I am constantly amazed by the level of vitriol aimed at the company we know and (mostly) love: Amazon. At last week’s London Book Fair, Amazon KDP was so bold as to have a stand (imagine!), and rumours of their underhanded tactics were flying.
While I can understand independent bookshops’ struggle against the behemoth, I must admit I’m somewhat stymied when it comes to publishers’ complaints, because they have the power to effect change within their organisations.
Evil Amazon offers authors a great royalty rate? Guess what, publishers? You could, too! The ‘Zon enables quick time to market? Well, publishers, how about shortening your ridiculous 12- t0 16-month production schedules and picking up the pace to do so? No-one ever claimed change was easy, but instead of vilifying the agent, how about trying to compete?
Even more unfathomable for me is when authors whinge about Amazon’s dominance, or complain about KDP Select. No-one forces you to put your books up for sale on Amazon, or to enter Select. It’s a choice you can make for yourself. As powerful as the company is, they haven’t employed brainwashing as a marketing tactic yet . . . or have they? Mwah ha ha!
Amazon has enabled me to make a living as an author, and for that I am grateful. I earned as much last year selling ebooks as I did when I worked in the corporate world — 99 per cent of that through sales on Amazon. Do I hate that I’m so dependent on one platform? Yes, of course. I’d love if there were more channels directly competing with the ‘Zon, and more ways to get to market. But until then, I’m certainly not complaining.
And until publishers look at their own strategies and get in the ring, I don’t think they should, either.
Do you think traditional publishers can ever compete with Amazon’s dominance — both with targeting consumers and luring authors? If so, how? What would make you go with a traditional publishing house?
Excellent post Talli! I agree with you that change is always difficult. I also agree that one company should not have a major share of the market (though to be fair they did work hard and take risks to gain that position of power). However, that won’t change unless other companies decide to play by the new rules….as to whether I think that will happen or not….well I can think of one major company (with loads of innovative imprints) that may just do that. In time.
Thanks, DJ. It would be nice to have more than one channel, but it will take a lot for other companies to catch up with Amazon’s market share – especially in the UK, I reckon.
I never imagined Kindle would take off as it has. I’ve published several titles that have been published in paperback abroad but never published in the UK and they’re doing really well on Kindle.
I think publishers definitely need to look at their royalty rates on ebooks. More and more authors are choosing to go the self-publishing route now. Kindle has given authors this choice. The power is back with the writer at last and that can only be a good thing!
‘The power is back with the writer at last and that can only be a good thing!’
I couldn’t agree more, Victoria. I was very lucky I was with a small publisher with very good royalty rates by today’s standards, but knowing I could reach readers directly gave me the push to do it on my own. Hard to believe Kindle has only been around for less than three years in the UK!
All the vitriol strikes me as a fear-based response to uncertainty and change.
Plus there’s a certain element of people hating any company that gets big and successful. Of course, I have been laughing out loud that some have been painting Apple, one of the largest companies IN THE WORLD as the poor “little guy” in the DOJ case v. big publishers. Same with Barnes and Noble. B&N is the same company people railed about a few years ago because they drove small bookstores out of business with their dastardly low prices, comfortable environment, and *gasp* coffee shops! So now this big bohemoth of bookselling is the wee underdog? Yeah, okay.
Amazon will have competition, even if the antiquated other guys go under. That’s just the way the market works. All the arguments against Amazon seem to go something like: “Yeah, they’re nice to authors and readers now, but someday they may screw us over!” Sure, even though none of the doom predicted by these folks is in Amazon’s proven track-record, they could, theoretically, do something in future we don’t like. But let’s not pick that fight before it happens. This industry is changing fast, and there’s no way to predict what even the next year will look like, much less five or ten years down the line.
Yes, absolutely fear-based. And I have to laugh, too, when I see B&N and Apple being pitied because of the poor Zon taking over. What?
You’re so right: things change fast. Who knows what the next few years could bring? There might be a whole new player on the scene.
I did see that KDP had a stand at the LBF last week but didn’t hear any rumours going round whilst I was there. I agree. I think that trad publishers who want to epublish should try to catch up with Amazon and the other epublishers. I think it’s because they have given writers the chance to self-publish and quickly, giving them the control over what they publish and for how much. And some authors are getting successful at it, too.
