Bye-Bye Borders = Hello eBooks!

The Downward Slope Of 2011 Begins

http://twitter.com/#!/paulbogaards/status/22640170436141056

And:

Waterstone’s confirms 20 store closures

And:

Borders Discusses Deferred Payments With Publishers

I’m actually happy about this deteriorating state of affairs.

I was thinking about the dire state of things and concluded that people seem to find their backbone only when pushed into a corner.

When you have nothing to lose, there is everything to gain by showing some guts and doing the unexpected.