OK, so I wrote a very considered, level-headed response to the Amazon/Macmillan showdown. I plan another very considered, level-headed post with my thoughts on book pricing.
Then I got a comment on my other post that said, “Amazon doesn’t scare me, it makes me angry”. And I thought, all my level-headedness disguised the fact that I spent the entire weekend very angry…. and folks who know me will tell you that I do not have a quick temper. And you know what? People shop indie because of their passion for books. So here goes… Katherine’s weekend (if you don’t want ranty, barely disguised cursing, please stop reading now):
(Wow, I just re-read what I wrote. Yep, very emotionally honest post here. I normally try to only write positive things about books and publishing here, and this most certainly is not. I don’t think name-calling and yelling solves anything, I believe rational discussion does. I do not claim that any of this is rational. Try back tomorrow for rational if that’s what you want….it’s what I want too… I just felt that maybe people need to see that there is anger here. Not just on the Amazon customer side. Don’t mess with our authors. Don’t mess with our books.)
Friday night:
12:30 am… I will admit I was out drinking at Seasons (hey, it was Friday night). Read @oblongirl’s tweet about Amazon.
My response: What !?! Amazon?!? What?!? There’s a reason I can’t stand you.
And 20 minutes later: Boys are stupid. So is amazon. That is all. (yep, I was tipsy.)
Wake up Saturday morning, read tweets and realize it was not all a dream. There are already blogs starting to cover the situation.
At work, to fellow booksellers: Can you BELIEVE them? They are just a bunch of bullies! They don’t like the way that Macmillan wants to do it, so they’re gonna take their basketball and go home. Macmillan had BETTER stand their ground! If Amazon gets their way then it will just prove that they can walk all over the publishing world no matter what! They can tell us what a book ought to be worth, they can decide how much authors’ livelihoods are worth. B_____t! They have no appreciation for books, for thinking, for stories! All they want is to sell one more freaking microwave. Well, that is NOT OK!
Runs off to do a display of Macmillan titles we love and happily sell, all while tweeting Macmillan titles we happily sell on our website and furiously mumbling: you GO Macmillan! You TELL them! We’re done being bullied by a child who wants to throw a hissy fit and mess with our authors! With our Books!
Back to fellow booksellers: And you remember last year!?! Remember when they removed all the GLBT titles from rankings? Remember that? When they said HEATHER HAS TWO MOMMIES was considered an adult book? And then they said it was a glitch? And even if it was a glitch, WHO CARES! One retailer should NOT have the power to influence sales that much!
Oh, yeah! And remember when they deleted all the 1984s from people’s kindles without permission? Yep. Jerks.
And you KNOW they did this on a Friday night because they thought the world wouldn’t notice. Or be too distracted by the chili fest (it’s a Vineyard thing) to care ! Jeff Bezos is a s_____d c_____g with no concern for books! (side note: I only included that insult because I’m pretty sure no one can figure out what it stands for. Please do not try to figure out in the comments).
Then Sunday is spent trying very hard to calm down by making many Valentine’s displays and decorating with lots of hearts to point out favorite love stories.
Then: the letter. The amazon letter where they “capitulated” (p.s. STILL can’t buy WOLF HALL on Amazon). Go read it. OUTRAGE RENEWED!
WHAT!?! What did they just say? They did NOT just invoke the word monopoly AGAINST Macmillan!?! Macmillan has a monopoly on its own titles? Yeah, it’s called a copyright, jerk. What, you’re supposed to now be able to print whatever you want whenever you want and the magical fairies will just deliver it to your doorstep and not get paid? Because magical fairies don’t need to eat! They live on number 2 pencils and dreams! (OK, I admit I got a little past reason here.) *grumble*monopoly on its own titles*grumble* And they talk like it’s some big crusade for the poor oppressed kindle owners. Well, it’s NOT. If this were just about the fact that ebooks shouldn’t be 9.99, they would let the price rise and when no one pays it, the price will go back down. Free market. Done. But they REMOVED THE BOOKS! Not the kindle editions. The paper books! That was a strong-arm tactic (hissy fit) in order to get their way to maintain their dominance over the ebook market.
And all you folks calling Macmillan the bully in the comments? THEY ARE NOT THE ONES WHO REMOVED THE BOOKS! They offered an option for continuing the current pricing agreement, Amazon just didn’t like it, so THEY REMOVED THE BOOKS. Not Macmillan. There is a bully here and Macmillan ain’t it.
Mission, my butt. I’ll show you a mission. It’s called getting great books to people. It’s about a 2% profit margin. It’s about caring so much about your books that you cry over them. It’s about lugging boxes up 3 floors and climbing ladders and alphabetizing. AND SELLING BOOKS NOT FOR THE MONEY. FOR THE BOOKS! Because nothing will ever be more important!
*i need a drink*
And that is my rendition of Katherine’s weekend. I will return to a sane being tomorrow, and hopefully, you will never be subjected to my ranting again.



