2/2/01 - the following letter was published at the iUniverse.com site - Dear iUniverse.com Authors: As you may know, Barnes & Noble acquired a significant equity stake in iUniverse.com in an effort to open up the world of publishing by leveraging the reach and tremendous economies of the Internet. Since we’ve joined forces, we’ve provided the opportunity for thousands of authors to be published. We are proud of our achievements and are dedicated to improving still further the publishing and distribution services we provide to you and other aspiring authors. But we also recognize our current limits and wish to be clear and realistic in setting expectations. iUniverse.com is a remarkable advance in the democratization of publishing. Its digital publishing platform, combined with print-on-demand technology, offer efficiencies that the traditional publishing process cannot achieve. This new model for publishing is not meant to replace traditional publishing but to exist alongside it, serving authors whose works have been declared out of print and new writers who desire to self publish and market their own books. Publishing with iUniverse.com does ensure that your book can be ordered through any Barnes & Noble store or from Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), as well as through thousands of independent and most online booksellers. It does not, however, guarantee that your book is physically stocked at any Barnes & Noble store. With over one million titles already in print and another 50,000 or more published each year, we obviously cannot carry every book that is published. Indeed, the key to print-on-demand technology is that it enables us to keep a vast number of titles in print and available without physically stocking inventory. Just as Barnes & Noble stores cannot possibly stock every new book published on its shelves, iUniverse and Barnes & Noble cannot guarantee authors an appearance at a B&N store. This reality also applies to authors from all publishers, large and small. We do, however, recognize the vibrant new writing community that iUniverse.com is fostering and because of Barnes & Noble’s investment in the company we have jointly created a new program designed to showcase iUniverse.com authors. Participating Barnes & Noble stores will regularly host New Writer’s Nights events, where new and aspiring authors will have the chance to discuss their work with each other and the reading public. This program is now in its final stages of development, and you will be hearing from us within the next 30-45 days regarding program details and your opportunity to participate. Clearly, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are very pleased at the strides we’ve already made in partnership with you. We thank you for choosing iUniverse.com as your publisher and will continue to do what we can to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our working relationship. Best wishes for continued literary success, Steve Riggio Vice Chairman Barnes & Noble, Inc.