I happened upon this article via the jstevemiller.com site, that discusses the growing agitation between brick and mortar bookstores versus Amazon for authors.
Some might argue that Amazon is putting bookstores out of business, but frankly its more to do with offering the better deal. It’s a free market, where the bookstore can offer the same deals, even used books, but they choose not to.
I remember going to Borders (before it went out of business) to find books. I once had a list of ten books to look up. Not one book was in their inventory. I got a speech where “We can order the books for you” Um, yeah, so can I, and then have those books sent directly to my house so I don’t have to take another trip to your store.
It became easier to simply search through Amazon and order a used book than go back to Borders.
Now my area doesn’t even have much in the way of bookstores that sell new books. Even used bookstores cost more than what I can find on Amazon.
As a reader, the better choice is Amazon. As a writer, I lean towards the idea of publishing with Amazon for the already established list but also to earn more for marketing. I have to market myself, and would then depend on readers to provide good reviews.
Either way, we’re seeing fast and shifting changes to the world of books. Where do you suppose it will lead us, and where do you want it to go?
