Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
|
To call this article "analysis" is to play fast loose with the meaning of the term. Like many commentators apparently miffed by Amazon's success in the e-book market, many with vested interests in traditional publishing or are arch Apple partisans, the grumbling (and sometimes outrage) is almost exclusively about things Amazon did not mention in the press release.
It's perfectly true that more pbooks were sold than Kindle ebooks; Amazon didn't mention pbooks -- it stated that even though more people are buying more hardcover books form Amazon than ever before, the the ebook buyers have now outpaced them.
Nor did Amazon suggest it was taking over the world: nowhere does it suggest it is the only place to buy books. Amazon is a major vendor, yes; but consumers have tons of other choices around the world. However in ebooks -- and that was the point of calling out the James Patterson ebook sales -- Amazon is dominating.
There's even a complaint that Amazon might be encouraging the purchase of backlist titles and somehow implying it wasn't selling many first-run books. True or not, how is this a negative? Traditional publishing leaves so much money on the table it's criminal: countless authors's older titles remain out of print or unavailable except in the largest bookstores. Ebooks solves that problem, putting more money in publishers, and writers, pockets. Backlist is a great thing!
I find it astonishing so many folks in the industry take Amazon's success as a personal affront. The company is succeeding because it delivers a great customer experience -- convenience, choice, value -- which results in repeat business. For me, as a consumer, I applaud that. I wish far more consumer companies were as transparent and easy to deal with as Amazon.