I just…
I…
Um…
Okay. Lots of people say smart things and do thorough takedowns of this wtfery. I will leave it to John Scalzi, Chuck Wendig, and Matt Wallace. The New York Times covers the bizarre Orwell bit as well. Because, I mean, even if you AGREE with Amazon, these tactics are just…I don’t even.
I will say, I’ve seen a lot of “I don’t have a dog in this fight.” The thing is, I do. I do as a reader who buys Hachette published works–sure, I’d love ebooks to be cheaper, because I’m a poor bitch with little money.
Except that THE MARKET decides what ebooks should cost. I don’t need Amazon fighting that fight, thank you–CONSUMERS ALREADY DO THIS. Price an ebook at $14.99. Some people will pay that, Some people won’t. If lots of people won’t, the price will shift. If lots of people do, hey, bonus for the writer, editors, artists, marketing teams, and everyone else–it gives the publisher more money to pay people and invest in new books. If it means I have to wait a few months or a year for the price to come down (like I do with video games! and DVDs!) or buy a mass market paperback instead, or watch for sales, then I will. Duh.
Further, I have a dog in this fight as a writer. A chunk of my income comes from Amazon–I can’t change that, as readers like to buy there and I’m happy they have that option. I have absolutely no leverage if they decide to screw with KDP terms; I either give up 80% of my income of just accept what they do. Now, they might fuck with my terms eventually anyway, but you know what? I like that Hachette hasn’t backed down. There is a lot more going on here than just ebook pricing terms, but it also comes down to who gets to decide how to price things: the people who make the content or the retailer. I will be quite concerned if Hachette gives and the precedent is set here.
So. Go read what smart people have to say, if you care. Or shake your head at the absurdity if you don’t.
I’m going to go feed my cats now.
As a reminder, all of my work (some exclusive, like 9 Crimes) are available for sale by me directly right here. All formats. DRM-free. No middleman.
*cough*
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ETA: I’ve been chatting on Twitter. My personal opinion? The absurd letter is noise, a distraction. It’s riling up their base and getting the rest of us talking (like I did here!)–the purpose wasn’t to change minds, because if it was, it would be worded with nuance and less inflammatory. Yeah, it could be a PR fuck-up, but this has happened over and over with Amazon–you’d think they’d hire a new PR team. At this point, it’s deliberate. It’s impossible to say what the noise is distracting people from, but I’d watch the company very closely. Not conspiracy theorizing here–this is just pretty basic politics. Which I’d find quite fascinating if it was occurring in an industry I don’t work in.
Writer of urban fantasy, thrillers/mysteries, and horror.
Ok. I’m thinking this is just the start, well not the start but a jumping point, for Amazon. Next they are going to be targeting all publishers then self published authors. Hell, they may even target print books too!
They are trying to take over the process and it drives me nuts. If Amazon feels they are the winner in this there is no stopping them with anything and they will put all out of business. I don’t like that.
And I’m with you on the pricing. If a publisher wants to charge so much for an ebook, or the same as a print for ebook, more power to them. If they get the price, then awesome! (and shame on the purchaser, lol – I prefer print for that price) But that’s awesome for them. People will pay what they can afford for what they want. If the price comes down, I’ll get it. Or I’ll pick up the print. That’s usually what I do anyway. I don’t start a stink for nothing. The numbers will come around eventually. Shame of it is I’d hate to see some amazing authors not go on with series because of it. But the publishers will have to re-evaluate what they are doing and the numbers.
So, with this stink Amazon is creating, what are they doing behind the scenes that they are not wanting us to know about yet? This is the shiney of the moment, but they are working on something else hidden by this distraction. (And yes, I do NOT trust Amazon.)