The Shared Desk — Episode #013: Amazon, Authors, and Armageddon…at a Discount!

No Crazy Uncle Charlie.

No Writers Off the Clock.

No drop-ins.

This is a raw and candid conversation with our agent, Laurie McLean, on Amazon and their February power plays against the Big Six publishers. How will these shenanigans affect authors, and what can we do to avoid becoming cannon fodder in the war between Amazon and New York’s Six Sisters?

00:00 — Introduction

• WTF AMAZON?!?!
• What happened last week
• A LiveJournal post (and plea) from NYT Bestseller Seanan McGuire
• On Facebook, Gail Carriger voiced her own displeasure about some Amazon strong-arming
• Nothing new, but this is one more stunt from Amazon that leaves its mark on a writer.
• Why is Amazon doing this?
• What happens when a book seller gets too big to control, even by the publishing powers-that-be
• A history (in brief) of Amazon.com and the pro’s and con’s of their success from selling books to turning eBooks and digital publishing into a viable market
• Tee steps back to his independent publishing past, sharing memories of Dragon Moon Press and her struggles with Amazon.
• MacMillan and Amazon square off in a pricing war — the beginning of Amazon’s pushback against New York.
• Another glimpse of Amazon’s Dark Side: The “App Testers”
• Reviewing the numbers on Amazon sales compared to other eBook venues
• Can the NYT Bestseller title still matter in a world of digital authors dominating Amazon’s charts?
• What matters more to an author — a full-time career in writing or the “New York Times Bestseller” title?
• Completely Off-Topic…. ARCHER FARMS ROCKS!!!
• Laurie speculates on when the honeymoon with Amazon ends…
• What can the Big Six or other booksellers do against Amazon?
• Amazon answers the challenge of brick-and-mortar stores…by opening their own?
• Authors are finding themselves in a war between Amazon and New York.
• Authors need to understand the business just as much as the art of their craft.
• Could Amazon be the next Apple Store success? Or could they be the next Gateway?
• Where can Amazon open their brick-and-mortar stores? (Where is your closest Borders?)
• Challenges to Amazon’s brick-and-mortar stores
• Will it be books…or books and other stuff
• Customer service in real time
• Pip draws a parallel between authors and Les Miserables…and Tee reminds Pip that things didn’t end well for the folks at the barricade…
• The fate of authors in this future with Amazon
• The dangers of putting all your eggs in one basket
• Relying solely on Google
• Podcasters get a reality check (and the boot) from Mevio
• Diversification: What authors (and agents) need to do

53:09 — The Wrap-Up