Comments on: People think if a book is at Amazon it is somehow more “legitimate” http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/ the internet literature magazine blog of the future Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:15:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: This and that « Nick Holdstock http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-56456 This and that « Nick Holdstock Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:13:05 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-56456 [...] Day for Bananafish‘; the Great Male Novelists compared; why it isn’t worth being on Amazon sometimes; clip from the new Walker Percy documentary; and Zadie Smith’s rules for [...] [...] Day for Bananafish‘; the Great Male Novelists compared; why it isn’t worth being on Amazon sometimes; clip from the new Walker Percy documentary; and Zadie Smith’s rules for [...]

]]> By: The Trouble With Amazon « the anxiety of influence http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-55629 The Trouble With Amazon « the anxiety of influence Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:22:19 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-55629 [...] I feel guilty for always shopping there first. Adam Robinson, of HTMLGIANT, recently posted an article discussing the questionable practices of Amazon, especially regarding small press, independent book [...] [...] I feel guilty for always shopping there first. Adam Robinson, of HTMLGIANT, recently posted an article discussing the questionable practices of Amazon, especially regarding small press, independent book [...]

]]> By: Almanacco del Weekend – 21 Feb. 2010 « Almanacco Americano http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-55587 Almanacco del Weekend – 21 Feb. 2010 « Almanacco Americano Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:24:44 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-55587 [...] HTML Giant – People think if a book is at Amazon is somehow more legitimate [...] [...] HTML Giant – People think if a book is at Amazon is somehow more legitimate [...]

]]> By: Kevin Reichard http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-55549 Kevin Reichard Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:54:21 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-55549 Amazon has the same exact terms offered by Partners (one of the largest distributors) and Baker & Taylor -- 55% discount -- while some of the booksellers who buy direct offer better terms. Amazon is the same as everyone else. Not quite sure where the complaint is; no offense, but if you're doing a 600-unit press run you'll never make money. Period. Amazon has the same exact terms offered by Partners (one of the largest distributors) and Baker & Taylor — 55% discount — while some of the booksellers who buy direct offer better terms. Amazon is the same as everyone else. Not quite sure where the complaint is; no offense, but if you’re doing a 600-unit press run you’ll never make money. Period.

]]> By: Kevin Reichard http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-140503 Kevin Reichard Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:54:00 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-140503 Amazon has the same exact terms offered by Partners (one of the largest distributors) and Baker & Taylor -- 55% discount -- while some of the booksellers who buy direct offer better terms. Amazon is the same as everyone else. Not quite sure where the complaint is; no offense, but if you're doing a 600-unit press run you'll never make money. Period. Amazon has the same exact terms offered by Partners (one of the largest distributors) and Baker & Taylor — 55% discount — while some of the booksellers who buy direct offer better terms. Amazon is the same as everyone else. Not quite sure where the complaint is; no offense, but if you’re doing a 600-unit press run you’ll never make money. Period.

]]> By: Christian Bolstad http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-55502 Christian Bolstad Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:35:27 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-55502 If your customers and propects find that $18.94 including shipping and handling is a to high price for your 160-page book then the fault probably IS NOT in the distribution chain. If your customers and propects find that $18.94 including shipping and handling is a to high price for your 160-page book then the fault probably IS NOT in the distribution chain.

]]> By: Christian Bolstad http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-140502 Christian Bolstad Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:35:00 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-140502 If your customers and propects find that $18.94 including shipping and handling is a to high price for your 160-page book then the fault probably IS NOT in the distribution chain. If your customers and propects find that $18.94 including shipping and handling is a to high price for your 160-page book then the fault probably IS NOT in the distribution chain.

]]> By: PHM http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-55495 PHM Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:02:09 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-55495 Loaded statement, Joe. The question is, how many runs would it take, at that rate, to make the press solvent to the level that it paid for itself? Light Boxes was probably a fluke, although PG has a knack for press connectivity. That being said, the initial run was (I happen to know) 600 copies. All those copies were sold, minus those that the author took. So we're talking about $1200. That's not as much as it cost to print the book, so right now we know for a fact that we cannot afford to print another run based only on the profits from the last book, and we have to keep in mind that the original costs came from somewhere else (mortgages, car payments, trips to AWP) in the investor (Adam Robinson)'s finances. So, the truth of the matter is that PG would have to sell out of all copies of every run for about four to five print runs (or more, since we still haven't factored in the writer's portion of the proceeds) in order to reach the black, and once there they'd have to maintain the sort of time commitment and what not that seems to come so naturally with your first project, because books don't sell themselves--Shane wrote hundreds of personal letters to people, and you'd be hard-pressed to find another writer with that kind of motivation, even when he possibly knows that a shot at the majors is on the line. The number of print runs required would be lessened if the publisher/author's share were increased, and this can be done a number of ways, but the the methods these other guys are mentioning are not legitimate. Print-on-Demand implies that the reader should pay the full cost of the book every time. If the publisher can foot the bill in bigger runs, as the guy from SPD said, then the reader can get a better deal (as well as the publisher). Nobody's going to become solvent with a POD system, but working the distributor world just right might yield real-time profits. I still think that the best solution will be some sort of communal effort. One front which represents 100s of smaller fronts is probably the best way to go. I know that AK Press stocks most of the tiny radical presses and helps them deal with Amazon directly. I remember the days when "distro" catalogs were pretty standard. I don't see why we can't macro that concept into the new world with Amazon. Here, Amazon: you're only allowed to shop for our stuff here. Loaded statement, Joe. The question is, how many runs would it take, at that rate, to make the press solvent to the level that it paid for itself? Light Boxes was probably a fluke, although PG has a knack for press connectivity. That being said, the initial run was (I happen to know) 600 copies. All those copies were sold, minus those that the author took. So we’re talking about $1200. That’s not as much as it cost to print the book, so right now we know for a fact that we cannot afford to print another run based only on the profits from the last book, and we have to keep in mind that the original costs came from somewhere else (mortgages, car payments, trips to AWP) in the investor (Adam Robinson)’s finances. So, the truth of the matter is that PG would have to sell out of all copies of every run for about four to five print runs (or more, since we still haven’t factored in the writer’s portion of the proceeds) in order to reach the black, and once there they’d have to maintain the sort of time commitment and what not that seems to come so naturally with your first project, because books don’t sell themselves–Shane wrote hundreds of personal letters to people, and you’d be hard-pressed to find another writer with that kind of motivation, even when he possibly knows that a shot at the majors is on the line.

