Media & Marketing: Amazon Tightens Grip on Printing
By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg
The Wall Street Journal
March 28, 2008
Amazon.com Inc., flexing its muscles as a major book retailer, notified publishers who print books on demand that they will have to use its on-demand printing facilities if they want their books directly sold on Amazon's Web site.
The move signals that Amazon is intent on using its position as the premier online bookseller to strengthen its presence in other phases of bookselling and manufacturing. Amazon is one of the biggest booksellers in the U.S., with a market share publishing experts estimate to be about 15%. Amazon doesn't comment on sales.
Read the rest of the story here.
What does this mean? Well, it means that Murder by the Acre might not be available on Amazon.com. Lulu, my publisher, has yet to announce their approach to this. It may be that Lulu will absorb the cost of this (unlikely) or may charge its authors who want their books on Amazon (more likely) or may not have its books on Amazon at all, except through third party vendors (most likely).
About a third of my sales of Murder by Dewey Decimal have come from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. In fact, MBDD is still selling slowly but steadily on both. I don't have an exact breakdown on sales because they're not available, but I think Amazon is accounting for 2/3 of my online sales.
I investigated BookSurge, Amazon's print-on-demand company, and was dismayed by what they charge. Lulu, as you know, charges nothing to print books. They make all their money off your sales. However, Amazon's lowest price to print a book is over $400, and that's for a book and features not as nice as Lulu's.
I'm hoping that Lulu will work something out, but if not, it will still be on Barnes & Noble and other online retailers. And you will still be able to order it from your local bookstore.
So far, Murder by Dewey Decimal is still available from Amazon.com and still eligible for free shipping. I'll let you know if that changes. If you wanted to order MBDD from Amazon, I'd order soon since it might not be there much longer, at least not with the free shipping option.
4 comments:
The good news is people who have read MBDD will go looking for MBTA wherever it may be. Were you a new author it would be different. If you're not available on Amazon, it will surely slow the growth of your following in the beginning, but your fans will follow you wherever you go and then catch up to speed.
JMHO. :)
I hope so, FF, and thank you for thinking they will. :)
I agree with Frenzied Feline, Tech. I think your readers will seek you out. We'll just have to work harder in getting your name out there!
I bought my book from B&N, anyway. I like them better.
Thanks, Gloria!
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