8 ms·
So their example is a book that got rejected by mainstream NYC publishers and was bought by Amazon for “low five figures”, which is actually damned good if you’
by chrismeller 8y ago
So their example is a book that got rejected by mainstream NYC publishers and was bought by Amazon for “low five figures”, which is actually damned good if you’re not a name brand (and if you are you’d rather the royalties anyway).
They’ve also offered self publishing that, while obviously not offering anything near that in advances or royalties, is an out for everyone else with potentially unlimited upward mobility.
So yes, they have the retail market. If they choose to publish and market the hell out of an unknown title it absolutely could be an overwhelming success. Is that really different than any other publishing house, though?
You could argue that their barrier to entry is a bit lower because they own two arms of the chain and can more quickly cut their losses if it doesn’t work out, but really wouldn’t it have been the same if Penguin, Simon, or Harper had picked it up? They’d have marketed the hell out of it just like Amazon.
I guess my point is that, just like any industry, there are times where a potential winner isn’t picked up by a major league team and then wins big for an underdog. I just don’t see how Amazon being the “underdog” is relevant here other than being Amazon.
- ams6110 8y agoAmazon can advertise for free though on their own platform, unlike other publishers. Since Amazon is basically the only place anyone buys books anymore, that's huge. Barnes & Noble just closed here. There's no dedicated book store within 50 miles of me now. I suspect many who don't live in major cities are in a similar situation and probably have been for some time now.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- cordite 8y agoIs it really free for them if such displaces promotions by others?
- evanmoran 8y agoIt's not free, but it's much cheaper than the cost a normal publisher would spend to get the same exposure.
- prostoalex 8y agoHow? If a publisher was ready to pay X amount of dollars to gain that level of exposure on amazon.com, and Amazon chose to forfeit that revenue, the “cost” to them was exactly X dollars.
- throwaway98121 8y agoHow is it cheaper? If Amazon has to decide to promote item A instead of the next Kindle reader or some other product, there’s certainly an opportunity cost. To blanketly state it absolutely costs less is too naive and merely an assumption.
- jseliger 8y agoSince Amazon is basically the only place anyone buys books anymore, that's huge. I don't know where you get that incorrect notion from: https://whyy.org/articles/independent-bookstores-are-coming-back-in-philly-across-the-u-s/ https://whyy.org/articles/independent-bookstores-are-coming-...
- derefr 8y agoIs that relevant by volume? You can often make money as a small player even when there is a monopoly player in your space. You just can’t make money as another large player. Which is the point here: we’re talking about what other large, conglomerate players, who own both publishing houses and bookstore chains, could do. But there aren’t any.
- chucky_z 8y agoI have not bought a book from Amazon in years... I go elsewhere for books nowadays. I'm one data point, but I have a close friend who works for an online book marketplace and they're doing extremely well.
- marvindanig 8y agoMay I ask which marketplace do you buy your books from?
- chucky_z 8y agoAlibris
- 8bitsrule 8y agoSuch closures have also been happening in many major U.S. cities for over a decade. And while I've yet to see any numbers, it looks like over 3/4 of used bookstores have folded based on where I live. Very sad development.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]