Fascinating read by Mark Coker of Smashwords. It starts off talking about Smashwords ending its relationship with Flipkart, but goes into Mark’s opinions (mirroring mine) about Amazon exclusivity and what it means for indies.
http://blog.smashwords.com/2015/08/smashwords-and-flipkart-to-end.html
John L. Monk 
Mark makes some really good points, and I couldn’t agree more about how harmful Amazon exclusivity could be in the long run. My day job is working at a major videogame developer and we are very keen to do our bit to ensure there are at least two competing consoles out there. Having Microsoft or Sony drop out of the market could be very bad.
That said, I “went wide” with my latest book and not having those KU borrows really hurts. I know the other platforms aren’t going to earn their keep but I’m a) experimenting b) taking a long term view. It seems like Nook is dying a slow death, but maybe Kobo and iBooks can gain some ground.
Hey man, thanks for commenting. I’ve seen your name here and there 🙂 Small indie world, isn’t it? Ok, so get this: when going with non-Amazon places, the most important thing is to get a “merchandising representative.” That sounds scary, doesn’t it? It’s not that hard. Simply contact the sales channel you’re interested in (contact form, whatever) and ask them to review your books. Here’s the link if you go in through “Itunes Connect” (if you have an iTunes Connect account):
https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wo/18.0.0.13.7.2.7.9.3.1.2.3.3.1.1
Anyone with an apple-ID can have an iTunes Connect account, so it’s not some secret club.
Thanks again. Love the bit about video games — very smart.
Oh yes, it’s a small world 🙂
That’s a great tip. I have contacted Kobo but I’ll give iTunes a try as well.
Thanks.