Curious about independent writers and rumored Amazon subscription plan

emellaich · 09-13-2011, 11:08 AM

In regard to Amazon's rumored netflix-style subscription plan (readers pay one price for all the books they can read); I wonder how it would work for independent writers?

OK, this is just speculation since we don't even know if the original rumor is real, but here are some thoughts I had.

New independent writers basically have no value to their work. If it follows typical ratios, most will never get audience attention. These folks just want readers, even if its free, so that they can get an audience and word-of-mouth. For these folks, it seems to me that a tiered payment approach would work best. Something like this:

- The first 100 'sales' or reads, the author gets no payment. Hopefully this allows the author to build up some rating stars, and word of mouth.
- After 100 copies are read, Amazon pays the author some nominal amount for the right to distribute up to 1000 books.
- After 1000, Amazon purchases additional rights in 1000 book blocks.

However, even in the case of 'proven' independents the payments would be quite low. Amazon, couldn't afford to charge much if its only revenue is the cost of a prime membership.

The game for the independent, would be one of recognition/reputation. They give away 100 to seed the market. They virtually give away the next 1000 to support growth. At some time, their book becomes a 'best-seller'. They remove the book from the unlimited program and sell the book through the standard Amazon marketplace giving Amazon the standard (30%?) cut.

An alternative to the 1000 book blocks would pay the writer a very small fee per book once the first 100 are sold. Either way, the writer wouldn't get much, but I still think it could work for a new writer.

What do you think?

mr ploppy · 09-13-2011, 11:47 AM

How does Netflix work? I would guess the creators get some small amount each time someone views their content. That's pretty much how I've always said people should be paid when someone downloads from a "pirate" site to legitimise the way people consume entertainment these days.

If Amazon did do something like that, it would either be entirely for independent writers, or it would specifically exclude them. I can't really see the major publishers being interested in a model like that when they are used to getting $10+ per ebook. It wouldn't make financial sense for them.

I doubt it would be all you can read either, unless they started using the Kindle feature that lets them know when a book has been read in its entirety. People would just download thousands of them every day, like they do on the pirate sites, and maybe read 1% of them.

Unless they were stored and read online, and you never actually got to own them while you were reading. That wouldn't be much fun for readers with spotty internet access.

emellaich · 09-13-2011, 03:03 PM

Yeah, I figure it would depart from the Netflix model for independent authors. The problem is that anyone (me-yikes) can publish independently with no quality control. I'm not sure that Amazon wants to pay independents for the few books they download of their own authored-works.

One solution would be to require editorial approval of every book, but that requires a lot of manpower and leads to a huge slush pile. Instead, I'm thinking of any easy way to get into the queue, but you have to earn your way to revenue by selling some minimum quantity.

It helps Amazon pump up the number of books available and lets new authors get exposure.

09-13-2011, 11:08 AM	#1
emellaich Wizard Posts: 1,101 Karma: 4388403 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Palm>Ebookman>IPaq>Axim>Cybook>Kndl2>IPAD>Kndl3SO>Voyager>Oasis	Curious about independent writers and rumored Amazon subscription plan In regard to Amazon's rumored netflix-style subscription plan (readers pay one price for all the books they can read); I wonder how it would work for independent writers? OK, this is just speculation since we don't even know if the original rumor is real, but here are some thoughts I had. New independent writers basically have no value to their work. If it follows typical ratios, most will never get audience attention. These folks just want readers, even if its free, so that they can get an audience and word-of-mouth. For these folks, it seems to me that a tiered payment approach would work best. Something like this: - The first 100 'sales' or reads, the author gets no payment. Hopefully this allows the author to build up some rating stars, and word of mouth. - After 100 copies are read, Amazon pays the author some nominal amount for the right to distribute up to 1000 books. - After 1000, Amazon purchases additional rights in 1000 book blocks. However, even in the case of 'proven' independents the payments would be quite low. Amazon, couldn't afford to charge much if its only revenue is the cost of a prime membership. The game for the independent, would be one of recognition/reputation. They give away 100 to seed the market. They virtually give away the next 1000 to support growth. At some time, their book becomes a 'best-seller'. They remove the book from the unlimited program and sell the book through the standard Amazon marketplace giving Amazon the standard (30%?) cut. An alternative to the 1000 book blocks would pay the writer a very small fee per book once the first 100 are sold. Either way, the writer wouldn't get much, but I still think it could work for a new writer. What do you think?

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09-13-2011, 11:47 AM	#2
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	How does Netflix work? I would guess the creators get some small amount each time someone views their content. That's pretty much how I've always said people should be paid when someone downloads from a "pirate" site to legitimise the way people consume entertainment these days. If Amazon did do something like that, it would either be entirely for independent writers, or it would specifically exclude them. I can't really see the major publishers being interested in a model like that when they are used to getting $10+ per ebook. It wouldn't make financial sense for them. I doubt it would be all you can read either, unless they started using the Kindle feature that lets them know when a book has been read in its entirety. People would just download thousands of them every day, like they do on the pirate sites, and maybe read 1% of them. Unless they were stored and read online, and you never actually got to own them while you were reading. That wouldn't be much fun for readers with spotty internet access.

09-13-2011, 03:03 PM	#3
emellaich Wizard Posts: 1,101 Karma: 4388403 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Palm>Ebookman>IPaq>Axim>Cybook>Kndl2>IPAD>Kndl3SO>Voyager>Oasis	Yeah, I figure it would depart from the Netflix model for independent authors. The problem is that anyone (me-yikes) can publish independently with no quality control. I'm not sure that Amazon wants to pay independents for the few books they download of their own authored-works. One solution would be to require editorial approval of every book, but that requires a lot of manpower and leads to a huge slush pile. Instead, I'm thinking of any easy way to get into the queue, but you have to earn your way to revenue by selling some minimum quantity. It helps Amazon pump up the number of books available and lets new authors get exposure.

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