Thread: Why do some authors only offer their ebooks on Amazon?
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Old 08-02-2022, 05:53 AM   #142
frahse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hildea View Post
This happens fairly often: Someone mentions a book that seems interesting. I search a bit, and find that the ebook is only sold on Amazon. I've only seen it with self-published books, but I've seen it both with established authors who sell most of their books in many places, established authors who sell all of their books only on Amazon, and starting authors who have just one or two books for sale.

Does anyone know why this happens?
  • Is the hassle of adding the book to more booksellers so big, and the sales outside Amazon so small, that for many authors it's just not worth it?
  • Or does Amazon offer some significant advantages if they get a monopoly on specific books?

I have a huge list of books I'd like to buy, and look at it whenever I need something new to read. But if I can't buy a book outside of Amazon, it's not going on my list. This is partly practical (the last time I got a freebie from Amazon, I wasn't able to remove the DRM and convert it to a usable format, so now I don't trust that I'll be able to do it for books I buy), and partly principled (I think Amazon's market dominance is bad for both readers and authors, and I don't want to give Bezos another cent if I can help it).

It is just easier. I personally have limited footprints in 3 very specific categories of non-fiction and 2 categories of ghost authoring so called vanity books for very limited audiences.
Amazon is just a "one stop everything shop!"
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