6 ms·

I am one of those people who have been "corn-holed" over the last 30 years and I seriously don't care how many publishers or retail outlets I put out of busines

by iRobot 14y ago

I am one of those people who have been "corn-holed" over the last 30 years and I seriously don't care how many publishers or retail outlets I put out of business by buying electronically. The Internet selling model is here to stay and as long as the artist or author gets their fair cut for creating the work, the model is fine by me. The fact this author is tied to his publisher is between him and the publisher and not my problem. I've read some rubbish by established authors with ridiculous e-book prices and some fine stuff for $0.99 by authors quite happy with the e-book format, Amazon does not need to apologise to anyone IMHO in fact I'm preparing my first book for publication with them later this year, I doubt I will make much but I have a day job and the Karma value will be immense, I suspect this is the feeling of a lot of authors (yes there is a lot of shit ebooks to wade through but its worth it when you find a gem!) If there isnt an ebook and the price is too high I go to the library or dont read it (seriously how many people would seriously read a photocopied book)

pemulis 14y ago
I'm preparing my first book for publication with them later this year, I doubt I will make much but I have a day job I've been working with an author-run e-publishing group for the past few months, and this is an attitude I see a lot. I understand where it comes from, but it's not really good for readers or the literary ecosystem. Amazon has no real stake in any of the books they publish. They own the platform that sells all of the content, so as long as they're selling something, they're fine. There are no publishers giving books the criticism and support they need, and no passionate booksellers to promote them to readers. If even the authors don't care if a book sells, where does that leave us? I don't know. But I'm going to keep buying traditionally published books until someone figures it out.
- hessenwolf 14y ago
  He's just preparing himself emotionally in case it flops, is my guess. (or she) (and maybe that's what I do)
  - impldefined 14y ago
    Given how big the upside could be (10 million people buying your book?), one almost has to do something like this to prevent the imagination running wild and having a massive let down later on.
jnorthrop 14y ago
I'm preparing an ebook launch in July. I am self-publishing and distributing the ebook DRM free in multiple formats via Gumroad. I looked at Amazon and others as outlets but I didn't see much advantage. BTW, I have a day job as well and don't expect to make much money but at least I will have full control over my product including the ability to send out updates to customers as well as refund if someone isn't happy with the product.
- runevault 14y ago
  Amazon gives the advantage of visibility as with a few exceptions they seem to be where most people (at least in fiction, if you're doing non-fiction I don't know) have had the most success (I hear romance does way better on B&N for indies, no clue why). And Amazon lets the author/publisher choose DRM or not on KDP, though you can't change it without losing all sales rank etc.

by iRobot 14y ago

pemulis 14y ago

I'm preparing my first book for publication with them later this year, I doubt I will make much but I have a day job I've been working with an author-run e-publishing group for the past few months, and this is an attitude I see a lot. I understand where it comes from, but it's not really good for readers or the literary ecosystem. Amazon has no real stake in any of the books they publish. They own the platform that sells all of the content, so as long as they're selling something, they're fine. There are no publishers giving books the criticism and support they need, and no passionate booksellers to promote them to readers. If even the authors don't care if a book sells, where does that leave us? I don't know. But I'm going to keep buying traditionally published books until someone figures it out.

hessenwolf 14y ago
He's just preparing himself emotionally in case it flops, is my guess. (or she) (and maybe that's what I do)
- impldefined 14y ago
  Given how big the upside could be (10 million people buying your book?), one almost has to do something like this to prevent the imagination running wild and having a massive let down later on.

jnorthrop 14y ago

I'm preparing an ebook launch in July. I am self-publishing and distributing the ebook DRM free in multiple formats via Gumroad. I looked at Amazon and others as outlets but I didn't see much advantage. BTW, I have a day job as well and don't expect to make much money but at least I will have full control over my product including the ability to send out updates to customers as well as refund if someone isn't happy with the product.

runevault 14y ago
Amazon gives the advantage of visibility as with a few exceptions they seem to be where most people (at least in fiction, if you're doing non-fiction I don't know) have had the most success (I hear romance does way better on B&N for indies, no clue why). And Amazon lets the author/publisher choose DRM or not on KDP, though you can't change it without losing all sales rank etc.