Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Amazon are giving independent publishers the option of exclusivity, for 90 days at a time, in exchange for a very attractive deal.
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Harry, what is attractive about the deal? If it is such an attractive deal, (a) why aren't the Agency 6 jumping on the same bandwagon as Sally Unknown? (b) Why are there multiple deals being offered depending on who you are in the ebook food chain? (c) Why is there no way to independently verify sales/borrowing information?
This last item particularly concerns me. I know, having worked at high levels in an dominant book publisher, that to get an Agency 6 publisher to agree to any scheme, the publisher wants audit rights. No major publisher -- and I suspect no major authors, including Konrath -- would be willing to sign on without audit rights. They wouldn't take Amazon's word for how much royalty they earned.
And consider the exclusivity. First, the agreemnt is automatically renewed unless the author affirmatively opts out. But Amazon isn't known for its benevolence, any more than Apple under Jobs was. Consequently, the procedure has to be such that Amazon expects it will get more than one 90-day exclusive period. And if it doesn't, who knows what retribution it might exact -- have we already forgotten the removal of the buy now buttons in its dispute with Macmillan?
Second, the exclusivity is worldwide, yet the Prime program that this feeds isn't a worldwide program. Why?
I think to blindly trust Amazon and hope that Bezos is in a benevolent mood is like the ostrich sticking its head in the sand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Nobody is holding a gun to the head of those publishers and forcing them to sign on the dotted line. There's nothing to stop any other eBook publisher from doing exactly the same thing.
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The Amazon juggernaut is itself quite a gun. Several authors have reported feeling pressured to sign on. Perhaps not overtly but pressure can be applied covertly or even be self-induced fear based on past actions taken by Amazon.
True, other retailers could take the same approach but because most authors seem to push Amazon -- ever notice how many authors announce their books here on MR as being available at Amazon and do not mention any place else even if their books are available elsewhere -- because Amazon has created in people's minds that it is the juggernaut to be reckoned with. Authors believe, rightly or wrongly, that without Amazon they have no chance. And that message is buttressed by authors like Konrath who encourage that perception. Consequently, no other ebook seller could successfully put out a program like this. Author's would fear losing Amazon as a seller and would fear retaliation from Amazon, something it is noted for.
I think your perspective is naive in the sense that it looks at the surface and doesn't penetrate the layers to deal with the reality of Amazon's business scheme.