The number of print runs required would be lessened if the publisher/author’s share were increased, and this can be done a number of ways, but the the methods these other guys are mentioning are not legitimate. Print-on-Demand implies that the reader should pay the full cost of the book every time. If the publisher can foot the bill in bigger runs, as the guy from SPD said, then the reader can get a better deal (as well as the publisher). Nobody’s going to become solvent with a POD system, but working the distributor world just right might yield real-time profits.

I still think that the best solution will be some sort of communal effort. One front which represents 100s of smaller fronts is probably the best way to go. I know that AK Press stocks most of the tiny radical presses and helps them deal with Amazon directly. I remember the days when “distro” catalogs were pretty standard. I don’t see why we can’t macro that concept into the new world with Amazon.

Here, Amazon: you’re only allowed to shop for our stuff here.

]]> By: PHM http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-140501 PHM Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:02:00 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-140501 Loaded statement, Joe. The question is, how many runs would it take, at that rate, to make the press solvent to the level that it paid for itself? Light Boxes was probably a fluke, although PG has a knack for press connectivity. That being said, the initial run was (I happen to know) 600 copies. All those copies were sold, minus those that the author took. So we're talking about $1200. That's not as much as it cost to print the book, so right now we know for a fact that we cannot afford to print another run based only on the profits from the last book, and we have to keep in mind that the original costs came from somewhere else (mortgages, car payments, trips to AWP) in the investor (Adam Robinson)'s finances. So, the truth of the matter is that PG would have to sell out of all copies of every run for about four to five print runs (or more, since we still haven't factored in the writer's portion of the proceeds) in order to reach the black, and once there they'd have to maintain the sort of time commitment and what not that seems to come so naturally with your first project, because books don't sell themselves--Shane wrote hundreds of personal letters to people, and you'd be hard-pressed to find another writer with that kind of motivation, even when he possibly knows that a shot at the majors is on the line. The number of print runs required would be lessened if the publisher/author's share were increased, and this can be done a number of ways, but the the methods these other guys are mentioning are not legitimate. Print-on-Demand implies that the reader should pay the full cost of the book every time. If the publisher can foot the bill in bigger runs, as the guy from SPD said, then the reader can get a better deal (as well as the publisher). Nobody's going to become solvent with a POD system, but working the distributor world just right might yield real-time profits. I still think that the best solution will be some sort of communal effort. One front which represents 100s of smaller fronts is probably the best way to go. I know that AK Press stocks most of the tiny radical presses and helps them deal with Amazon directly. I remember the days when "distro" catalogs were pretty standard. I don't see why we can't macro that concept into the new world with Amazon. Here, Amazon: you're only allowed to shop for our stuff here. Loaded statement, Joe. The question is, how many runs would it take, at that rate, to make the press solvent to the level that it paid for itself? Light Boxes was probably a fluke, although PG has a knack for press connectivity. That being said, the initial run was (I happen to know) 600 copies. All those copies were sold, minus those that the author took. So we’re talking about $1200. That’s not as much as it cost to print the book, so right now we know for a fact that we cannot afford to print another run based only on the profits from the last book, and we have to keep in mind that the original costs came from somewhere else (mortgages, car payments, trips to AWP) in the investor (Adam Robinson)’s finances. So, the truth of the matter is that PG would have to sell out of all copies of every run for about four to five print runs (or more, since we still haven’t factored in the writer’s portion of the proceeds) in order to reach the black, and once there they’d have to maintain the sort of time commitment and what not that seems to come so naturally with your first project, because books don’t sell themselves–Shane wrote hundreds of personal letters to people, and you’d be hard-pressed to find another writer with that kind of motivation, even when he possibly knows that a shot at the majors is on the line.

The number of print runs required would be lessened if the publisher/author’s share were increased, and this can be done a number of ways, but the the methods these other guys are mentioning are not legitimate. Print-on-Demand implies that the reader should pay the full cost of the book every time. If the publisher can foot the bill in bigger runs, as the guy from SPD said, then the reader can get a better deal (as well as the publisher). Nobody’s going to become solvent with a POD system, but working the distributor world just right might yield real-time profits.

I still think that the best solution will be some sort of communal effort. One front which represents 100s of smaller fronts is probably the best way to go. I know that AK Press stocks most of the tiny radical presses and helps them deal with Amazon directly. I remember the days when “distro” catalogs were pretty standard. I don’t see why we can’t macro that concept into the new world with Amazon.

Here, Amazon: you’re only allowed to shop for our stuff here.

]]> By: david erlewine http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/people-think-if-a-book-is-at-amazon-it-is-somehow-more-legitimate/comment-page-2/#comment-55492 david erlewine Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:41:52 +0000 http://htmlgiant.com/?p=27258#comment-55492 learned a lot from this. thanks. learned a lot from this. thanks.

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