Authors to rebuke Amazon over Hachette dispute with full-page NYT ad
Nearly 1,000 authors affected by the onging e-book spat between Amazon and Hachette have signed their names to a letter -- set to run as a full-page advertisement in the Sunday New York Times later this week -- imploring the online retailer to settle the dispute and calling on readers to voice their displeasure directly to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Composed by techno-thriller author Douglas Preston, the missive counts best-selling writers including John Grisham, Stephen King, Malcolm Gladwell, and Nora Roberts as signatories. Its appearance in the New York Times was first reported by that publication.
"As writers--most of us not published by Hachette--we feel strongly that no bookseller should block the sale of books or otherwise prevent or discourage customers from ordering or receiving the books they want," the letter reads. "It is not right for Amazon to single out a group of authors, who are not involved in the dispute, for selective retaliation."
Amazon stopped accepting pre-orders for new Hachette releases in May, after the publisher refused to grant Amazon more favorable terms for the sale of e-books. The retail giant then began to draw down inventory of print editions, increasing the tiff's impact on authors' income and sparking a contentious public battle.
Facing growing backlash, Amazon extended an olive branch to authors last month. The company proposed a temporary arrangement in which sales would resume, but profits would be given directly to the writers, cutting Hachette out of the loop until a new agreement was reached.
That proposal was roundly criticized by authors, including Preston, who said that such a deal would only serve to weaken Hachette.
Amazon is embroiled in similar battles with a number of smaller publishers, where it is said to be "increasingly ruthless" as it renegotiates terms. The company has seemingly been emboldened by last year's U.S. court decision that saw Apple, Amazon's only major rival in the e-books market, found guilty of antitrust violations over its own agreements with publishers.
Composed by techno-thriller author Douglas Preston, the missive counts best-selling writers including John Grisham, Stephen King, Malcolm Gladwell, and Nora Roberts as signatories. Its appearance in the New York Times was first reported by that publication.
"As writers--most of us not published by Hachette--we feel strongly that no bookseller should block the sale of books or otherwise prevent or discourage customers from ordering or receiving the books they want," the letter reads. "It is not right for Amazon to single out a group of authors, who are not involved in the dispute, for selective retaliation."
Amazon stopped accepting pre-orders for new Hachette releases in May, after the publisher refused to grant Amazon more favorable terms for the sale of e-books. The retail giant then began to draw down inventory of print editions, increasing the tiff's impact on authors' income and sparking a contentious public battle.
Facing growing backlash, Amazon extended an olive branch to authors last month. The company proposed a temporary arrangement in which sales would resume, but profits would be given directly to the writers, cutting Hachette out of the loop until a new agreement was reached.
That proposal was roundly criticized by authors, including Preston, who said that such a deal would only serve to weaken Hachette.
Amazon is embroiled in similar battles with a number of smaller publishers, where it is said to be "increasingly ruthless" as it renegotiates terms. The company has seemingly been emboldened by last year's U.S. court decision that saw Apple, Amazon's only major rival in the e-books market, found guilty of antitrust violations over its own agreements with publishers.
Comments
http://nytimes.com/2014/08/07/business/media/google-and-barnes-noble-unite-to-take-on-amazon.html?referrer=
Guess I'll have to think about it again.
You already bought them, so you might as well read them. If you want to make a statement to Amazon then buy your future ebooks from Apple, B&N, or any other ebook retailer.
There are many options for removing the DRM from Amazon ebooks.
Where is the court ordered representative on-site at Amazon that is monitoring their monopolistic practices? Oh, that's right, no one has brought suite against them like they did to Apple. It probably won't happen because everybody likes cheap stuff, the publishers actually need them no matter how dirty they are, Apple has no case against them, and the DOJ is afraid of going after one of the largest retailers in the country in fear of damaging the economy. If it was actually investigated Bezos would make Bill Gates in the early years of Microsoft look like a kitten.
Maybe Amazon could get the DOJ to investigate the authors for forming a conspiracy.
There's perhaps no better illustration of the narcism that reigns supreme at Amazon than that proposal. Amazon's investment in the books it sells are microscopic. Even for a well-detailed bestseller, they likely to be no more than $100 or so to create that book's webpage. In contrast, Hachette has typically invested hundreds of thousands in advances, editorial work, and advertising to ready those books for the market.
Amazon's willingness to forgo its profits means nothing. It's costs are minuscule, so its loses would be equally small. In contrast, Hachette isn't being asked to forgo profits, but money it needs simply to cover already-made expenses.
Oh how I loathe Amazon! At times I wonder if there's anyone above an assistant VP who has any ability to see any POV but Amazon's. Even their PR moves in this dispute look bad to anyone who understands publishing.
Will Amazon's behaviour have any impact on the Apple case? And, if not, why not?
No; just prefacing.
WHEN Amazon is found to be illegally abusing their monopoly standing, Apple’s case could be overturned and Amazon could very well pay a huge fine.
I've just informed our purchasing department that we are not doing anymore orders through Amazon. This needs to stop. I thought the whole lawsuit against Apple was ridiculous and still do. Amazon and Walmart need to be stopped.
Until I read this:
http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle/ref=cm_cd_tfp_ef_tft_tp?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx3J0JKSSUIRCMT
This sounds reasonable to me.
Not an ice cube's chance in Hell. Amazon is untouchable as long as they don't collude with publishers to set pricing.
Or does this just refer to hardcover books?
Whatever it takes, something has to be done to this goon of a company.
If we live in a world in which this exists, is there a point in living anymore?
Tell the US Government and the White House to stop Amazon.com from punishing authors and harming choice here. http://wh.gov/luWX7
I just made that petition; and hopefully we get 100,000 sigs.
It should also tell Hachette's authors that they are not very good at messaging or marketing to book-buying customers. Why are they paying Hachette to not provide alternative markets? It would be simple to have popular titles advertised as being available anywhere but Amazon.
Amazon certainly isn't spotless in this, but at the end of the day it's a pissing contest between two Wall Street plutocrats.