Among writers who self-publish, print on demand companies and even political sites like The Huffington Post, the ruckus over Amazon’s decision to force self-publishers to use their print on demand services in order to be sold through Amazon using their Buy Now button continues to grow, as it should.
Angela Hoy, over at Writer’s Weekly, basically broke the story and has continued to track it as it grows. It’s important because Amazon is the largest online retailer of books, and if they insist on this policy they will effectively kill much of the POD industry because they will create a monopoly-like …read more

As long as we’re talking about Banned Books Week it seems appropriate to publish the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

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Audrey Owen, writer, editor and creator of Editor’s Blog points to the story of a Chinese writer and web editor Zhang Jianhong, AKA Li Hong, who has been sentenced to six years in prison. The charge? “Incitement to subvert the state’s authority.” He’s been posting articles calling for governmental reform on his website.
The original article appears on the Committee to Protect Journalists website.
The CPJ website makes fascinating, if scary reading. You can look up information by country. Check out the United States.
Our freedom to express pretty much any idea we want is precious and worthy of protection. It’s also …read more