If you've been hanging around Amazon much, then you noticed some weird things happen after Steve Jobs announced the iPad, particularly the iBook feature in it. Some St. Martins Press books and their sisters and brothers living in the Macmillan house have disappeared from Amazon. According to The New York Times they didn't just disappear they were yanked. Apparently Amazon is standing firm on its point to keep e-books under $10. The i-books are around $12-15. As a reader I admit I like the reduced price, but I am concerned that the selections on the Kindle would be reduced. Moreover, I'm a huge fan of Farrar and St. Martin's Press, so now Amazon is pushing me toward the iPad. Not coll.
As an author I'm also concerned. Ooh the conundrum. Most publisher's pay a small royalty percentage to authors for e-books. Don't know if there will be addendums made to contracts for i-book sales. If not, then it doesn't matter what price is set, the author gets the slim pickings. But what it does set forth is a problem for authors on the part of distribution. Since online book sales continue to increase, and we know Amazon is one of the top reasons why, then if our books become ghost over there, how large of a chunk will that suspension take out of our sales? An even larger question--one I open up to the community--what does that mean for the publishing industry? Are they owned by Amazon? If so, then the ramifications about the future of publishing,especially whether authors would benefit from being independent over being published by a major publishing house matter anymore? Can we make money writing stories anymore? If you discuss over Twitter or Facebook, please use the #iYank hashtag
Related posts:
Related Blogs Chatting About this:
- http://digitalbookworld.com/2010/more-reactions-to-the-amazonmacmillan-battle/
- http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/bookselling/macmillan_and_amazon_report_round_up_150534.asp
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/technology/30amazon.html
- http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/login.php/lunch/archives/006196.php
- http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2010/01/31/why-my-books-are-no-longer-for-sale-via-amazon/
0 comments:
Post a Comment