Will Amazon forgo quality to enhance quantity?

mdibella · 12-04-2007, 12:24 PM

I see in another thread that Steve Jordan is publishing his books for Kindle, and I applaud that because I have read and enjoyed his work...

...but...

I can't help feeling very concerned that Amazon is improving its bragging rights regarding the quantity of available Kindle content by allowing just anyone to self-publish their books. Will we be seeing a lot of unedited, unproofed content, and much of it frankly not very well written?

I can see that I will be reading an awful lot of first chapters, just to determine if this new author I never heard of is an undiscovered gem or just a writer-wannabe.

Editors are good, they do valuable work...has Amazon bothered to hire any, or did they just throw open the doors to anyone with a modem and a dream?

Alisa · 12-04-2007, 12:25 PM

Last I read they weren't doing sample chapters for the self-published works yet which I think is a critical mistake.

Hadrien · 12-04-2007, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alisa

Last I read they weren't doing sample chapters for the self-published works yet which I think is a critical mistake.

I couldn't agree more, it seems even more important to sample the book if it's self-published.

jasonkchapman · 12-04-2007, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdibella

Editors are good, they do valuable work...has Amazon bothered to hire any, or did they just throw open the doors to anyone with a modem and a dream?

Of course they haven't. They're strictly acting as a distribution mechanism, not as a publisher. Nor are they setting themselves up as the arbiter of what's worth reading. But that's nothing new. They've handled POD books from self-publishing venues for a long time. As has always been the case, caveant lector emptorque (my Latin is a bit rusty, but I think that's right).

rflashman · 12-04-2007, 03:03 PM

Who is actually basing their purchase on 'quantity'? I admit there is a certain threshold before most consider a store a worthwhile investment (20k? 30k 60k?) but beyond that, which I feel Amazon has already met, I don't think the quantity really matters in terms of making future sales.

vivaldirules · 12-04-2007, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rflashman

Who is actually basing their purchase on 'quantity'? I admit there is a certain threshold before most consider a store a worthwhile investment (20k? 30k 60k?) but beyond that, which I feel Amazon has already met, I don't think the quantity really matters in terms of making future sales.

I, for one, care a great deal about it. And I think quantity matters a great deal. The total number of available ebooks by all vendors combined is less than 1% of the total number of pbooks that are available. I think that's pitifully small. By far, most of the books I want to buy I can't get in ebook form. I really don't care much about the rather small differences we've seen between the offerings by the vendors so far. Amazon has taken the lead, yes, but they will need to vastly improve their offerings to make ebooks take off. I think that if we continue at the current pace, this will continue to be a fringe business for another decade where the only customers are a few people who are either dedicated readers or techno geeks or both.

mdibella · 12-04-2007, 04:03 PM

Caveat Emptor is all well and good, assuming the emptor can take a look at the merchandise before buying it. I'm not sure that Amazon would authorize a refund based on the complaint 'this book is really lousy'. Nor would a 'real' bookstore, for that matter, but at least in Border's I can glance thru the book and even read a few pages before I decide to buy it.

If Amazon doesn't make the first chapter available on self-published books, it will be hard to imagine buying any of them.

NatCh · 12-04-2007, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

I, for one, care a great deal about it.

Point taken, but quantity for quantity's sake won't solve that problem. Just like everyone else, you want a higher quantity of books you want to read, if they added 3 million titles you don't care to read, then the quantity hasn't improved things for you much.

Besides, these self-published books we're talking about are unlikely to be the ones you're looking for and not finding anyway.

Penforhire · 12-04-2007, 05:33 PM

Those bragging rights are definitely part of the Kindle sales engine. You can see it here, even among people who know the number of titles are inflated. Lots of people choose the Kindle at least partly because they feel it offers more titles. Just seems like smart marketing by Amazon to me.

vivaldirules · 12-05-2007, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

Point taken, but quantity for quantity's sake won't solve that problem. Just like everyone else, you want a higher quantity of books you want to read, if they added 3 million titles you don't care to read, then the quantity hasn't improved things for you much.

Besides, these self-published books we're talking about are unlikely to be the ones you're looking for and not finding anyway.

