(2012-11-05) Ferriss Amazon Vs Bookstores

Timothy Ferriss's 4HourChef book, published by Amazon, will be an interesting test of the Book Store channel. *Barnes And Noble, struggling to remain relevant in Amazon’s shadow, has been emphatic that it will not carry its competitor’s books. Other large physical and digital stores seem to be uninterested or even opposed to the book. Many independent stores feel betrayed by Mr. Ferriss, whom they had championed... Crown, a division of Random House, took on Mr. Ferriss in 2007, after more than two dozen publishers said no to him. “Crown put in a lot of effort to promote those books,” Mr. Petrocelli said. “He decided to walk away. That’s his decision to make but I can’t say I applaud it. I think writers should be supportive of publishers that are supportive of them.”

The irony, he added, is that the $35 book was meant to be inviting to the casual browser. Amazon can do many things, but it still cannot let readers examine a book before buying.* That's a fairly dumb thing to say, as Amazon has lots of see-inside features (though it's still clunkier to browse a book online).

WalMart, asked if it would be selling “The 4-Hour Chef,” said only that it would be offered online through Walmart.com. Target said it isn’t carrying the book, although it is carrying both online and in stores other new cookbooks published by the traditional presses, like Lidia Matticchio Bastianich’s “Lidia’s Favorite Recipes.”