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Hya SensualPoet: Don't be too mislead by Amazon's 'generosity'. That 30% sales commission applies only in the US, UK and Eire and last week extended to Canada. There's a whole wide world out there placing sales on which Amazon/Kindle still takes 65%.
That is much, much more than an author, artist, designer, technician and publisher will ever see from the sale of their title -- and, unlike the others -- pure profit.
I hope you don't seriously suggest that a desktop shopkeeper who privides nothing more than a tiny slot in a virtual library of shelves is worth a higher take than all a book's creators combined.
A good book sometimes takes years in the writing and maybe another year of joint effort and pro teamwork to present. Amazon's Kindle upload system is a mere push-button self-upload system. The author/publisher is even responsible for that particular process.
The new eBook stores are now exceeding even the penal discounts and sales commissions once demanded by brick and mortar bookshops that at least had titles on real shelves, staff to advise browsers and were self-promoting. No buyer advice at the ebook stores (apart from what publishers, authors and readers supply themselves) and certainly no promotion, unless it's for the store itself.
Instantaneous content as far as Amazon and the other online ebook giants are concerned, and on a zero-input, win-win basis whether they demand 70%, 65% or a 'mere' 30% of a title's income. And never confuse 'sales commission' with 'royalties' as the big stores try so hard to make you. Their creative contribution and active per-title promotion is zilch.
Sadly, they have everyone over a barrel. We have no choice but to play the game by their rules.
Best wishes. Neil
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