Julie, I think those ‘tactics’ may have been grossly exaggerated.
And yes, thank goodness for the control Amazon gives authors!
Talli,
Great post! I agree with you 110%.
Very few of us would be were we are today without the Zon’s trail blazing concepts.
Sure… they tweak them now and then. But what new idea doesn’t need to be fine-tuned?
It’s like getting on the Starship Enterprise headed for a brave new galaxy and complaining about the speed of the ship.
Luuuvvv your analogy, Barbara:
“It’s like getting on the Starship Enterprise headed for a brave new galaxy and complaining about the speed of the ship.”
Oh, thank you so much for providing a great analogy! I tried to come up with one, but my cold-addled brain wouldn’t comply. Love it!
I don’t understand the ins and outs of the publishing world to know who is exactly doing what to whom and why. A lot of accusations flying around though. I have things I don’t like, but it doesn’t make me right. But I do support my local bookstores as much as I can. To me, it’s worth paying retail to keep them in business. There’s nothing like an actual store, leafing through potential treasures. Amazon is a great source for my book buying too, but it would be a great loss if they eventually became the only source.
I think bookshops will find their own niche if they’re innovative and focus on what they do well – customer relationships and reaching the local population. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future.
Great post – love the picture too x
Thanks, Louise!
Thank you for such a clear comment on publishing today.
I have to say that when I published my non-fiction history book, it was unbelievably easy. Sure, I’d prepared my blurb and author page stuff beforehand. You’d be daft not to. The rest was common sense. Amazon gave me an opportunity I would never have had otherwise.
At the moment I’m looking for a traditional deal for my first novel. But I’m keeping an open mind and Amazon does make it so easy…
Hi Alison! You’re right – Amazon makes it so easy for us, doesn’t it? It nice to have options, definitely.
I think the cold hard reality is that in a few years the Big 6 will all be out of business. They have too many fixed costs (mostly in the form of their well paid employees). They simply can’t put out a book as cheaply or as quickly as Amazon. And I don’t see them firing all their current staff and hiring a completely new staff with the skills needed for the digital publication business.
Whether it’s good or bad, in a few years Amazon will be the only publisher in town.
Tim, I’m hoping the Big 6 will cop onto themselves (to use an expression from this side of the Atlantic) and implement measures to catch up. It’s be a shame to see that wealth of expertise go to waste… but I reckon it’s going to be very challenging for them to do so quickly enough.
Well said, Talli. I guess moaning about Amazon is cheaper than paying writers a reasonable royalty rate…
Ha! Very true, David.
I’m still active in both traditional and e-publishing – so I can see both sides of the fence.
Currently, traditional publishers are trying to use e-books as if they were nothing more than just another form of traditional product – that is, one to be milked for the lion’s share of profit – with the author settling for whatever pittance they care to pass their way.
In other words – THEY think that Amazon has figured out a model that works. Traditional publishers need to put on their crow-eating shoes and try to emulate Amazon’s plan. They need to re-think and re-evolve their way of doing business.
I think they can do it.
I don’t if they figure they can or not.
“Currently, traditional publishers are trying to use e-books as if they were nothing more than just another form of traditional product – that is, one to be milked for the lion’s share of profit – with the author settling for whatever pittance they care to pass their way.”
Yes, I think you’re right — what they seem to be missing is that more and more authors are realising that they can do it on their own now.
Excellent post, my friend!!!
Before I was an Author, I used to work in the Returns Center for one of the Big Six Pubs, and I can honestly say, that unless they change most of their business practices, I will not go the TradiPub route.
Amazon treats their authors a bunch better than the TradiPubs AND make a ton of money. The TradiPubs haven’t figured out that combo yet…and with their infrastructure and mind-set, I seriously doubt they ever will.
Thanks, DD!
It will be interesting to see what change — if any — happen in the traditional publishing industry.
Great post, Talli.
I’ve been aware for a while that Amazon seems to be the bad guy but, like you, I don’t agree with that. Thanks to Amazon KDP I had a choice, and I chose them – I didn’t submit to a single traditional publisher, I didn’t see the point and I’ve got absolutely no regrets. Go girl…
Thanks, Anette! Yes, it really is about choice, and Amazon provides that to authors now.
