Kobo Next Puts the Spotlight on Indie Authors

Kobo Writing Life is a self-publishing platform and it was first unveiled in 2012. It was originally launched to compete with Kindle Direct Publishing and provide a viable avenue to sell books internationally. Kobo has faced many challenges in the marketplace and they are always looking for new things to try out to see what pops. The latest, is Kobo Next, an extension of their digital bookstore that exclusively promotes self-published titles. Kobo Next is a new section of the Kobo online bookstore that gives readers a chance to discover new authors, they likely have never heard of. Not only are the indie books promoted online, but also in mailing lists and new release newsletters. The one thing I like about Kobo Next is how they showcase from many different genres. Mysteries, Romance, Science-Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction are the ones they are showcasing this month. This honestly makes sense, because mysteries, sci-fi and romance account for the majority of Kobo book sales. I hope that Kobo expands upon Next and puts all self-published titles in their own category and create separation from their  traditionally published books. This is best for business. Two years a go a massive firestorm erupted due to hundreds of adult eBooks with topics ranging from threesomes to incest were being listed in the same category as kids' books. This was primarily attributed to meta data that was incorrectly putting taboo subjects and created a global outrage. Major booksellers such as WH Smith shuttered their digital bookstores, resulting in thousands of customers unable to buy books at all. This was basically a Kobo problem, since WH Smith actually has a license with Kobo to sell digital books.  Not only did Kobo get dissected by mainstream media, but they pissed off authors by deleting over one thousand titles from vanity presses and their own Writing Life platform. I have always been a strong proponent of sequestering independently published books into their own categories, instead of having them mixed into everything else. There are a myriad of reasons for this, such as quality and control, accepting everything submitted by default and the sub-par nature of the vast majority of titles. I think Kobo Next is laying down the foundation of a separate area for indie titles which is fine by me. Kobo Next Puts the Spotlight on Indie Authors is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/kobo-next-puts-the-spotlight-on-indie-authors