Thinking of publishing a book? Amazon just made a decision about print-on-demand books, which may make you think twice.
It's short-sighted...
1. Most self-published authors market their own books and send traffic to the bookseller. Rather than be forced to use Amazon's printing company, they'll just send people who want their books to Barnes and Noble or somewhere else, which will result in no business for Amazon.
Yes, I understand the benefits of having a POD book printed in the same warehouse as the toaster which was ordered. But if people are buying books somewhere else and never visit Amazon in the first place, they'll buy a toaster somewhere else.
2. This deal cuts into profit margins for self-published authors, which aren't much to begin with. And if people aren't making money at something, there is less reason to continue to do it. If this deal happens, in the long run, Amazon will make less money, because there will be fewer titles to sell.
This is what really pisses me off about the whole thing. The information within books is important to society and we all benefit because of it. As far as I'm concerned, when you hurt the creation and production of books, you hurt everybody.
This deal is like Wal-Mart refusing to sell goods which aren't made in a company-owned factory. It will limit options for consumers, which is never good. It will also hurt a lot of independent authors, which until this time, I always felt that Amazon had a soft-spot for.
My thought is to let the book publishers decide where to print their books. If Amazon can a build a "better mouse trap" and do things better than Lightning Source or other POD companies, authors and publishers will follow. There is no need to force anything.
Agree with me? Sign this petition.
