New Month, New Challenges

If you're an author, then you've probably heard a lot about the new Amazon/Booksurge "deal." Blog world and the internet is buzzing with the giant trying to smash the ants into obedience. If you need to catch up on all the nuances of the situation, you should start here, where the story first broke. More information here about why this is bad for READERS, not just authors and publishers.

This is hard for me, because I love Amazon and have their Prime program for shipping stuff. I love the quick click to get the stuff I want and it's a familar place for me to shop, but I'm going to remove all my amazon buy links from my website. It may take me awhile to track them all down, but I'm going to do it.

I'm also going to start doing my shopping at B&N.com. I'm also checking out other independent booksellers and online stores and I'll post what I find on my blogs.

I keep thinking of the story of the frog and the boiling water. It goes, if you throw the frog into boiling water, he'll jump out. If you put him in cold water and gradually turn up the heat, he'll cook to death. Amazon has been "cooking" us all for some time. It's time to jump out of the pan. IMHO.

While I'm the first to admire the entreprenurial spirit, I am fundamentally opposed to someone with a big stick slamming it into the little guys. Amazon could have made Booksurge services competitive instead of targeting publishers and authors already operating on a very thin margin and trying to force a deal that isn't good for anything but Amazon's bottom line. They are trying to make money off the people with the least in the equation.

They are the Sheriff of Nottingham in this story and sadly, there doesn't seem to be a Robin Hood out there.

If you want to do something, you can. As hard as it is, stop buying at amazon. Also, you can sign this petition.

There are already signs that the public outcry has slowed their attempts to roll over small presses. But the only thing that will really get their attention is hurt against their bottom line. They won't listen until they start losing money.

This move isn't just going to cost authors and publishers money. It's going to push up the cost of books. It's going to take some small presses out of the equation. It's going to reduce the books available to readers. And for the books that do survive, they will cost more.

We ALL have a dog in this hunt.
Perilously yours,
Pauline