I suppose Macmillan turning authordom loose on Amazon (and authors actually going to the attack like good soldiers) is what happens when authors perceive they have no choice but to support the current industry in order to protect their livelihoods.
They have my sympathies, but I'm not going to help publishers jack up prices. There's a lot of competition for entertainment dollars today. I'll be sad to not read books by authors I like, but there are other authors I can patronize for less... or I can just play a video game or go to the movies.
(I note: I almost never buy books from the Kindle store anymore. Almost all my e-books lately are either from Baen, or they're public domain works I thought 'hey, I'll catch up on reading the classics, it's cheaper than buying today's pulp' about.)
kindle? When I pay for a book I buy it. I do not rent the right to use for as long as it suits the retailer. If they sell me something they shouldn't have, they can do what Joe's repair shop and car dealership would have to do if they'd sold me (and I'd bought in good faith and full paperwork) Henry's car that he brought back to have the brakes done: ergo - buy it back from me, with my permission and at my price, or settle the matter with Henry - at his price. Coming and stealing the car from my garage and popping the money in my account without even telling me isn't good enough.
Most authors - myself included - need to keep a reasonable relationship with their publisher. It's just how you do it that counts - and that is good for your publisher too.
I don't know if I agree with the "I don't want to rent a book" philosophy anymore, actually. Some books I want to own and keep: reference books, art, fiction that changed my life. But a lot of the popcorn entertainment I read for fun? In the long long ago, in the before times, when there were no e-books, I bought them in paperback and then immediately turned around and either traded them in or donated them to library or charity. I didn't keep the majority of them. Almost none of the used bookstores gave money for used books, so I really didn't care where they went as long as they made room for new books
( ... )
My point relates to Amazon's removal without consent of the purchaser of I think it was Animal Farm. Do NOT dig in the guts of my computer (or e-reader)without my consent! If my agreement is explicitly and very very clearly to allow you do so, you're still risking my ire :-). You choose your own hard drive risks and back-up material _you_ care about. You'd freak if I unilaterally decided x or y was old now and I could trash it.
I agree that was a stupid move on their part, but I appreciate their panic at the time: they discovered they were selling a pirated version of the book and wanted to Fix That Immediately. They should have handled it better, but they're moving into new territory and trying to make the rules. I think if instead of pulling all the copies of the book from people's kindles, they'd sent a message saying that "My bad, this is an illegal copy (and here's how that happened), you have a choice of a credit back to your account or we'll replace it with a legitimate version," people wouldn't have been as disturbed at the situation
( ... )
Yeah, agree. They've actually been handed on a platter opportunity to make some great publicity coups... and managed to turn all of them into own-goal disasters. I doubt if it's just marketing's shot-caller though. It looks more like that's the corporate culture they've developed. Too big, too powerful, too used to doing things however they like. From my experience it's the CEO who sets corporate culture so I doubt if they'll change.
They have my sympathies, but I'm not going to help publishers jack up prices. There's a lot of competition for entertainment dollars today. I'll be sad to not read books by authors I like, but there are other authors I can patronize for less... or I can just play a video game or go to the movies.
(I note: I almost never buy books from the Kindle store anymore. Almost all my e-books lately are either from Baen, or they're public domain works I thought 'hey, I'll catch up on reading the classics, it's cheaper than buying today's pulp' about.)
Reply
Most authors - myself included - need to keep a reasonable relationship with their publisher. It's just how you do it that counts - and that is good for your publisher too.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment