"The notion that such persons are gay of heart and carefree is curiously untrue. They lead, as a matter of fact, an existence of jumpiness and apprehension. They sit on the edge of the chair of Literature. In the house of Life they have the feeling that they have never taken off their overcoats."
- James Thurber, My Life and Hard Times

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

An open letter to Amazon haters

If you're an author or a publisher or an agent, you're well aware of the battle going on between Amazon and Hachette Publishing. If you're not, well, Hachette wants certain terms for offering their books on Amazon and Amazon wants different terms and Amazon is blocking Hachette pre-orders until it's all resolved and no one is flinching. So far.

Hachette and other publishers are, of course, painting Amazon as the villain in this picture. A large number of authors are leaping to Hachette's defense. After all, Amazon is taking over the world, right?

As an author-publisher, I feel it's my civic duty to take a stand on this issue.

* * * * *

Dear Amazon Haters,

Yes, it is true. Amazon is taking over the world. Pretty soon there won't be any stores at all, because everyone will be one click away from buying anything. We'll even fill up our cars online - the gas will be delivered by drone. We'll all be part of the collective and Amazon will have total power and be able to force us to sell our wares on their website at their prices, even if it puts us out of business.

But until then...

I put my books on Amazon, available in paperback and Kindle. I create the content, pay for the cover art and editing. I take all the risks. And every month, I get money in my bank account from Amazon. My Kindle sales earn 70%. My paperbacks earn less, but still more than a royalty percentage, and definitely more than once a quarter.

In addition, I am in charge of pricing, so I can offer sales or even free promotions any time I want. If I decide the cover art isn't working, I can change it. I am steering my own ship.

So hate Amazon if you must. You can order my books from Barnes & Noble, or any independent bookstore. As a matter of fact, please do support your favorite indie - they offer that personal touch, which is lacking online. If you want an ebook but cannot abide Amazon, email me and I'll sell you a copy personally.

Just don't expect me to throw in with your anti-Amazon platform. I'm not about to bite the hand that's paying my electric bill.

Hugs & Kisses,

Gayle Carline,
Author and Columnist

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

And buy Gayle's books.They're great.

Gayle Carline said...

Paul, you are so kind. Thank you!

Tameri Etherton said...

I'm staying out of the fray for now. Not my circus, not my monkey. However, I think it's safe to keep a watchful eye on all of the industry, not just Amazon.

DeAnna Cameron said...

Thanks for the post, Gayle. :)

DeAnna Cameron said...

Thanks for the post, Gayle. :)

Proud Member of ALA!

I support fair and equitable library access to ebooks and so should you.
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