Whether you are an established published author or aspiring to have your work published in the near future, you need to take note of this week's event. This is another attempt by one of the big boys to get even bigger and it will hurt readers and authors alike. If you haven't heard, Amazon purchased BookSurge a small POD publisher/printer back in 2005 and is now forcing other POD publishers to use BookSurge to print their books "or else." The following are excerpts from articles printed this week in Publishers Weekly, The Wall Street Journal and Writers Weekly.
Writers Weekly 3/28/08
"Amazon.com Telling POD Publishers - Let BookSurge Print Your Books, or Else ..."
"Reports have been trickling in from the POD underground that Amazon/BookSurge representatives have been approaching some Lightning Source customers, first by email introduction and then by phone (nobody at BookSurge seems to want to put anything in writing). When Lightning Source customers speak with the BookSurge representative, the reports say, they are basically told they can either have BookSurge start printing their books or the "buy" button on their Amazon.com book pages will be "turned off."
The book information would remain on Amazon, and people could still order the book from resellers (companies that list new and used books in Amazon's Marketplace section), but customers would not be able to buy the book from Amazon directly, nor qualify for the coveted "free shipping" that Amazon offers.
Don't believe it? I didn't believe it either. I am Angela Hoy, the co-owner of POD services company BookLocker.com and publisher of WritersWeekly.com. I am well-known in the industry for my activism performed through Writers Weekly Whispers and Warnings. Over the years, we have helped writers recover tens of thousands of dollars in fees from deadbeat editors and publishers, helped them negotiate better contract terms, assisted writers in obtaining payment after their copyrights have been violated, and even assisted police in collecting evidence to prosecute criminals who have preyed on writers. I am also the author of 11 non-fiction books."
"...What can you do? Let Amazon know what you think about this "offer" by Amazon/BookSurge.
The names of their Officers and Directors are here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-govManage
Amazon's Investor Relations Team email address appears near the bottom of this page: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-faq
Their address is:
Amazon.com, Inc.
P.O. Box 81226
Seattle, WA 98108-1226
Next, tell your author friends, your book buyers, your website visitors, your ezine subscribers and everyone else about this situation. Amazon.com was built on books. Books are written by authors. Unfortunately, it appears authors may ultimately be the innocent pawns in this power struggle."
Read entire article in Writers Weekly Links to other related articles are available on the Writers Weekly page.
Publishers Weekly - 3/28/08
"mazon to Force POD Publishers to Use BookSurge"
by Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly
"BookSurge, Amazon's print-on-demand subsidiary, is making an offer that most publishers would like to refuse, but don't feel they can. According to talks with several pod houses, BookSurge has told them that unless their titles are printed by BookSurge, the buy buttons on Amazon for their titles will be disabled. A detailed explanation of her how the new program was explained to her is provided by BookLocker.com co-owner Angela Hoy on her writersweekly.com blog.
Over the last year, BookSurge has been trying to cut into the market share of pod leader Lightning Source and is using the selling clout of Amazon to generate more business. "I feel like the flea between two giant elephants," said the head of one pod publisher about the upcoming battle between Lightning Source and BookSurge/Amazon. He said although the deal with BookSurge will be more expensive, he has no choice but to make the move since most of his authors expect their titles to be for sale on Amazon. He added that his company will also continue to use Lightning Source for printing as well. Amazon's BookSurge mandate extends to traditional publishers as well as to online pod houses."
Read the entire article in Publishers Weekly
The Wall Street Journal
"Amazon Tightens Grip on Printing"
By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg
Amazon.com Inc., flexing its muscles as a major book retailer, notified publishers who print books on demand that they will have to use its on-demand printing facilities if they want their books directly sold on Amazon's Web site.
The move signals that Amazon is intent on using its position as the premier online bookseller to strengthen its presence in other phases of bookselling and manufacturing. Amazon is one of the biggest booksellers in the U.S., with a market share publishing experts estimate to be about 15%. Amazon doesn't comment on sales.
Entire article is available to The Wall Street Journal subscribers.
Thanks to Julie Shapiro (Gather) for her initial notice on her Gather blog.
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Comments: 38
I'm glad you posted something on this worrisome move of Amazon's. I was talking to an author friend of mine who didn't quite get why this is so hurtful. I tried to explain that an author has a greater chance of winning the lottery than getting published by Random House. So authors that believe in their work often turn to respected independent presses who publish trade paperbacks on a print on demand basis. Many of these publishers have worked very hard to find printers whose books look decent and like any other high quality trade paperback that's out on the market.
