Quote:
Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks
Baen and other small publishers are in the same boat with indies. How to get the word out when Amazon's algos don't help much (if at all. I don't know if Baen has any kind of agreement with Amazon. I know that Samhain apparently tried to get better placement and efforts failed. The erotica publisher that went under last year had the same problem.)
People have become jaded by reviews so fewer people review books. That hurts visibility too.
It's a very tough business environment right now. I'd be very surprised if Baen can stand alone in it--I'd be happier if they did, but I think they may get bought up.
I also expect to see some consolidation in the companies that do distribution (smashwords and d2d and other companies in that line).
It will be interesting...
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Also working against BAEN is that they are as author-friendly as they are reader-friendly. Contract terms vary and are confidential but the bits that filter out are that their rates are closer to Amazon terms than "industry standard" terms. Not being based in NYC helps their finances but it is a tough environment. And getting tougher.
As for the distributors, I suspect Smashwords.
Coker spends way too much time bashing Amazon. Not a good sign.