Why Google is a pain to work with, and why most authors would be better off just ignoring Google Books

Please also check the News & Analysis section of WriteZero for the latest News and Analysis of the eBook and Publishing business for Authors & Publishers

This News & Analysis post is from March 13th, 2020

Indies Unlimited has a post on ‘Should Authors give up selling Books through Google?’

The way it is structured it instantly gives you the answer – No!

However, perhaps the question should be structured differently

Is Google Friendly to Authors and Publishers and eBooks?

Let’s see

1. Bought the first and (at the time) biggest ebook subscription service, Oyster for iPhone, and Promptly Closed it Down
   1. In a world where Scribd is making $100 million a year and Kindle Unlimited is making at least $300 million a year
   2. Does it make any sense at all for an ebook subscription service that came before either, and was in the lead, to have been closed down
   3. Does it make any sense for Google to close it down almost immediately and do nothing at all in the ebook subscription service
2. Refuses to work with two of the 4 largest ebook distributors, Smashwords and Draft 2 Digital
   1. Majority of self published authors are with Ingram or Smashwords or Draft 2 Digital
   2. By refusing to work with two of these, Google makes life difficult for the huge number of authors on these two digital distributors
3. Refused for a long time (many years) to let self published authors sell their books in the Google Play Store, unless you worked through a digital distributor
   1. Two of the most popular of whom, Smashwords and Draft 2 Digital, Google now refuses to work with
      1. So, first Google Books didn’t take self published authors, until and unless they signed up for a digital distributor like Smashwords or Draft2Digital
      2. Now, Google Books refuses to work with these same two digital distributors
         1. What are authors supposed to do?
      3. Please Note: If you’re an app developer or a game developer then you don’t have to jump through hoops and can just submit easily
         1. It’s only authors and small publishers who have to go through all this drama
   2. Which begs the question – Is this incompetence of a staggering level, or does Google just want to limit access to the billions of people on Android devices

Google is, most definitely, very unfriendly to self published authors. Always conjuring up new ways to make things difficult for authors

Is Google Friendly to Companies in the Ecosystem?

No, not at all

1. It’s already done a number on two of the biggest digital distributors
2. It periodically removes all book related apps from its Android Store
   1. A problem which we never faced with any other App Store, small or big
   2. It’s only Google which goes out of its way to prevent book discovery apps from flourishing in the Android Store
3. Search on Google.com for any product or service related to publishing (editing, digital distribution, cover design, formatting)
   1. You will not find the best companies
   2. Instead you will find companies you have never heard of, whose sole qualification seems to be that they buy a lot of Google Ads
   3. Why does Google not show the best editors, the best distributors, the best cover designers? Is that not what a search engine is supposed to do

Basically, Google is the exact opposite of what you would expect a good search engine to be, as it pertains to the Publishing and Books ecosystem

What percentage of authors would be better off just ignoring Google Books completely?

Here is the problem

1. For 80% of authors, Google Books is going to be a complete and utter waste of time
2. For 10% of authors it will generate enough sales for you to keep making the effort of selling in Google Books
3. For 10% of authors it will generate significant sales. These authors must stay in Google Books as the money will be significant

Without testing out Google Books, and without doing some marketing effort for Google Books, you will not know what category you fall into

80% of authors are better off never ever touching Google Books (same for Google Ads)

However, you don’t know whether that’s you (the 80% that can just ignore Google Books), or whether you are in the 10% that benefit somewhat from being in Google Books

Most of all, you don’t know whether you are in the 10% who definitely should be in Google Books because it will make you significant money

What is the Solution?

Kiss the Frog

Ignore the painful experience of working with Google Books

Just Kiss the Frog

1. 80% chance you get nothing except a mild case of poisoning
   1. At least you can walk away happy that you don’t have to spend any more time with this horrid like amphibian
2. 10% chance the frog turns into a cute little bunny rabbit
   1. Not great. However, not bad
3. 10% chance it turns into a prince
   1. That it starts making you a decent amount of money

If you’re in the 80% for whom kissing the frog was nothing more than a mildly annoying and poisoningly distasteful experience, take solace in the fact that it is much worse for people running websites and newspapers