Moving away from Amazon and expanding my ebook publishing breadth

[ThinkerX]

One concern, common to monopolistic practices more generally, is that the supplier of the service suddenly changes the terms of service to the detriment of the customer or, at the very least, benefitting the provider with indifference as to consequences to the customer.

Amazon has in the past made such changes with such seeming indifference. This doesn't mean the effects were equally bad or even significantly bad to all authors, but that's scarcely reassuring.

Makes me glad I stuck with D2D where Amazon is 'one among several' instead of the 'one and only.' Though Amazon is the big boy of the lot, and the others have their quirks.

 

[pmmg]

So...my reader buys my book from amazon, but they cannot download it, they have to read it while connected to their library on kindle. But...they already have to use their kindle, cause they are using Amazon.

But, I was clever, I used D2D, so now my reader can find it somewhere else and download it, and then read it...

What's the problem? They can still read it as they expected when and where they purchased it. If they can download it, they can post it to pirate sites.

I think y'all just hate amazon, and are looking for reasons.

 

[ThinkerX]

So...my reader buys my book from amazon, but they cannot download it, they have to read it while connected to their library on kindle. But...they already have to use their kindle, cause they are using Amazon.

But, I was clever, I used D2D, so now my reader can find it somewhere else and download it, and then read it...

What's the problem? They can still read it as they expected when and where they purchased it. If they can download it, they can post it to pirate sites.

I think y'all just hate amazon, and are looking for reasons.

I initially went with D2D because it was far simpler to put up print and eBooks there than it was using Amazon Kindle, plus the other vendor's thing. That's it.

 

[skip.knox]

If you go exclusive with Amazon, then all other options are denied to you as the author. Now, it may be that this is fine, that current practices by Amazon are entirely benign and beneficial to you. That's not the concern I hear most often voiced.

The concern is that Amazon might change their current practices without warning (their T&C state they can do this), and that one or more of those changes might cross some sort of line in the view of the author. We know that Amazon has made such changes in the past, quite often, for they are constantly adjusting their business model.

No big deal, Author simply moves the books to another platform, right? Well, sort of, for the exclusivity is currently set to three months (I think), and during that time you cannot move. More importantly, though, the moving to another platform is not without cost. Doing so entails new marketing efforts, the time spent making the actual move, and almost inevitably an at least temporary decline in sales as Author's books are no longer where they used to be. You might count the cost as trivial or significant, but it is something larger than zero.

In other words, one does not need to presume some sort of irrational anti-Amazon attitude to explain why people raise concerns. I'm Amazon exclusive with five titles, but I revisit this topic regularly, not only for the print and e-books, but for other formats and other markets. Indeed, I think all self-pub authors should track the discussions and keep options open, for this whole world of self-publishing is far from settled and unchanging.

 

[pmmg]

The concern is that Amazon might change their current practices without warning (their T&C state they can do this), and that one or more of those changes might cross some sort of line in the view of the author. We know that Amazon has made such changes in the past, quite often, for they are constantly adjusting their business model.

No big deal, Author simply moves the books to another platform, right? Well, sort of, for the exclusivity is currently set to three months (I think), and during that time you cannot move. More importantly, though, the moving to another platform is not without cost. Doing so entails new marketing efforts, the time spent making the actual move, and almost inevitably an at least temporary decline in sales as Author's books are no longer where they used to be. You might count the cost as trivial or significant, but it is something larger than zero.

Great...when Amazon makes a policy that actually does this, there will be reason for concern. But not being able to download a copy to my kindle has nothing to do with being exclusive to amazon, or their three month, stuck with them, policy. We can hate on being exclusive to them and having a hard time moving. But a reader not being able to download to their kindle is not that.

I dont count it as trivial, but that is looking at only the bad half of what they offer. There are a lot of advantages to being exclusive with them too.

I quote princess Leia... The more you try to tighten your grip, the more will slip through your fingers. When Amazon becomes oppressive, people will leave.

 

[skip.knox]

People will leave only if they can bear the cost of leaving. Some have not reached that point, others have. And Amazon has already made policy changes that some have protested while others have left. It would arguably be better if one behemoth did not exercise so much control over the market that authors are drawn into it because they feel they have no other choice. The game is more fun when the playing field is level.

 

[pmmg]

And if users not being able to download content is that for you, then I guess you will leave. But I don't see it as an author problem.

But I give up. Hate on amazon if you want.

Amazons stated reason for the change:
The main reason for the change is to prevent users from downloading Kindle books and then removing the DRM (Digital Rights Management) to read them on other devices or platforms.

 

[skip.knox]

I assure you, I'm not hating on Amazon. I have from time to time been critical of Amazon, but mostly I was trying to show that there exist objective reasons for people to be unhappy with the company, which in turn can explain why some folks mistrust the company. That's all.