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#Seebook (@seebook_) a new way to sell, give away and buy digital books. For indie authors and traditional publisher too

Hi all:

You might remember that when I left my job my plan was to learn the business of running a bookshop, and Anne and Derek from Addyman Books in Hay-on-Wye were kind enough to have me at their shops so I could learn on the job. It was a fantastic experience but due to personal circumstances I had to cut it short. I’m hoping to be able to revisit the experience sometime soon and I have not abandoned the idea, although I think I’ll need to get very creative about it (suggestions are welcome).

One of my thought for the shop would be to offer books from independent authors. But of course, stock is expensive and space is also a problem. And not all indie books are available in paper versions. I was investigating any options for this eventuality and I came across Seebook (http://www.seebook-shop.eu/en/15-seebook) that seemed like an interesting option, but in its beginning. Now I’m pleased to say that the initiative has taken off, and apart from options for traditional publishers, it also offers an option for indie authors (http://www.seebook-shop.eu/en/17-publish-your-own-seebook) and those are also advertised in their website.

Seebook
Seebook

What is a Seebook? Here is their own description:

Seebook are attractive download cards for ebooks. The ideal solution to give an ebook as a present! They are Multiformat (ePub, Mobi for Kindle and PDF) suitable for any device. Without registrations. Without DRM. Also available in bookstores. Some contain extra features. Unlimited number of downloads.

And:

Seebook brings back the digital content to the real world. When you buy one of our cards you will reproduce the experience of buying a physical book, but lighter, cheaper and ecological. You just have to scan or copy the code inside to download a personalized ebook instantly wherever you prefer: in a smartphone, a tablet, or a computer.

Here is the website:

http://www.seebook.eu/en/

I’m intrigued, as it offers the option of carrying your books with you any time without being lumbered with weight, and also without occupying incredible amounts of space. It can also be sent without spending a fortune and autographed, and if you know any shops, they can hardly say they don’t have space for them. And even if you don’t have your books available in paper it’s still a viable option. And you can add extra materials to make it more attractive.

Here is what they look like
Here is what they look like

They’ve kindly offered to send me some samples that they are sending to my mother’s address in Barcelona (the company is also from Barcelona) so I’ll let you know what they look like in real life. I know from the CEO that the ones they have created for traditional publisher have become available in quite a number of bookshops in Spain and they’re hoping to be in Foyles soon, so you might come across them.

I’ll keep you posted, but I’m intrigued.

Thank you all for reading, and if you’ve found it interesting, like, share, comment, and CLICK!

I’ve met with Rosa Sala and hope to write an updated post soon. I’m just waiting on some more information. In the meantime, I thought I’d share this new video they’ve created, because it’s so cute!

By olganm

I am a language teacher, writer, bookworm, and collaborator at Sants 3 Ràdio (a local radio station in Barcelona, where I returned in 2018), who lived in the UK for 25 years and worked for many years as a forensic psychiatrist there. I also have a Ph.D. in American Literature and an MSc in Criminology. I started publishing my stories, in English and Spanish, in 2012 and now have over twenty books available in a variety of genres, a blog (in English and Spanish), and translate books for other authors (English-Spanish and vice versa). In 2020 obtained the CELTA certificate as a language teacher, and offer Spanish and English classes. Writers and readers both in English and Spanish are my friends, colleagues, and allies, and after living in the UK for over twenty-five years, have returned home, to Barcelona, Spain, searching for inspiration for my stories. I also love owls and try to keep fit following fitness YouTube videos.
Do feel free to connect with me. Here are:
My website/blog:
http://OlgaNM.wordpress.com

41 replies on “#Seebook (@seebook_) a new way to sell, give away and buy digital books. For indie authors and traditional publisher too”

A nice way to give a book as a gift, or to send out copies of your own work. It looks smart, and I can see online gift companies (I Want One Of Those, etc) wanting to get on board. I suspect they will do well, but it might be impossible to copyright, so they could be overwhelmed by big competitors. (Amazon, Moonpig, etc)

I think the way to operate a small bookshop is to specialise. Don’t just sell any old book, but pick a subject (History, YA, or whatever) and build a reputation for being the go-to business for titles in that genre. Just a thought.

Best wishes as always, Pete.

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Thanks Pete. Not sure what they’ve done about copyright, although from checking their website I know they have designed the whole system, including IT support (and of course you need the platform for the books, anyway), but it’s true that there will be ways around it unless they have a very good legal team. I wonder if that was what they’d been working on all this time.
With regards to a specialised bookshop, I think you’re right. You can either go for a big bookshop in a place that will attract lots of people (and therefore very expensive location and issue of stock), or go minimalistic, very specialised, and get people who are interested to come to you. And of course, sell on the internet. I know the owner of the bookshop that sells Ladybird and Penguin books in Hay was saying that he made more money selling the books on line than with the physical shop.

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They seem to be pretty open to discussion at the moment, and as far as I understand it, everything goes through their own system. The CEO is keen on meeting me when I’m in Barcelona in a few weeks, so I might get something to report back in a few weeks.

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I will be interested to hear more about Seebook, Olga. It really looks promising! 😀

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I’m intrigued, Olga. It’s an interesting new option for authors, but also from the perspective of small bookstores. I see the potential for them to use this format to compete with the on-line ebook retailers, something they’ve had difficulty doing before. I’ll look forward to learning more about Seebook.

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Thanks JP. I hope I can meet them and bring back more information. But yes, that was something I was looking for, and it’s also a good idea for presents. I think people like to give something physical, and for what I’ve seen, some writers get very creative with it. And you can add audio of some chapters, extra materials…

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I bet new outlets for publishing are cropping up all the time. How does a person keep current on all of them? I know with the recent kerfuffle involving Amazon and it’s yanking reviews willy nilly, people will be looking for other avenues to get their books to readers.

This looks like an innovative way to do it. I’ll have to check it out in my spare time. When I get spare time… 😉

I just wonder if there will ever be a new giant publisher the likes of Amazon…?

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Hi Lorna. Good question. There are some very local (or fairly local. I have some of my books with Tagus, that’s a Spanish place. Their own publishing is fairly big and have big shops everywhere, and even their own reader, but you need to have a bank account in Spain to be paid, for instance). Also, of course, the thing with Amazon is that is not a bookshop or a publisher, at least not exclusively, but a place where people buy all kind of things (like buying your books at the supermarket, I imagine). And the internal rules and functioning of the website are quite different to a standard bookshop. I publish in other places too and for what I hear and read in some places some of them do quite well (Kobo in Canada, for instance). But you’re right, it’s difficult to keep up, and even if one managed to publish everywhere, how to keep up with the different systems and all?

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Hi Hilary. My understanding is that you upload the book to them, the same as you would do in Amazon or any other place, but apart from selling it from their page directly they offer the option of getting those cards, that can be used to sell physically at events, to send autographed to people, to sell from a website, to offer for a giveaway.

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Thanks Jaye and Anita. I managed to meet with Rosa Sala, the CEO, and she has plans to expand onto other places. I’m waiting on some feedback from her and there will be an updated post. It could all work out quite nicely…:)

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