I sat in on a printing discussion given to a marketing group recently. Several printers passed around trade paperbacks and asked if we could tell which one was printed on demand using digital technology. None of us could tell the differences. The POD books looked great.
I have not heard the same about books produced by Book Surge. I've heard from various publishers and others authors that Book Surge books "look awful"..."are the worst."
Now this is a huge concern. If the books don't look good it's going to be hard to convince readers to keep on reading the books. It's bad PR for the authors and the indie book publishers. But it's inadvertently good PR for the big publishers who are not using Print on Demand technology. Imagine that? So this is a case again of hurting the little guy. It forces them to choose a potentially inferior printer. It also denies them their inalienable right of Freedom of Choice. Most horrendous of all...it forces a monopolistic situation instead of letting the market remain open.
Julie Ann Shapiro
Could all this be related to the kindle? I wonder....
There is no way I'll publish anything with Book Surge, not only are their tactics disgusting, but I cannot afford their publishing packages.
My gut instinct tells me that the sheer number of small independents publishers and the number of quality authors they publish each year are a real threat to the handful of large publishing houses. Anything that affects the NY houses though will, in domino theory, affect the book sellers who cater to them for the obvious "dangling carrot" perks. I never thought Amazon would side with the small book sellers though who look down their noses at those of us contracted with respectable POD publishers. What really angers me is the money Amazon has already made by cutting into POD author royalties (the greater their cut of the pie, the smaller ours gets) and the POD publisher.
But Amazon has grown to cover so many industries that it now sees no boundaries to its outreach, not even those of ethics or conflict of interest.
What Amazon is doing it tantamount to book burning in my opinion. If you don't do what Guido...I mean Amazon...tells you to do, your book will be killed! Or at least severely maimed.
Amazon is not the only game in town. I would love to see someone like Borders or BN pick up PODs online. Let's all start buying for Fictionwise or some other bookseller that will print POD.
As long as Amazon does this I will not buy anything from them. This week I will have our tech guy take down all of the Amazon buttons off of our site.
We vote with our dollar. I vote that Amazon is being unfair. Vote "NO" on Amazon.
Thanks for the heads up Marta.
I'm TOTALLY incensed. Just because Amazon is the largest online shop, they aren't the only ones (my book is on several including B&N, BAMM, and numerous other smaller online shops). I have it from an excellent source that: "... LightningSource represents one heck of a whack of the business (they have 60,000 PublishAmerica titles alone) and are streets ahead of BookSurge. They pull some weight as being owned by Ingrams -- the biggest distributor in the world. But Amazon's greed knows no bounds. On an average novel, the new deal would mean they pick up a total of around 78% of cover price, plus other profit-spinning benefits. This could well spell the end for many, if not most, small independents who traditionally work with LS and rely heavily on the Amazon marketplace."
Seems to me we (readers, authors, publishers) put Amazon in the forefront; we can certainly bring them down and put someone else in their place. If there was ever an opportunity for the number 2 online bookshop to have guts and step forward, it's now.
But Amazon isn't the only entity pushing POD to one side. Two major author organizations (those of you who are members know who I'm talking about), recently took similar measures to disqualify members whose books are with POD small presses from promotional perks.
Actions like these have already affected hundreds, if not thousands of authors and the end doesn't seem to be in sight. Every author who is with a small press and every small press who uses LightningSource and Ingrams will be touched by Amazon's move.
If Amazon isn't stopped (i.e.: like Microsoft and AOL were), it will only be a matter of time before our right to choose in other matters will be eliminated too.
Anyone who doesn't see the ramifications of this action needs to wake up and shake off the dust and the cobwebs. When I think of the money I've spent on Amazon over the years and the number of readers that I've referred to them, I want to spit.
http://www.deborahwoehr.com/blog/2008/03/30/backlash-over-amazon-monopoly-tactics/
In the meantime, make your next purchase from B&N, BAMM, or any other online or traditional bookstore. I'm going to put together a list of other online shops the visit.
If you value free enterprise and freedom of choice, pleae sign S. F. Stewart's petition against Amazon's action:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/protectPOD/index.html
Thanks,Marta
(and Human K!)