Absolutely spot on, Talli. Trad publishers have to keep up with the times if they want to retain their authors and compete. Other retailers also need to make it easier for authors to publish with them, and improve their websites so readers can find new authors. Amazon have put a lot of time and effort into doing both of those things, and even though I agree that it’s not good to have all your eggs in one basket, at the moment, Amazon are way ahead of the game in terms of what they offer their readers and authors.
They certainly are, Sibel! Interesting that Amazon is a HUGE company, yet that seem to retain the ability to implement new strategies very quickly and stay ahead of the market.
Hi,
Fab post!
The greatest problem with mainstream publishing is their inability to see the obvious! When the first Internet Indie e-book publishers hit the airways in the early 1990s, mainstream publishers started yelling abuse at the Indies and declaring e-books as inferior products sold by amateur publishers. They also claimed no-one would purchase e-books and, that strange mentality persisted within mainstream publishing up until the Millenium. Suddenly mainstream publishers woke up to the fact that Internet publishing had taken off and left them spinning in the jet-stream. Panic struck with a vengeance, and of course they began (a few) to embrace the idea that maybe a e-book enterprise might be a worthwhile project: a trial and error project. But, the new technology posed a few problems: the formatting was different and so many different platforms. Oh Heck, this is not as easy as it looks. Eventually though, a few have got the hang of it, and now they’re deploying a tactic of high-priced e-books alongside cheaper paperback versions: the latter still the old mind-set of “people prefer and want paperbacks”, only the few ever seeking hardback issues. NO, NO, NO, nt true. But yes, paperbacks are great to read, though shelves of paperbacks can look a bit tatty in a house after awhile, whereas a Kindle just needs dusting and looks smart.
Mainstream publishers are on a losing streak and unless they pull out the butt plug of old marketing techniques and ludicrous publisher spin, they will become non-runners in the Sales Stakes! We’re living in a throw-away society. How many paperbacks on your shelf as opposed to smart hardbacks? If one holds regular dinner parties paperbacks on view are definite NO NO, and your smart bookcases loaded with hardbacks reveal a lot about you, and believe it, guests always browse book shelves!
Very true, Francine – and what an image you’ve put in my head with ‘butt plug’! Society has definitely changed and people now do not put the same stock in physical possessions. As someone living in a small flat with limited space, I love that I can buy loads of books without having to worry about storing them. Kindle is perfect for that!
You tell ‘em, Talli!!
Thanks, PJ!
Great post! I am traditionally published but my books are available as paperbacks from book stores and also as ebooks….therefore a win win situation. The sales from Kindle have been fantastic, especially for my first novel which has been knocking around for seven years.
I am blessed with a forward-thinking small publisher with a much quicker turn-around than the Big Six, an author friend waited nearly three years from signing her contract to official launch with a bigger set up!
Many worry about the undoubted deluge of self-published dross flooding the market but the reading public are not fools. Good books will always sell and rise to the top, like cream!
I agree, Raven. And there have always been bad books around. The good ones will out in the end!
Great post, couldn’t agree more!!! Like you said, people should quit whining and focus on stepping up their game instead. Joe Konrath or Barry Eisler have a great quote (which I’m certain to botch to hell), but it says something like “…how can Amazon be ruining the book business by selling billions of books?”
Thanks, Dina! And I love that quote – many people claim Amazon is ruining publishing, but seriously? I’ve bought more books on my Kindle than ever before, and I’m obviously not the only one!
Amen! Great post!
Thanks, Sharon.
Yes, I look forward to the day when I’m selling hundreds of copies a month through Barnes and Noble and Apple, but I’m not going to spite Amazon; it’s enabled my writing career, and is forcing the publishing world to change its business model.
I’d love to be selling more at Barnes & Noble, etc. in order to diversify, but I’m certainly not upset that Amazon is enabling to reach more customers through their dominance.
Great post, Talli. I so agree. I wish Barnes and Noble would do better for us. I think they are walking a fine line with their big six having stores that rely on them and Nook where they make money off of so many indie published ebooks. I used to sell more but last year they began listing the free and the paid titles together and so it’s so hard to find your books there now.
Elizabeth, I barely sell anything there. No idea why – I’d certainly like to! But because I’m outside of the US, I can only publish through Smashwords, which is a little cumbersome. I hope they open up to international authors at some point.
