jasonderoga86

Back in 2007, when I had completed Lil’ Hero Artists: The Original Series through the print-on-demand service Lulu, I learned about another perk of theirs: exposure through their “Global Distribution” option. For a small fee, I could have the book listed on Amazon.com in a little more than a month. I thought, “What the hey, I could use the exposure.” I enrolled the book into the Global Distribution program, and when all was said and done, my book eventually appeared on the website.

It is still there, but over time I’ve noticed a few things. I have a friend who published a new style of novel, with a blend of action, crime, and thriller elements. It took him years to write and publish, and he even had me design the cover illustration for the book. He eventually brought it to Amazon through its Kindle Direct Publishing program, and it was soon listed with it’s $20 price tag. For around 550 pages, I thought he priced it decently. But over time, I saw things that heightened my suspicions about Amazon’s business practices in this area. The whole story wasn’t being told, and both of us were on the receiving end of a rude wake-up call.

First, I noticed one day that my next book, titled Curse of Creation: Lil’ Hero Artists, Vol. 1 had been listed on Amazon – without me having enrolled it into Lulu’s Global Distribution Program. It didn’t bother me too much, and at the time I wanted to see how my friend’s book was doing. When I checked its listing, I was astonished to see that the book was selling for around $5 – a HUGE discount. The real kicker here is that the price Amazon was charging – the $5.00 – was BELOW the printing (or manufacturing) cost. That meant Amazon was pocketing the profit from their distribution earnings… but my friend was LOSING money on every sale. EVERY SALE. And to add insult to injury, one day Amazon decided to sell my book Curse of Creation at $6.50 instead of its normal price at $8.50. The same problem applied here, because Lulu’s Global Distribution forbids me from pricing it at that amount due to distribution fees—in other words, Lulu would also eat the losses.

Angrily ready to stand up for my friend (I wasn’t concerned about myself at the time, as I was getting sales on Lulu), I wrote to Amazon to criticize them for what I saw as stealing profits from him and essentially hurting his business. Amazon’s response was so arbitrary and vague that I simply could not provide them with what they wanted—even though I ALREADY HAD done so in my complaint to begin with. I’m going to inform my buddy when I get a chance that he’s getting shafted here.

Then, I decided to test Amazon with my own stuff. I purchased a copy of Curse of Creation: Lil' Hero Artists, Vol. 1 from Amazon at its proper price, $8.50. When the book arrived, I was appalled. The material was lackluster compared to Lulu’s copies, with a cover that felt like that of a magazine, and pages stained with bleed-through. Basically, Amazon WAS selling the same book as Lulu… but Amazon’s copy was severely lacking in quality compared to Lulu’s. So, at one point, they’re ripping my customers off, and then at another point, they’re selling my stuff below manufacturing cost, so I eat the losses while they profit off the distribution fees.

Talk about some serious effed-up mess, huh?

I then did some more research into how Amazon treats self-published authors, including those that use its Kindle Direct Publishing service. I was angered to see that I was just one of many who get this kind of treatment. And what’s worse, if Amazon must eat the loss, they recoup that loss by linking the book’s product page to OTHER commodities and items where they DO make a profit—and a hefty profit, at that. And aside from all this, it don’t take a rocket scientist to understand what this has done – and continues to do – to brick-and-mortar bookstores… ESPECIALLY local, independent bookstores.

To say this makes me furious would be an understatement. What we have here are morally and financially corrupt deals with so many loopholes that aim to maximize Amazon’s profits and give the illusion that it cares about self-published authors--even its own authors using its self-publishing program. And to add insult to injury, this shady business practice is responsible for the death of many bookstores, both indie and branded (as far as I know, Barnes & Noble is the only remaining branded brick-and-mortar bookstore chain. Borders died a LONG time ago, and B&N consumed it assets—and its corpse). I know a local indie bookstore that I treasure dearly, because the staff there always make me feel at home. Hell, they even always have a big plate of cookies for the customers available at no cost. And that’s to say nothing of the relationship I have with its owner, who has shown unwavering support for my OmniLegend Tales “brand”; Lil’ Hero Artists: The Original Series made its debut there, starting at five copies for $11.95 at the time, I think. Within about 5 months or so, they all sold out – I was at the bookstore when the customer who bought the final copy asked me to sign it. I did, after which they purchased it with me nearby to witness. That right there, that is an environment that sees books as ENTERTAINMENT, not commodities purposed only for monetary motives and bragging rights.

I’m gonna give all this some thought. I won’t delist my stuff from Amazon (I actually can’t; even if I unpublish it, the listing will remain there as far as I know), but I certainly won’t be directing anyone over there to purchase it. I have a storefront at Lulu for that – and sales from that site obviously yield more of a profit, since the middleman (in this case, Amazon) isn’t there to take a slice.