Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
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I really don't think Ingram gets it right here.
>attempt by Google and others to open up the book market
Google wasn't attempting to "open up the book market" they were trying to do an end run around copyright law by scanning other people's work and selling it. This wasn't an altruistic move on Google's part, they were motivated by potential profit just like any other corporation.
>Instead of making it easy for readers to download their authors’ work on different platforms and share and copy it
You can still do that if you want too. You can publish on Amazon without DRM, you can release your book on your own website, Smashwords or others that don't use DRM.
>As some authors have pointed out, even if you take advantage of Amazon’s self-publishing options to avoid having to get a traditional publishing deal, you’ve really just exchanged one corporate overlord for another.
Unlike the big publishers who tightly control what's done with your book, while retaining the rights for years, Amazon doesn't restrict what you do with your book outside of Amazon (other than price matching). If you want to release your book into the public domain, publish it at Apple, Smashwords, B&N, Overdrive, wherever, you're completely free to do so.
>For most writers, the ideal would be an industry with multiple players
It's still an industry of multiple players. Amazon may be the largest for now, but they are far and away from being the only major player in the game.