When you add purchasing links to the books on your website, which sites are you linking to?
Amazon is easy to link to and one of the top players when it comes to selling online but they are not the only online retailer we should be supporting. Rumors have been going around that Barnes and Noble may choose to not carry your book if you only link to Amazon. Whether this is true or not, it does raise a valid issue.
As an author you have worked hard to get your book published and the fact that multiple sites make it available to the public can only be a good thing. If we want these other bookstores, both physical and online to survive in this business we really should be doing our bit to support them like they are supporting us.
If more writers linked their work to the so-called smaller retailers they might just find that they sell more books. After all most people like to be able to choose where to buy from and don't necessarily want it to be from the internet giant.
I'm by no means against Amazon. I thank them for listing my own books and have placed links to them on my own website and also promote those links as part of my marketing. What I am saying though is that we should give equal importance to the alternatives.
My books are available in various formats so I make sure I promote links to Barnes and Noble for nook buyers, ibookstore for ipad and smartphone readers etc...
What buying links do you include on your website? Do you show multiple purchasing options for each book?
