Should we still buy self published books from amazon?
I’ve gotten this question a lot since Our Bloody Pearl came out on Thursday, and here is the deal:
Avoiding buying self published books on amazon may just ruin the writing careers of self published authors.
Amazon is one of the few places in which the algorithms are set up very nicely to present to readers new books they might actually enjoy. But they only do this if the books are being bought already.
Paying a company that huge a few more coins when it’s the only place that’s making it possible for self published writers to make a living wage is the least of your worries, while denying self publishers the ability to find new readers via book sales is potentially career ending.
Stop supporting amazon in other places.
Stop buying traditionally published bestsellers on amazon.
But keep buying self published books there because indie authors have no other viable options on where to find new masses of readers who will give then a few bucks to buy dinner and heat.
We very much need to hurt amazon because, as I’ve been complaining to my friends for the past three weeks, it’s the devil.
But we can’t throw darts at its monstrous hide by launching them through the hearts of tiny flailing authors who literally cannot get out of the way without switching careers.
(The fact that amazon and amazon owned companies are the only places where self publishing can become a viable career is a major problem but not one we can’t solve without either a lot of money, influence, or somehow hive-minding the majority of readers across the globe.)
Edit: A few people have mentioned Kobo as a possible option, which is indeed a great looking competitor for amazon, but it currently seems to be holding a little less than half of what amazon does on the worldwide market, so while encouraging self published authors to use kobo (and readers to switch to it) is fantastic, it’s also not at a place where with authors can ignore amazon in favor or it.