Great post! I’m an ardent Amazon supporter not only because I am an author who has benefited from their groundbreaking choices in publishing, but because of their product and customer service. IN FACT, it appears to me that those screaming “Evil Amazon” are not, by and large, the people who matter. Who are the people who matter? Their CUSTOMERS. Amazon isn’t large because they stole business from others or because they illegally or unethically leveraged a stranglehold on the market, it’s large because they did everything right FOR THE CUSTOMER. It really is that simple. Keep up the good work Amazon – I’m behind you.
Yes, that’s a great point, Karen! The customers are the ones who, in the end, make the purchasing decisions. And Amazon does a great job at keeping them hooked and luring them back for more!
Excellent post! While I’m still not enamoured by the Select program Amazon offers (I put one book there as part of my thesis project) I do support Amazon. They care about the customer and so far I feel they support the indie authors. Whenever I’ve had a question about whatever concerning one of my books I always get a timely answer. And if it’s going to take longer to research, I’ve gotten an email telling me that.
Now I’m FAR from making a living off my writing (not yet), but I’ll keep plugging along, writing and publishing as an indie. I look forward to that day and you can bet Amazon will be there with me.
Thanks, Jamie. How did the experiment with Select go?
And I agree – they do seem very supportive of indie authors. I was thrilled that they took the time to reach out to me to get my opinion about some new promo features they’re looking to implement. You can bet a Big 6 would never consult an author!
You’re right about the Big 6 never consulting an author!
The experiment with Select. . .hmmm. Let’s just say I’m not impressed with the program. While their “free download” days got me lots of downloads, actual sales were no where what I was expecting. In fact for the first month until I did my first free downloads the book sold 0, that’s zero copies. Stay tuned as they say. . .
The ‘Zon…love it!
I for one am grateful to Amazon. Without the company I would not have launched my book this week. I have tried another company for my poetry book, but so far (2 days), I have sold more on Amazon, than I have in two years over at the other place. That is not many, but enough to show me I made the right choice.
Your article is spot on, Talli. We make choices, and can walk away at any point. Amazon has given the publishing world a wake up call, and the snoozers still haven’t heard!
Bravo my friend for speaking out!
Thanks, lovely G! And a massive congrats on your book launch!
The concerted smear campaign has even hit here. A local reporter contacted me about a story (fed to him by a local small publisher) about Amazon’s “evil Walmart tactics” etc. This stuff is epidemic, and it all comes from the frightened (publishers, bookstores). I set him straight pretty fast, started with the truth that he was already starting his story with a predetermined slant (“Amazon is brutally crushing literature…)
You know the refrain. It is so laughable because it is so persistent that it has taken on a weird kind of “unchallenged universal truth.” Incidentally, Walmart is one of the most progressive corporations in the world in implementing green practices in their operations and verifying the sources of the items they sell, especially food.
Conventional wisdom is often stupid.
Scott, it’s really getting ridiculous. Seriously! If I read another article about the evil Amazon, I’m going to go mental (okay, more mental). They have provided authors a way to reach the reader directly, and I think authors could perhaps be a bit more vocal about the good things the company does. As for traditional publishers, I understand why they’re scared, but they CAN change.
You have to keep in mind that huge, ancient organizations never want to change unless they’ve institued that change to benefit themselves. The big 5 have a top heavy infrastructure that demands support. They’ve tried downsizing (notice how I got that in there
) but only to the lower echelons and in places that should never have been touched.
Change never comes easily and all things are ridiculed into the ground before the next generation simply accepts it. Telephone, automobile, electricity, etc, etc.
The big five wanna go the way of the horse and carriage, let them. Something will come along to take their place and, in this economy, they will make sure to make points by offering jobs.
JMHO, which comes from over 50 years in sales.
Patg
Very true, Patricia. Big orgs won’t adapt easily… I do hope they manage to get it together, though. Not that I want lots of competition!
But it would be shame to see their expertise go the way of the horse and buggy…
Appreciate the post, Talli.
As a 22 book traditionally published writer now pubbing via Amazon and other ereader bookstores, I can attest to a sense of liberation that I am truly enjoying. Oh, and I can actually pay my bills now, too!
