Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972
I'd have thought that the main problem with KU is that it's a fixed payout pot arbitrarily set by Amazon, if KU becomes the main way indie titles are read then when Amazon use their standard method of increasing profit (squeezing suppliers) authors are going to have an uphill battle trying to convince people to actually pay for stuff instead of reading for free.
|
That "arbitrary" thing keeps popping up.
It isn't arbitrary. There is a formula behind the pool.
It is undocumented but Amazon's track record with KOLL was that they kept the payout constant. Month to month.
And if they reduce it too much, authors will pull out. Many did during the switch in payout algorithms. It's not like the Select contracts last life+70 or require legal court battles to pull out.
KU is a symbiotic relationship; the book publishers need Amazon but Amazon needs them too. They need good affordable reads to keep on collecting those subscription fees. Which can also be ended at a moments notice.
We keep seeing all these warnings about all the ways Amazon can turn on writers, as if Select participants are naive waifs following a judas goat to slaughter. There might be a few wide-eyed dreamers in the mix but the bulk of KU participants are coldly calculating the ways they can use Amazon to their advantage and ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. These are entrepreneurs availing themselves of a new distribution channel, not artistes hoping the universe will take care of them.
The reason these subjects are openly debated is precisely because the participants are tracking changes in the market. And because they don't fear retaliation. I have yet to see one Indie author pledge undying allegiance to Amazon. What I do see is a lot of "I'll use them as long as it helps me."
If Amazon changes, they *will* bolt. And not quietly.
We'll hear of it and so will Amazon.
Until then, a lot of hay is being made and a lot of books being read.