Oyster vs Scribd, I Pick Scribd, For Now 🙂
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Short light crime mystery-thriller, set in Austin Texas.
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My Author Pages at major online outlets
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“the intent of this blog is to incrementally build a body of thought that works toward integrating various topics, yoga, fitness, and the arts – it’s a process…”
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Oyster vs Scribd, I Pick Scribd, For Now 🙂
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Categories : Author Bio Info & Updates – Scribd – Oyster
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In This Post :
- Previous Related Articles
- Oyster vs Scribd, I Pick Scribd, For Now 🙂
- The Winner, so Far
- Reasons
- Available Titles and Reading App Features
- Titles I’ve Read Partially or Fully on Scribd
- A Strong Title of Mine on Scribd (preview)
- My Free Titles (no subscription needed) on Scribd
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Previous Related Articles :
Finally! Enough Related Content to Give a Little Away 🙂
Dirty Sixth Street, Austin – Poster Child (of sorts) for Discoverability
Scribd One Month Later : 57 Uploads – Problems Fixes and Expectations
Why I’m Uploading 50 Plus Titles to Scribd & Oyster
First Impression re Scribd & Oyster – I Like It! And Why…
Update: First Impression re Scribd & Oyster – I Like It! And Why…
Question Mark @ the Intersections of Pre-Orders and Scribd Oyster etc
First Impression of My First 15 (of 56) Titles on Scribd – Discoverability
Update: My First 56 Titles on Scribd – Four Previews : Austin Paris Nursing Gratitude
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Oyster vs Scribd, I Pick Scribd, For Now 🙂
The Winner, so Far
As you can tell from my own related articles above, I’ve been tracking how things go with both Scribd and Oyster since my work first started appearing on them (via Smashwords) early this year (2014.)
Picking a winner though, right now, would be like saying which thorough bred was the winner just outside the gate. Too many things can change. New competitors, new features, being bought out, etc (and no I don’t have any inside knowledge or info, just what can happen with most any company).
But, for now, based on just my own personal experience, as a reader and a writer involved with both, I have to pick Scribd.
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Reasons
Price, at a dollar difference, is not enough to sway either way. Though, I’ll admit, if Scribd went up a dollar I’d be angry and demand to know why 🙂
And though there’s lots of differentiating features, more so for writers (but which benefit readers), which I’ll list in a moment, the big big difference for me has been superior customer service at Scribd that I give the current ultimate compliment of being Amazon-like! My own consistent contact at Scribd I’ve been extremely fortunate to have, is a lady named Alison.
Over and over, as evidenced by some my articles linked to above, I have had consistently helpful, courteous, approachable service from Scribd.
Granted, I haven’t felt I needed to contact Oyster for anything in regard to my books listed with them, but then :
they don’t have an author page that would need tweaking or updating
or an embedding feature where links to my books need to be stable and continuous
or reporting data on sales and views that enables a person to analyze and question and verify
or the ability to search titles without a subscription – specifically mine 🙂
or enable readers to read my free-priced titles fully, even without a subscription
Most of those features above help me, as a writer, as much as a reader.
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Available Titles and Reading App Features
The mesh of available titles and features that continually are being upgraded on both subscription plans are, I believe, on par enough not to be a major factor for me.
I do – very much – like I can read my Scribd titles online, via Scribd’s site, but I believe Oyster is working on that. This feature easily lets me have more than one book going, each bookmarked to my last point read. Very handy 🙂
And I don’t mean to minimize either the title selection or app features. If either platform fell far behind in important features to lots of folk (whether it be highlighting & sharing, dictionaries, bookmarking, etc) – there could be a perception that that company was “falling behind” and wonder why.
I have seen that Scribd has had job ads for engineers for a few months now, and Oyster may have, I don’t know, but I take these as good signs that they, Scribd in particular, is committed to developing. I don’t really doubt Oyster is in the same mode, or they wouldn’t catching up on the number of types of apps (android, ios, etc) being released.
This is all good for us, as writers and readers.
Below, to give you an idea of the spread of titles available, I’ve listed those I’ve either read, or delved into enough I’d consider it a “browse” (ie, triggering a partial sale for the writer) and, I’ve kept it for further reading in my library for later on.
I know that, without paying huge amounts for current bestsellers, in hardback or over-priced ebooks, I have more books than I’ll be able to read for a long long time.
And what’s nicer, I can browse into any available title, and not encumber additional cost or worry about returns and getting a credit. Much like Netflix. I really like that 🙂
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Titles I’ve Read Partially or Fully on Scribd
Scratch One – Michael Crichton, aka John Lange
Odds On – Michael Crichton, aka John Lange
State of Fear – Michael Crichton
Easy Smashwords Formatting In OpenOffice – Jay Johnson
Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) – Amy Thomas
The Days of the French Revolution – Christopher Hibbert
Three to Get Deadly: A Stephanie Plum Novel – Janet Evanovich
What Every BODY is Saying – Joe Navarro, Marvin Karlins
The Good Life According to Hemingway – A. E. Hotchner
Five Hundred Buildings of Paris – Kathy Borrus
He’s With the Band – J.M. Hardin
Janet Evanovich: A Biography – Donna Birdsell
The Lives of the Muses – Francine Prose
Stuck in Downward Dog – Chantel Guertin
Books Up Next
(in no particular order, i often like to stop/start on whim)
Easy Go – Michael Crichton, John Lange
Walks With Men – Ann Beattie
A Season in Hell – Jack Higgins
The Private Lives of the Impressionists – Sue Roe
A Dark and Sure Descent: Being a True Account of the Long Island Outbreak – Saul Tanpepper
Reclaiming Paris: A Novel – Fabiola Santiago
And who know what else 🙂
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A Strong Title of Mine on Scribd
Preview : Dirty Sixth Street, Austin
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My Free Titles (no subscription needed) on Scribd
Paris in 5 1/2 Weeks: Around Blvd St-Germain, Small Streets of Paris, Notre Dame – Days 1 & 2 –
Going to SXSW in Our 60s, a Photo-Memoir –
http://www.scribd.com/book/231371122/Going-to-SXSW-in-Our-60s-a-Photo-Memoir
The Concert (Texas Shorts) –
http://www.scribd.com/book/210942956/The-Concert-Texas-Shorts
Slumming in Paris Part 2, With the Children: Welcome to Paris –
http://www.scribd.com/book/211894367/Slumming-in-Paris-Part-2-With-the-Children-Welcome-to-Paris
Grandma and Grandpa in the Latin Quarter (Paris Shorts) –
http://www.scribd.com/book/202759053/Grandma-and-Grandpa-in-the-Latin-Quarter-Paris-Shorts
Nice Thing ‘Bout Getting Old(er) a Beginner’s View – http://www.scribd.com/book/210941698/Nice-Thing-Bout-Getting-Old-er-a-Beginner-s-View
Please Note – if you have problems accessing any of these titles with or without a current Scribd subscription, please email my Scribd contact, Alison, at : support@scribd.com or smashwords@scribd.com .
These titles are also available via major participating online etailers and local libraries. Some sites fully participate (Scribd), some elect which to price free, and some – like Scribd – don’t require registration (Smashwords). Complete info is on my Free page on this site.
Thanks so much 🙂
Sincerely,
Adan
namaste´- con dios – god be with you
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