Maybe as lucky as Cayla Kluver. She wrote the novel picked from Amazon’s list of indie published books to be the first effort of their new publishing program. She wrote Legacy when she was only 15.
Amazon plans to choose books that have sold well and have received excellent reviews (presumably on their site) and they also plan to put their muscle behind promoting them. So reports Time magazine in the Arts section (June 22, p. 101).
The article touts the pure power of Amazon in the publishing world--something authors have worried about for a long time. And the Time writers Time worry about it a bit, too. They say, “If Amazon can’t make a deal with the publishers, it can always just become a publisher.
Which it is exactly what they are doing.
And yes this will limit the advantage traditional publishers have had in the publishing world for a long, long, long time. Call it clout. In fact it might not hurt the traditionals worldview to get a taste of their own medicine. It's funny how Amazon gets clobbered for their aggessiveness but we only hear whispers about the exclusive old publishers' club.
The authors of the Time article worry mostly because this new model foretells “a different editorial method [that will] engage a very different set of literary values.” From what I’ve seen over the decade since I started in the publishing industry, I figure that those values have been changing for a while now. It took Amazon quite a long time to figure out that their rye toast is buttered by authors and that they’d better treat them well if they want the marmalade (call it good will) to be spread liberally, too.
I tend to give Amazon a break. They only launched in 1995 so when I started noticing some of their exclusionary tactics, they were still infants. At least Amazon does seem to be getting it--that creative people (authors, product developers, inventors) are what feeds their business. It seems traditional publishers don’t quite have a secure handle on that concept except for their A-list names. Maybe they once did, but I don’t remember those days at all.
To be sure Amazon still slips now and then but they are slowly embracing authors without concern for the press they are published on. Ahem! Though once they’ve favored an author or publishing company, they want them to use the presses they own--Booksurge, CreateSpace.com and others.
After Time writers Lev Grossman and Andrea Sachs have done their worrying, they retreat. They decide “it’s not an either/or future. It’s both/and.” I couldn’t agree more.
You may not remember when people were sure that TV would destroy radio, but I remember. This fits with my philosophy of life. Things might change but the universe is large enough and generous enough to accommodate all. Yes, even in a recession.
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lev grossman, andrea sachs, time magazine, carolyn howard-johnson, traditional publishers, amazon publishing, amazon, recesssion, new publishing model, pod publishing,
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.
I have to disagree that Amazon treats authors well. Personally I think Amazon has jerked authors around from day one. It has used its considerable, and growing, muscle, to bully authors, to force them to use their services exclusively and sought to punish them when they didn't. They make themselves impossible to dialog with when a concern is raised and they make no effort to do anything except make money for themselves. If an author makes some at the same time, then that's okay, but that's not their goal. And if Amazon indeed ever reaches the point where they control the publishing world, then look out authors. You think your royalites are a joke now, wait until Amazon starts demanding even higher cuts.
ReplyDeleteP. A. I've been around enough writers to know I'd get some pretty violent disagreement on this one. The thing is, Amazon can't be ignored. And here are some things they do for writers (though all benefit them, too! They ARE in business after all.)
ReplyDelete1. Review opportunities
2. Blogging opportunities (though they seem to have recently disappeared)
3. Free opportunties to have one's book on Kindle.
4. Participation on features like Listmanias and other features that allow authors to talk about books.
They do demand quite a huge profit margin but they also bring books to the reading public at bargain prices. We can't have one without the other. I would rather have my book read and make 10 cents on it (and exageration) than read less and make the 85 cents I make on my the royalties my novel rakes in from a traditional royalty kind of setup.
Guess nothing is ever perfect. I sure don't advise my clients to ignore (or intentionally annoy Amazon). If one wants to sell a lot of books, one needs to get along with them.
Sorry, I'm of the mind that Amazon is becoming the evil empire. Reminds me of WalMart's slow takeover. They have a lot of control now and it's rather frightening. And I promise, when/if I ever purchase an E-Book reader, it will NOT be a Kindle.
ReplyDeleteL. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
I have to agree with the other comments. Amazon is not helping authors this way. They are helping themselves with one more way to use them. Indies beware. If they really cared about authors, why would they make them all switch to Amazon-owned book publishing services in exchange for their "help" or else take an even deeper cut with their rip-off affiliate program? I'd rather not sell a book than to let Amazon make $14 off of it while I make $0.50. Honestly. I'm selling them better myself, anyway, through my blogs and lists and personal contacts. If I sell from my site and offer the same price and free shipping, I make lots more per book. If it gets too much for me to handle, I'll hire someone who will charge much, much less than Amazon does to do the mailing.
ReplyDeleteOne must wonder if our author blogs will one day be placed in an amazon book with no royalties given to the authors... considering they own whatever is listed on the author's site. Until now it was never a threat... maybe never will be, yet if they get into publishing my blog will be no more.
ReplyDelete