Dear readers,
This will be a controversial post. I wasn’t going to get further involved, but I’ve been dragged into the debate willy nilly, so I am speaking out, come what may. You may have already seen some of this on my Facebook Note, but here’s a bit more background on it. This post is the result of a series of saddening events that happened very close together. First, yesterday evening, I read this Yahoo article which waxed lyrical about why Amazon should be allowed to set eBook prices for authors and publishers. Hmm… do they also set prices for other products sold in their marketplace? One wonders…
Then I read one of the comments to this article, a small-minded, vindictive voice on par with an Internet bully the likes of which prowl Goodreads and make authors’ lives hell. I will not name this person, or tell you what they said, but suffice it to say that if they haven’t found/read my books yet, I hope they never do. Such cruelty is not something I want to be associated with.
And the final straw came this morning, in the form of a long-winded letter from Amazon itself. It left me gaping at my computer screen. It spun a long story about World War II, and painted Amazon as a long-suffering martyr, only trying to do what’s best for authors and readers *insert crocodile tear*, and Hachette as the greedy nemesis out to take advantage of both *insert moustache twirl*. And that’s not all! It then asked me to reach out to the CEO of Hachette and tell him to cease and desist this struggle.
Wait, what??
Yes, you read that right. Amazon wants me, and I assume every other author self-published with KDP (since those are the ones whose contact information they have handily on file) to stand with Amazon and support their request to be able to set eBook prices on their platform.
First thought that came to my mind was, “Are you effing kidding me with this?” followed closely by, “Sure, I’ll write to him, and of course I’ll copy you, but I bet it won’t be what you wanted…”
And then it dawned on me.
Amazon must be desperate by now. How long has this fight been dragging on? How many articles have been written about it? How many bloggers and authors, and publishers have chimed in? Public sentiment isn’t unilaterally for Amazon. In fact, I would say that it’s turning very much against them. This letter is such a low blow. It’s underhanded, deceitful, manipulative–to say nothing of insulting. And I have a feeling it won’t have the result Amazon intended.
I will leave it at that, as I don’t want to rant too long. I posted the letter, and my response to it here. Have a read, if you’re interested. And chime in in the comments. I won’t moderate so feel free to be honest. Unlike Amazon, I don’t need others to defend me. I stand by what I believe.
I got that same email. Your post was awesome, eloquent and very interesting!
I was more than a little irked, as you can see LOL
While I think publishers are miserly and greedy when they charge high prices for an ebook, I agree with you that they should have the right to charge whatever they want. Just as I have the choice to buy, or not buy, their overpriced product. To set prices as Amazon wants to do, well, it seems a slippery slope. As an emerging indie author, it’s one I don’t want to try to climb.
I feel the same way, Rose.
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