Why do some authors only offer their ebooks on Amazon?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by hildea

Thanks for the info, everyone! Now I know, at least, that the authors get some advantage, and have, presumably, decided that they'd rather have those advantages than have anti-Amazon curmudgeons like me as customers.

I really wonder how many authors / publishers signing up to KDP Select realise that they are losing sales via Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and others and exactly what they are giving Amazon. The advantages are all on Amazon's side. The KDP Sselect advantages are less than also selling via other channels (which costs nothing).

[ownedbycats]

My main worry about Kindle Unlimited and Kobo Plus is that at some point they'll become the only option.

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

My main worry about Kindle Unlimited and Kobo Plus is that at some point they'll become the only option.

Is this a legit concern? On what do you base it?

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

My main worry about Kindle Unlimited and Kobo Plus is that at some point they'll become the only option.

This is my fear too. I have no interest in either offering, and hope that individual books will continue to be available for purchase

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

Is this a legit concern? On what do you base it?

Software as a service and online-only video games. Once the server goes down, it's gone.

[DiapDealer]

I think the question was "on what do you base your concerns that ebooks will eventually go to an 'all-subscription' model". Not "what would be your concerns IF all ebooks went to subscription-only" (not that KU is online-only to begin with).

I don't see any evidence that indicates that all ebooks are moving toward a subscription-only purchase model.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

My main worry about Kindle Unlimited and Kobo Plus is that at some point they'll become the only option.

I doubt it.

There are people that only read once, people that only use subsriptions, or streaming, people that only use libraries. Not just books, but music and video.

There are people that mostly buy content.

There are people that buy & subscribe/rent.

Publishers & authors would not agree to a KU model only. They like to be paid full amount no matter how much of a book is read. They'd suffer a loss of income. Some readers would never embrace subscription only, so Amazon would lose sales.

[issybird]

Totally guessing here, but my take is that subscription models squeeze the middle; they’re part of that ongoing trend. Top authors in general would not go that route (unless amply compensated as marketing for said service, e.g., J.K. Rowling), the large bottom of the writing market does better by subscription than other models, but the middle “cover its costs at best” group who rely on tradpub will continue to get less and less of the pie. Which I personally think is a shame, as my tastes overall tend to neither bestsellers nor self-pubbed.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

Authors seem very willing to be in this "cheating" program. More new authors added all the time. Amazon isn't "cheating" me of privacy. No more than any other retailer.

I love KU. Between it and my local library, I never lack reading material.

I’m not jumping on the cheating train, but I think a more telling statistic would be author retention rather than author acquisition. And more so author retention after those authors have tested to see the difference between exclusivity to Amazon and opting out.

If Quoth is any example exclusivity isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Though I’m not sure if they’ve tested going exclusive to see what it does to sales.

Of course exclusivity would have to have excessively better sales since any word of mouth sales would need to be in the Amazon ecosystem, while obviously without exclusivity the reader can use whatever device they want.

So perhaps cheat isn’t accurate, maybe disillusions the author would be better. Though other companies do this as well, it doesn’t make it a morally good* thing.



*companies aren’t bound to be morally good but we can still judge them based on their business practices.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

*companies aren’t bound to be morally good but we can still judge them based on their business practices.

And yet proprietors of the likes of Joe Blow's Pizza and Aunt Ruth's Craft Barn seem to be mostly exempt from such aggressive moral oversight.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

And yet proprietors of the likes of Joe Blow's Pizza and Aunt Ruth's Craft Barn seem to be mostly exempt from such aggressive moral oversight.

I can’t speak for everyone but I suspect the ins and outs of how a business local only to you would have no affect on how others continue to not do business with them.

I’m sure on a local level there are some forums, message boards, or merely word of mouth on local business. But given in this thread we have people from I believe every hemisphere of the planet it’s unlikely that we would all have an ongoing buying relationship with any local business we all have in common.

Put simply, Amazon has more customer reach thus they have more voices calling them out.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

My main worry about Kindle Unlimited and Kobo Plus is that at some point they'll become the only option.

I doubt that will happen. You can still buy music and movies.

I am very unlikely to be one that moves to a platform like Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus, but I am glad they exist. They obviously serve a base and are of value, even if they are not for me.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I just checked and it would appear the check in the Alf/Harper version of DeDRM for Kindle has been modified in the NoDRM version to print a warning and then to continue. Not something I really cared about since Amazon format library loans are not available outside of the USA.

The original discussion was on reddit.com

But, even if Kindle library loans were unable to have the DRM removed, you just get the ePub version, remove the DRM, and then convert to KF8. Problem solved.

But I've never had a Kindle Library loan not work with the ALF tools. Granted, I've rarely borrowed such. So I have no idea where this idea came from that Kindle Library loans were not able to have the DRM removed.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Software as a service and online-only video games. Once the server goes down, it's gone.

Before the Kindle, Amazon sold eBooks in LIT, Mobi, and PDF. When the main hard drive had to be replaced or the computer was upgraded, the DRM needed to be refreshed. So you had to download Mobi or PDF again. Amazon at some point decided to stop selling eBooks (still before the Kindle) and that left everyone who bought Mobi or PDF who needed to refresh the DRM screwed. Amazon did not keep downloads going for eBooks purchased.

The server doesn't have to go down. The provider can just decide not to provide support any longer.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by issybird

Totally guessing here, but my take is that subscription models squeeze the middle; they’re part of that ongoing trend. Top authors in general would not go that route (unless amply compensated as marketing for said service, e.g., J.K. Rowling), the large bottom of the writing market does better by subscription than other models, but the middle “cover its costs at best” group who rely on tradpub will continue to get less and less of the pie. Which I personally think is a shame, as my tastes overall tend to neither bestsellers nor self-pubbed.

No, subscription as in KU doesn't benefit the bottom of the market authors. Music streaming is even worse.