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As far as I can understand it, the situation is as follows:
For a while over the last five years or so, indie authors and independent publishers were able to sell their books on Amazon and their own sites at a profit. They had visibility on Amazon, and readers bought their books at a profitable price.
Something has happened.
Readers no longer buy from independent sites. They buy from Amazon.
And Amazon is no longer giving as much visibility to indie authors as it was before. It has shifted to giving greater visibility to the Big 5 publications. Amazon did this by changing its algorithms and advertising system. Why did this happen? About two years ago, Amazon came to agreements with the Big 5 publishers. What happened in the relationship between Amazon and the Big 5 that Amazon decided to more aggressively market Big 5 books, and to let indie books sales wither?
There is also the issue that readers are buying less indie books, or are not willing to pay as much. That could be because of Amazon's shift in focus.
There is also Trump. This might have affected people's buying habits.
Really, I don't know. Did I get it wrong? I'd love to be enlightened.
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