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monopoly

The One You Feed Always Wins

I’d like to start this by saying I sympathize. I really do. To an extent. What I have to say may ruffle some feathers. It may come across as harsh. It may make you angry. I’m okay with that—I can take it. I just hope that at some point you can find it in yourself to direct that anger where it belongs. Because, in the end, I’m just the messenger. I think by now we’ve all seen enough posts about the current state of our oligarchy, and the many calls for boycotts and economic blackouts to make it clear that the US population is finally waking up to a reality they don’t like, and they’re ready to do something about… Read More »The One You Feed Always Wins

David vs. Goliath: The Fight Spills Out

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… Read More »David vs. Goliath: The Fight Spills Out

David vs. Goliath: From Where The Author Sits

This is the type of post I don’t like writing. Mainly because I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I am writing it now because this issue is something everyone should be paying attention to, readers, publishers, and authors alike. This morning I did my usual rounds of news-checking, which includes reading the Smashwords blog. If you get a chance, give this article on Amazon vs. Hachette a read. It’ll be an eye-opening experience.

A quick recap: Amazon is trying to lower the royalty rates it pays to Hachette publishing house. Hachette does not want to agree. The negotiations have led to some pretty nasty practices by Amazon to list Hachette titles as out of stock, advertising “similar books at lower prices”, etc. Basically, here’s what you need to know:

Read More »David vs. Goliath: From Where The Author Sits