Amazon is the Wal Mart of
books. Amazon’s multibillionaire Jeff Bezos is on record as wanting to be the
ONLY source of books, and wanting an end to print books, leaving only ebooks. There
can be only one outcome for that scenario: Amazon has all the money and power
and authors and readers have none.
Absolute power is never
good for anyone except those with absolute power.
One of the first things
you do when you want to mistreat folks is to depersonalize them. That is why authors
are now called “content providers.”
In his interview with
Stephen Colbert, Sherman Alexie pointed out that although Hachette is the
smallest of the five extant publishing dinosaurs, Hachette and Amazon are both
giant corporations. Cheering for Hachette is not like cheering for David
against Goliath. [1]
In this contest, Amazon
and Hachette are both Goliath. The authors are David. Remember, no one,
especially the Philistines, but not even his own people [readers], expected
David to win.
When my cancer book came
out, the publisher printed two thousand hardbacks and forty thousand
paperbacks. Many were purchased by patients, but most were bought by people who
loved a cancer patient, to give as a gift. The hardbacks sold out almost
immediately. I was surprised. The hardbacks cost more. But people said, “I
wanted to give her a hardback rather than a paperback to show I have faith she’ll
be around a long time, the way a hardback is.”
There is a large emotional
element in book-buying. Price is rarely the most important consideration in
buying a book.
So I suggested to the
publisher the printing of more hardbacks. “No, the marketing models show that
two thousand is enough. [Even though they were already gone!] And when the
paperbacks are sold out, the book will go out of print because the marketing
models [computers] say that will exhaust the market for the book.” I said, “But
the market will never end. That’s unfortunate. I’d like for it to be otherwise,
but there are a million new cancer patients every year.” I did not prevail. Authors
do not prevail against marketing departments.
I loved the editors and
artists I worked with at AndrewsMcMeel, and they loved my book, but they were
no match for the marketing department and its computers.
For readers to get what
they need, authors must be successful. They must have some power in decision
making. Likewise readers.
At any level of the
economy, the only “job creators” are customers.
That is why a monopoly
like Amazon, already controlling half the book market, is a bad thing. Competition
spreads the power and the profits, so that all in the reading and writing
community, not just a few, get in on the action.
This is why independent
book stores, and boutique publishers like Black Opal Books, are important. They
are the Davids, only 5 smooth stones in their bags, but nimble and not burdened
by heavy armor. With a Big 5 publisher, the maximum author’s royalty is rarely
as high at 10%. With Black Opal Books, the standard royalty is 45%. But book
prices are low. Authors and readers are the winners.
Now I’m off to our local
book store…
John Robert McFarland
1] I highly recommend
Malcolm Gladwell’s David & Goliath, in
which we learn why the underdog often has an advantage.
My novel, VETS, will be published by Black Opal
Books in late 2014 or early 2015. http://www.blackopalbooks.com/about-us/about-us
In case you missed it, a
Tweet Repeat: “Conflict is that which prevents a character from getting what he
or she wants.” Stuart Spencer, Playwright’s
Guidebook
I tweet as yooper1721.
I also write Christ in Winter:
Reflections on Faith from a Place of Winter for the Years of Winter. http://christinwinter.blogspot.com/
MY OTHER BOOKS:
I have a few of each of
these. If you would like a signed copy, contact me at jmcfarland1721@charter.net
NOW THAT I HAVE CANCER I AM WHOLE: Reflections on Life
and Healing for Cancer Patients and Those Who Love Them [AndrewsMcMeel & HarperAudio, with Czech and
Japanese translations] Paul K. Hamilton, MD, the co-founder of CanSurmount,
called it “The best book for cancer patients, by a cancer patient, ever.”
AN ORDINARY MAN
[HarperPaperbacks] Randall MacLane just wanted to be an ordinary man. But sent
with a message for Custer, he became a drifting lawman with a knack for
killing, and a deep well of loneliness. Then a twist of fate brought him full
circle…
THE STRANGE CALLING: Stories of Ministry [Smyth&Helwys] I didn’t want to be a preacher,
but I made a deal with God to save my sister’s life. Was that really a “call,”
though? I said, “I’ll try t for 50 years, and if I still don’t know, I’ll do
something else.” These are stories of what happened in those years of
questioning the call.
WHEN FATHER RODE THE MAIL
and Other Stories of Christmas [lulu.com] ISBN 978-1-300-38566-0
If you like baseball
poetry, take a look at “Frosty & the Babe” http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/frosty_and_the_babe.shtml
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