I agree completely. Ten million ebooks that I don't want to read is no substitute for a few hundred or so that I do. I suppose what I'm really looking for is the day when all books that are available in ebook form. Then I will either be happy or I can switch from complaining about the meager availability of books in digital form to complaining that authors aren't writing books that I want to read.

NatCh · 12-05-2007, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

I suppose what I'm really looking for is the day when all books that are available in ebook form.

I can give no answer to that except the AOL "Me too!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Then I will either be happy or I can switch from complaining about the meager availability of books in digital form to complaining that authors aren't writing books that I want to read.

Or that they're not writing them fast enough! My only complaint about David Weber, for instance, is that he doesn't write as fast as I read.

HarryT · 12-05-2007, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonkchapman

As has always been the case, caveant lector emptorque (my Latin is a bit rusty, but I think that's right).

Absolutely right

.

jasonkchapman · 12-05-2007, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Absolutely right

.

My high school Latin teacher would be so proud.

brecklundin · 12-06-2007, 02:34 AM

A fast question relating to the idea of a bunch of crap the could come from the self-published works....does Amazon not offer something like a 7-day refund for Kindle format content? I thought I read this in an early review about the Kindle. If it is true then maybe that will provide a self-policing setup. If a books gets too many requests for refunds maybe there might be a review of the content for errors or what not...plus the site's user reviews should address simply bad books.

Yes...no? I dunno?

Alisa · 12-06-2007, 12:36 PM

The review feature should help this. If you see a book by an author you don't know with unfavorable reviews, you probably won't bother.

12-04-2007, 12:24 PM	#1
mdibella Groupie Posts: 193 Karma: 1107 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Infinite Kindles, Occasional Sony's	Will Amazon forgo quality to enhance quantity? I see in another thread that Steve Jordan is publishing his books for Kindle, and I applaud that because I have read and enjoyed his work... ...but... I can't help feeling very concerned that Amazon is improving its bragging rights regarding the quantity of available Kindle content by allowing just anyone to self-publish their books. Will we be seeing a lot of unedited, unproofed content, and much of it frankly not very well written? I can see that I will be reading an awful lot of first chapters, just to determine if this new author I never heard of is an undiscovered gem or just a writer-wannabe. Editors are good, they do valuable work...has Amazon bothered to hire any, or did they just throw open the doors to anyone with a modem and a dream?

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12-04-2007, 12:25 PM	#2
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	Last I read they weren't doing sample chapters for the self-published works yet which I think is a critical mistake.

12-04-2007, 03:03 PM	#5
rflashman Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 408 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle, Archos 605 Wifi, & Sony PRS-500	Who is actually basing their purchase on 'quantity'? I admit there is a certain threshold before most consider a store a worthwhile investment (20k? 30k 60k?) but beyond that, which I feel Amazon has already met, I don't think the quantity really matters in terms of making future sales.

12-04-2007, 04:03 PM	#7
mdibella Groupie Posts: 193 Karma: 1107 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Infinite Kindles, Occasional Sony's	Caveat Emptor is all well and good, assuming the emptor can take a look at the merchandise before buying it. I'm not sure that Amazon would authorize a refund based on the complaint 'this book is really lousy'. Nor would a 'real' bookstore, for that matter, but at least in Border's I can glance thru the book and even read a few pages before I decide to buy it. If Amazon doesn't make the first chapter available on self-published books, it will be hard to imagine buying any of them.

12-04-2007, 05:33 PM	#9
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Those bragging rights are definitely part of the Kindle sales engine. You can see it here, even among people who know the number of titles are inflated. Lots of people choose the Kindle at least partly because they feel it offers more titles. Just seems like smart marketing by Amazon to me.

12-06-2007, 02:34 AM	#14
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	A fast question relating to the idea of a bunch of crap the could come from the self-published works....does Amazon not offer something like a 7-day refund for Kindle format content? I thought I read this in an early review about the Kindle. If it is true then maybe that will provide a self-policing setup. If a books gets too many requests for refunds maybe there might be a review of the content for errors or what not...plus the site's user reviews should address simply bad books. Yes...no? I dunno?

12-06-2007, 12:36 PM	#15
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	The review feature should help this. If you see a book by an author you don't know with unfavorable reviews, you probably won't bother.