Recently, a friend gave me a bookmark with the Desiderius Erasmus quote, When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes. My friend knows just how important books are to me and that I'm not content unless I'm surrounded by them. Lately, though, I'm beginning to feel as though books are struggling to survive. When the thought occurs to me, I try to dismiss it with the reminder that perhaps it was the same for those who felt when television first came on the market it was going to eliminate radio; fortunately, that wasn't the case. Then again, there were a number of vaudevillians whose careers came to a sudden end thanks to the arrival of motion pictures; they simply could not translate their entertainment to the new medium. Change often can be ruinous to some, but when it hinders expression of ideas, it is ruinous for all. Sadly, in today's climate, whenever there is a news story about the publishing industry, it is rarely a good story.
Now Amazon has pulled a whammy by demanding that if Print-On-Demand publishers want their books featured on its Web site, they have to use Amazon's printer, Book Surge. This is devastating news. Print-On-Demand has been offering hope to thousands of writers who aren't patient enough to wait for a traditional publishing deal, which could be years or not at all, but now that hope has been challenged by the behemoth known as Amazon. So where does that leave authors? Where does it leave self-publishing? Does this mean that authors will once again be forced to have cartons of books in the trunk of their car ready to hand sell? Well, quite likely it won't revert solely to that marketing tool, thanks to the Internet.
Whereas traditional publishing has become such a difficult industry to break into, self-publishing provides opportunity. Now that opportunity is in jeopardy for many writers. Yes, there's lots of garbage out there, and it's not exclusive to self-published works. I've tried to muddle my way through some rather abysmal bestsellers. Yet, when I examine a list of some famous books that were first self-published, I realize that they managed to make it long before Amazon existed. That alone is good news. It's quite likely lawsuits will be pursued in response to Amazon's announcement and it's likely, too, that POD books will find a way to reach readers. It just shouldn't be this difficult.
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Numbers don't lie: a population pushing 300 million and it takes 200,000 to make a best-seller (and even then, one's best bet as an author is to fan belief in a bumper crop of serial killers.) Statistically speaking, we are illiterate as a nation. Half the population can't read and the overwhelming majority of the rest are busy confusing reality with what they see on TV, the high-fructose corn syrup of our intellectual diet.
I'm not concerned that authors might have trouble getting into print; I am concerned that the increasingly small number of readers are turning all publishers into vanity presses.
That's a fair assessment, but I'm not sure that many will care--other than writers struggling to get some atention for their work.
I will shop at any bookstore that proves itself to be a purveyor of hard-to-find short fiction anthologies and collections, but how many people really care about limited-run, small press or POD books?
It's much like magazines that primarily exist to publish short fiction; how many people other than those wishing to be published in them even know of their existence, much less seek them out to purchase?
The reality: Books are declining for two reasons (and a number of related factors): 1) a corrupt publishing industry only concerned with the bottom line; and 2) the abysmal state of education here in 'Murka. Both combine to form a perfect, self-feeding storm.
But I'm sure that perfect storm is great news to Repukelickans: also on Huffpo today, news that the Bible is America's favorite book.
Pathetic.
Oh wait. Silly me. I had forgotten about the 7+ year nightmare we have been living through.
There are a lot of advantages to selling your books through something like Amazon-- but if Amazon insists on turning that situation into a net disadvantage, there's no question that Amazon will find itself on the outside looking in at a lot of economic activity in which it once would have been a valued participant.
Moreover, I for one will not buy another book-- or anything else-- through Amazon until it stops acting like an irresponsible greedhead.
Amazon BookSurge Information Clearinghouse
http://www.writersweekly.com/amazon.php