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One can be annoyed at both Amazon and the authors for this anti-customer behavior. That said, I personally have a hard time assigning the same levels of blame

One can be annoyed at both Amazon and the authors for this anti-customer behavior. That said, I personally have a hard time assigning the same levels of blame at authors, since they're being given a lot of money for the exclusivity deals. Authors don't have the same liquidity options as Amazon, making the relationship a bit unequal. Especially when having an audiobook made can cost in excess of $200 an hour.

vorpalhex 6y ago
The authors are literally choosing profit over the best interests of their customers and yet somehow this isn't their fault? I'd also like to blame Amazon for the weather, but alas...
- falcolas 6y ago
  The author's choice at the time of being approached could very well look like this: 6 months unpaid labor (book) and $20,000 (audiobook) in debt, praying that the sales/royalties will pay back their investment. vs 6 months of labor paid plus some bonus, and (smaller) royalties on the top. I find it hard to argue with their choices, no matter how much I claim that I would not make the same choice.
  - manquer 6y ago
    many entrepreneurs face the same risks . Bulk of open source development is unpaid labour . Developers are able to manage this by doing that over and above a regular job and doing it out of passion not money. They have a choice whether they want to professional or amateur. Excluding fiction authors have to be professionals in some other field to have something to write about . They don’t need to be professional authors. If amazon or a publishing house can spend the marketing dollars to get your book promoted then it would make sense to do exclusive , If that’s not the case and they really wanted more people can read and enjoy it , they can remain amateur and fund it from pocket to make that happen don’t you think ?
    - falcolas 6y ago
      I find the claim that non-fiction writers are all effectively hobbiests to be less-than-compelling. Non-fiction and fiction alike (at least the good stuff) requires a large amount of research, time that's built into the 6 month figure I put above (and some good writers are even slower than that, even full time). > they can remain amateur and fund it from pocket to make that happen don’t you think Sure - I think it's entirely possible. Even for a confident full time writer it's possible. But - and this is the core point - I have a hard time blaming them for taking the money for their hard work. Same with OSS developers. I have a hard time blaming OSS developers for taking hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in buyout deals, or in salaries as they write OSS code on behalf of a company. Passion doesn't fill your pantry with food.
      - vorpalhex 6y ago
        But there's an inbetween here. I can license my OSS work or have support contracts and fill my pantry with food just fine without selling my soul. This isn't a binary choice between going homeless and dealing with the proverbial devil. There are plenty of options in the middle.
- paulcole 6y ago
  They’re not the author’s customers until they buy the book. It’s like choosing to make an iPhone app instead of one for Android.

vorpalhex 6y ago

The authors are literally choosing profit over the best interests of their customers and yet somehow this isn't their fault? I'd also like to blame Amazon for the weather, but alas...

falcolas 6y ago
The author's choice at the time of being approached could very well look like this: 6 months unpaid labor (book) and $20,000 (audiobook) in debt, praying that the sales/royalties will pay back their investment. vs 6 months of labor paid plus some bonus, and (smaller) royalties on the top. I find it hard to argue with their choices, no matter how much I claim that I would not make the same choice.
- manquer 6y ago
  many entrepreneurs face the same risks . Bulk of open source development is unpaid labour . Developers are able to manage this by doing that over and above a regular job and doing it out of passion not money. They have a choice whether they want to professional or amateur. Excluding fiction authors have to be professionals in some other field to have something to write about . They don’t need to be professional authors. If amazon or a publishing house can spend the marketing dollars to get your book promoted then it would make sense to do exclusive , If that’s not the case and they really wanted more people can read and enjoy it , they can remain amateur and fund it from pocket to make that happen don’t you think ?
  - falcolas 6y ago
    I find the claim that non-fiction writers are all effectively hobbiests to be less-than-compelling. Non-fiction and fiction alike (at least the good stuff) requires a large amount of research, time that's built into the 6 month figure I put above (and some good writers are even slower than that, even full time). > they can remain amateur and fund it from pocket to make that happen don’t you think Sure - I think it's entirely possible. Even for a confident full time writer it's possible. But - and this is the core point - I have a hard time blaming them for taking the money for their hard work. Same with OSS developers. I have a hard time blaming OSS developers for taking hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in buyout deals, or in salaries as they write OSS code on behalf of a company. Passion doesn't fill your pantry with food.
    - vorpalhex 6y ago
      But there's an inbetween here. I can license my OSS work or have support contracts and fill my pantry with food just fine without selling my soul. This isn't a binary choice between going homeless and dealing with the proverbial devil. There are plenty of options in the middle.
paulcole 6y ago
They’re not the author’s customers until they buy the book. It’s like choosing to make an iPhone app instead of one for Android.