Introduction Barnes & Noble and Amazon are both book-selling companies located in the US. Barnes & Noble is the older of the two, and it dominated the book industry for long before Amazon penetrated the industry in 1995. The two companies have engaged in supremacy battle for a long period, with each company striving to outsmart the other in the book industry. However, many people view Amazon as being superior to Barnes & Noble due to its large number of customers all over the world. The nature of the battle between the two companies continues to escalate as new technologies emerge. Initially, Barnes & Noble availed hard copy books to its customers until Amazon introduced books in the form of soft copies. This paper will explore issues surrounding the nature of the battle between the two companies and provide recommendations to Barnes & Noble regarding how it can improve its electronic marketing in order to compete successfully with its major rival, Amazon. Facts Recap The battle between Barnes & Noble and Amazon centers on the two companies’ determination to control the book industry in the US (Gelles, 2014). As opposed to Barnes & Noble, which sells its books in hard copy, Amazon sells its books electronically, thus making them attractive to a wide array of customers accustomed to the Internet. In addition, books distributed by Amazon are relatively cheaper as compared to those distributed by Barnes & Noble (Herther, 2012). These factors pose a great danger to the existence of Barnes & Noble in the industry, which explains why the company is against the entry of Amazon into the publishing business. The recent move by Amazon to venture into the business of publishing has compounded the battle between the two companies. Barnes & Noble, which is the largest retail store, has reacted to the move by avoiding stocking books published by Amazon in its outlet stores. The company does so in the belief that authors will shy from entering publishing deals with Amazon in fear that their books will not receive public attention, thus leading to diminished sales. Amazon’s entry into publishing In my opinion, Amazon’s venture into the publishing business was an informed one, as were it not for the move, the company would not have emerged as one of the leading suppliers of books across the world (Turner, 2012). Amazon’s entry into publishing has increased competition amongst publishers, thus leading to high-quality service provision. Additionally, Amazon’s entry into publishing marked the end of monopoly that existed in the book industry, whereby large booksellers like Barnes & Noble did publishing, and they would exploit customers via overcharging (Krug, 2012). However, critics allege that the move by Amazon to venture into the publishing industry has led to the fall of small publishing companies due to competition. Overall, Amazon’s decision to penetrate the industry can be described as wise since it has afforded an opportunity for small firms to compete with larger firms such as Barnes & Noble. In addition, the company has led to reduced prices of books in the market coupled with averting exploitation of customers by the large companies that initially dominated the book market. Working with Amazon If I were a popular author of children’s fiction and an agent approaches me to advise on a possible publishing deal with Amazon, I