I finally got around to checking out one of the advertisers here, CreateSpace. At first glance it appears CreateSpace was perhaps set up to compete directly with Lulu.com – unless you want premium services, there are no fees to upload your book, etc.
What I didn’t realize until I got to the bottom of a page is that the company is owned by Amazon, the giant online bookstore.
Because I’ve been following Angela Hoy’s Booklocker lawsuit against Amazon for insisting self-publishers use Amazon-owned BookSurge if they want to be treated well at the online bookstore, I sent her a quick email …read more

Yesterday, Publishers Weekly announced that Barnes and Nobel had canceled their 10,000 book order of Obama’s Challenge: America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency. The book, written by Robert Kuttner and published by Chelsea Green is scheduled to be officially launched at the Democratic Convention which starts on August 25.
The reason Barnes and Nobel canceled the order, according to PW, because Chelsea Green has signed an early exclusive agreement with Amazon. The sense is that Amazon’s attempt to get a lock on print-on-demand is costing independent bookstores and authors significant money.
Hut Landon, executive director of the …read more

Most of you will remember I sent a letter to Jeff Bezos as part of my response to SPAN’s decision to back Angela Hoy’s BookLocker suit against the giant etailer.
Yesterday or the day before, an email wandered in in response. Here it is in part:
Hello from Amazon.com.
My name is Peg Anderson of Amazon.com’s Executive Customer Relations. Jeff Bezos received your e-mail and has asked me to reply on his behalf.
Given your interest in Amazon Print On Demand, I want to make sure that you had an opportunity to read a letter we published about what we’re changing and why. …read more

Okay, I’ve sent an email, signed a petition and helped spread the word about Booklocker’s suit against Amazon. All those will help, and if I’m willing to back them up by shopping with someone else, I’d really be on track. I’d put off that decision, knowing how easy it is to shop at Amazon. Plus, for me, there’s the whole business of affiliate income. I don’t make a ton, but enough to buy a tank of gas now and again.
Today push began to come to shove. I was working on my own book (!) and wanted to buy and review …read more

SPAN, the Small Publishers Association of North America, has publicallty taken a position in favor of Angela Hoy’s BookLocker suit against Amazon for its insistence that small and self-publishers use Amazon-owned BookSurge for printing if they are to receive favorable listing on the online retailers sites. The announcement, titled
Amazon/BookSurge Antitrust Lawsuit Campaign describes how and why their Board of Directors voted to support the class action antitrust lawsuit, BookLocker.com, Inc. vs. Amazon.com, Inc.
But they went much further than offering support; they also started a campaign to “generate public pressure to compel Amazon to reverse its policy.” Included in that …read more

Angela Hoy’s Amazon BookSurge Antitrust Lawsuit Clearinghouse points to an article at Investor’s Business Daily by Doug Tsuruoka called Amazon Deals Have Short Shelf Life.
The gist is many of the retailers who have partnered with the online bookseller are unhappy and are leaving Amazon to start their own etailing websites. The only publisher mentioned is Borders, and there’s no indication in the article that this trend has anything directly to do with the callous way Amazon is is forcing POD publishers to use Amazon-owned BookSurge. And there may not be a connection.
But it’s tempting to at least wonder if …read more

The stories of the way Amazon is treating small publishers continue to proliferate. This morning, Angela Hoy’s blog, Amazon BookSurge Antitrust Lawsuit Clearinghouse points to the website of Avotaynu Books
There, in an article titled Do Not Buy Avotaynu Books from Amazon.com, the publisher of Jewish Genealogy, details how Amazon changed its terms (yes, it has the right to do that, although as I read it they are making some books much more difficult to get than others, and that’s flat wrong in my not very humble opinion on this subject). Avotaynu rejected the new terms – their right, one would …read more

A press release wandered in yesterday titled: Australian Book Printer Challenges Amazon.com’s Booksurge for Market Dominance
Although I don’t see anything in the press release that leads me to believe Booktasia is really different than Amazon’s BookSurge, it’s interesting that they at least allude to some of the problems some self-publishers have had with BookSurge, most specifically, allegations of poor quality with pages falling out. In fact, it seems almost as if they are acknowledging the premier position BookSurge is now in because they were purchased by Amazon.
What they seem not to be addressing is Amazon’s power as a seller of …read more

The blog, Amazon BookSurge Antitrust Lawsuit Clearinghouse, run by Angela Hoy who has filed suit against Amazon over it’s policies regarding self-published authors, has a post called: Amazon Showing Its Power in the UK; Stephen King affected
It points to an article in The New York Times that gives a startling overview of Amazon’s policies in Europe and what some of the thinking about those policies is. It’s worth a read.
Then come back to the blog entry and read at least some of the comments. Some powerful words there.
Write well and often,

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Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers …read more

TheBookseller.com is reporting unease among publishers and agents in the UK who are warning authors and others about Amazon’s insistence publishers use BookSurge to maintain their buy buttons on the online retailer.
Wonder when Amazon will issue another press release on this situation. Maybe a boycott will be required. This issue feels like it’s moving oh so slowly, but I’ve never been known for my patience.
Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision – for those who want to get a book written.
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