1) As someone who is seriously considering trying out the POD approach for my next book, I am disturbed by the possibility I will not be able to use Amazon as an outlet.
2) Maybe I am missing something, but much I would not like Amazon to do this (for my own selfish reasons above), I do not see that it is anything other than a business decision. They built, at considerable risk, and own a channel of distribution. They are choosing what flows through that channel and, I believe, are perfectly within their rights to do so.
Customers are within their rights to object to that decision, with their mouths, pen or pocketbook and that may sway Amazon. But I don't see this as monopolistic or unethical on Amazon's part.
All that said, I see this as a business decision and, in my opinion, a bad business decision on Amazon's part that will damage their image with their customers.
On the upside, Amazon isn't the only game in town, for example, you can purchase my book, Silenced Cry, on line from B&N, MAMM, Powells Books, even the London Book Depository and numerous other shops in between. The question here isn't whether Amazon has the right to make their own business decisions, it's the manner in which they've gone about it. Instead of sweetening the pot to entice the small presses join them in improving customer service (by having an in-house POD, shipments will be faster or so they claim), Amazon has chosen to be the bully and that doesn't settle well with most folks.
I'm glad you said this, John. This conversation sounded as though Amazon already had the monopoly. If I didn't receive higher than average royalties from my publisher, I'm not sure I would want to be listed on Amazon.
Thanks
I finish the second book in my series in December and have been working with my editor on it since February. Last night, as I worked on the final proofreading/edits, this whole thing about Amazon sloshed around in my mind. What will the future hold for us? I wondered. Have we been a little too comfortable knowing that because our books are on Amazon the whole world knows about them? Have we slacked off on aggressively promoting our works as a result? Well, anyone who knows me – knows me well will tell you that "no" and "can't" aren't in my vocabulary. My driving force and one I hope other writers will pick up and go with is this: Sure this Amazon thing is disappointing to put it lightly, but it's not going to keep me from writing (I have three other novels in the works and several more in mind—hope you all like crime mysteries), sales won't come to a screeching halt, and Amazon certainly won't force my publisher to fold under. So maybe change is good -- akin to how a forest requires the occasional fire in order to regenerate its seedlings.
And as far as those independent mortar and brick stores? Barnes and Noble has been a super local supporter of my book, but those small independent shops? They certainly do look down on authors from small presses. I've had my share of insults from them and like it or not, that's why I focus 99% of my marketing on the Internet. While one local shop owner whose family we've known for two generations denied knowing me when customers questioned her about my book and she refused to stock it, B&N was selling them hand over fist. I sold 25 books at my first book signing at B&N and another 24 a few weeks later at a community Christmas event. So who was she really hurting?
Here's something else you might find interesting. One of the arguments I read was that Amazon wanted to have their own POD in order to reduce stock inventory. I checked my page on Amazon last night and noticed they were down to one book with a note saying, "In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available. Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way)." I wrote to my publisher to ask if there was any way to know if they had ordered more books. To my surprise I was informed that the distributor, Lightning Source, ships the books directly for their warehouse in Amazon boxes. Hmm. I think that debunks that argument.
I love how everyone, readers and authors alike, are coming together on this. As for me, I desperately need to get "The Black Pearl" off my desk. We have a tentative released date of Oct or Nov 2008. Anyone up for a launch party? ;)
www.martastephens-author.com
1) Faster delivery to the customer (especially if the customer buys one of their package deals of multiple books) by not waiting for shipments for other printers.
The debunk: Lightning Source receives the orders from Amazon and ships the orders to the customers directly from their warehouse in Amazon boxes. Hmmm. Amazon never sees those books.
2) Save storage space.
Debunk: With this new "deal" they've asked publishers/printers to send them five copies of every book. Hello? Doesn't this defeat the purpose of POD???
I removed all the links to Amazon from my website and will instead encourage readers to go to one of the other online shops. A few of the options are available on my website, www.martastephens-author.com.
As I mentionedion in one of my posts, Ingram is the largest distributor in the world and Lightning Source is its subsidiary. What I didn't realize is that Ingram also owns B&N. No wonder B&N has always been so good to me/carries my book/offered to give me signings. Recently I've heard that B&N is looking to buy Borders. Seems that lot's of shifting going on in the publishing business now. This morning I read a letter from Lightning Source assuring its customers that all is well and they will continue to serve us.
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Thanks for the posting
Rose