Bravo, Author.
LT
Apart from the liberation, it really is good to pay the bills, isn’t it?
Financially, it just makes sense.
Here’s an excellent article, Y’All, by one of my faves…Barry Eisler…about this very topic in today’s Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/24/amazon-publishing-establishment-monopoly
Ah! How did I miss this? I was just on the Guardian site and didn’t even see it. Barry and I must be on the same wavelength…
Thanks, DD!
I love Amazon. It was 1st foreigner store (except Russian Ozon.com) I started to buy books and DVDs. Why? Because it was the only one who actually shipped to my country.
Now, I can buy books from Kindle store, but guess what? I can’t buy any Nook books. Imagine. If I’ve bought a Nook during my stay at the USA, I wouldn’t be able to buy any Nook books. So stupid.
So stambs up, Amazon!
Adila
Great point, Adila! Amazon is global, which – in this modern age – counts for A LOT. Thanks for your comment.
I have always loved my local B&N until today. Even when they took the outlets away I wasn’t as pissed as today when they were pushing people out of the cafe if they didn’t have food on their table. As if they have enough business to be shoving people away. How about you kick out the people with screaming kids instead? A local bookstore should be a neighborhood hangout for booklovers. Don’t they know I will buy a book before or after the cafe visit? It is all about customer service. Amazon gets that! The others? Not so much.
Great post, Talli!
I sometimes wonder if I’m really reading the words of an actual outraged little guy or more astroturf. It’s so hard to tell in a virtual environment sometimes. That’s why it’s so valuable to have online communities where we can build relationships and exchange ideas with people we have grown to trust.
Talli, I’ve felt the same way.
I’m not great at understanding why people get angry generally.
I generally don’t see the benefit to it. I always say, “Show me the advantage in being a jerk and I’ll consider it.” 
I asked about the Amazon thing more than two years ago, so I’m not sure it is getting better.
http://ilmk.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/why-are-authors-so-angry-at-amazon/
I think there is an element of wanting to blame external circumstances…and it’s easier to blame a powerful one than a weak one…
I totally agree with this article and what amazed me was even Writer’s Beware was on the Trad Pub’s side against Amazon. I replied to a few of their posts with links to April’s, Konrath’s and Gaughran’s posts which shows why the Agency Model is bad and how media is taking sides, but it in one ear and out the other. Writer’s Beware even posted somebody’s blog who complained that the self-publishing well was ‘drying up’. I posted on his blog that no, if you’re not selling you need to rethink your marketing and that being an Indie Author is like any other job, it takes time and hard work. I think Writer’s Beware is also taking sides against self-publishing.
Loved this post, Talli! As many have said, corporations, even people, are afraid of change. It’s often much easier to vilify the change agent than to take a good look at yourself and see why their strategy is working while yours is not. Thank you!
Excellent post Talli, and everyone who has posted here. This topic is so spot on! I’m a new (Canadian) writer still working on getting that first book out there. I chose to go with an epublisher who works with a number of venues, including Amazon. It just plain makes sense. I look at our children and grandchildren and see how they not only embrace the new techology of ereaders, smart phones and ipads, but have come to consider them “necessities”. I foresee the next generation demanding more publications, even possibly text books, be available on ereaders. After all, why lug around tons of books (at considerable monetary expense) in a knap-sack and hurt your back, when you could potentially have one tiny device that fits into a good-sized purse or carry case? Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved my paperbacks and hardcovers, but honestly, what a pain trying to figure out what to do with them after I’ve read them. Yes, I can – and do – donate them, but again, what a pain and time waster gathering them up and driving to where I’m going to drop them off. As for Amazon as the “evil” giant, I say go for it. From what I’ve heard from indie authors and assorted writer’s posts, it’s just what we’ve been looking for! Makes me want to say to the trad publishers, agents out there “No, the world is not flat, and yes, cars can replace horses”. Technology isn’t just the wave of the future, it’s the life blood of the future.
It’s the same in the airline industry. The majors whine about Southwest’s successful business model, but would rather stick with their own failed model than effect change. Change is scary for large corporations, which is why those who fail to adapt become dinosaurs. Yet those dinosaurs would rather bemoan someone else’s success rather than admit their own business model no longer fits in today’s world.