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Originally Posted by =X=
After the tactics used by the publishers in recent days it's no surprise amazon is striking back. I just didn't expect it this fast.
Personally I think this is good news for the consumer this should result to cheaper prices. And with the middle man cut out more money goes to the authors.
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I think they've just become (or are in the process of becoming) the biggest book publisher in the world. They only need a few authors of Stephen King or Maeve Binchy popularity and that's it, game over for traditional publishing. Imagine if they could sign an exclusivity deal with Stephanie Meyer for her next book or an exclusive Pratchett deal? These are tactics Sony and the rest can't even dream of implementing; they may have the money, but they don't have Amazon's traffic. And what author wouldn't want to sign a deal with Amazon? Near enough triple the royalties and their book being positioned at the front of the Amazon store, a writer would have to be crazy not to sign up. Traditional publishing can't offer the same.
EDIT: With this move Amazon have also signalled the end of the agent/publisher relationship. The agent publisher relationship was all about minimizing risks on new talent and re-negotiation the deals for old talent. Amazon has very little risk. It can take almost anybody on and promote them at very little cost (bandwidth, maybe a little 3rd party editing). Back catalogues, new talent, Amazon can do it all and will make a profit every time.
Wow, just, wow. I never thought I'd see it happen so fast, but here it is, happening right in front of our faces. The publishers tried to outflank Amazon with ebook delays and that move has backfired. Anybody taking bets on when we see exclusive deals from Patterson, Parker, Meyer and King?
Interesting times indeed.