THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
Authors and Their Books
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Indie authors please read!
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That's tough. I hadn't noticed them on mine, but will have to check. I am curious if they had protocol to do it? Or, if by any chance, that it was a glitch?
Other things have been happening too, like free books now not visible next to sale books. The reader has to click on to a different page, and it's hard to see.I've shared this on FB too.
Hard to keep up, isn't it!Apparently, there is some question as to whether the 'like' button is cipyright so amazon might be covering itself while the issue is clarified - maybe not a conspiracy against Indies (this time)!
I just checked my book and several other of my favorite indie authors and see the LIKE button in place and functioning. Either it's a rolling blackout, browser malfunction, or you were targeted.Peace, Seeley
I still can't see any tags on any browsers I use or whatever computer I use.
Patricia wrote: "I still can't see any tags on any browsers I use or whatever computer I use."OK, I just looked at my book and it is there; I checked with 2 friends and they both see it. Follow this link and see if you see it. If you don't, then Amazon has turned off your LIKE button at the account level for some reason.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AG0LOE0
Seeley wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I still can't see any tags on any browsers I use or whatever computer I use."OK, I just looked at my book and it is there; I checked with 2 friends and they both see it. Follow t..."
Patrick, no I can't see it so you're probably right. Canyou see any like button on my book here? : http://www.amazon.com/Ominous-Love-eb...
Seeley wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I still can't see any tags on any browsers I use or whatever computer I use."OK, I just looked at my book and it is there; I checked with 2 friends and they both see it. Follow t..."
Patrick, no I can't see it so you're probably right. Canyou see any like button on my book here? : http://www.amazon.com/Ominous-Love-eb...
Seeley wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I still can't see any tags on any browsers I use or whatever computer I use."OK, I just looked at my book and it is there; I checked with 2 friends and they both see it. Follow t..."
Patrick, I just checked with a different browser and I can see the likes. I was using Google Chrome before and can't see likes. How weird. Why would that happen? So everyone that can't see their Likes should try a different browser, but on the same computer. Don't know why.
Patricia wrote: "Seeley wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I still can't see any tags on any browsers I use or whatever computer I use."OK, I just looked at my book and it is there; I checked with 2 friends and they both s..."
Yes, I see a LIKE buttons with 46 likes (47 because I clicked it to make sure it was working). BTW: I'm using Chrome.
Seeley wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Seeley wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I still can't see any tags on any browsers I use or whatever computer I use."OK, I just looked at my book and it is there; I checked with 2 friend..."
Well, it's all so strange. I don't get it. Plus on Chrome, where I'm logged into Google, blog, Youtube, Twitter, I can't see LIkes, but in a different browser, like Bing, I can.
Also the other strange thing is my free book doesn't show up on the same page as paid books when I can't see Likes, but on the Bing browser, it shows up next to paid books, which I lile bbecause my childern's book: Rascals Sing at The Opera House was once number one in best selling Music Books, and right next to One Direction & Justin Bieber's books. (And my characters in the story want to get famous like Justin Bieber, which was great. I even had Harry Styles of(One Direction ),click like on one of my posts on FB promoting that. :) I'm a fan of One Direction and I loved having my book next to theirs, but in my chrome browser, you have to click on a different page for free books and it's hard to even see the button.
Is my computer in the Twilight Zone?
If you look at the ranking and click on the Music books, do you see it next to paid books? Or do you then have to click on Free books button?
http://www.amazon.com/Rascals-House-A...
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,765 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Children's Fiction > Arts & Music
#3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Children's eBooks > Arts & Music > Music
My likes are still on my books. My tags are gone.
Seems Amazon has decided to get rid of all ‘like’ buttons and tags for books and products. Why, you ask? I have a theory.
The rise of indie publishing and authors self-publishing and selling their own work has skyrocketed. And not just in the publishing world, in all aspect of the entertainment industry. This last Grammy Awards is a perfect example of how independents are taking over. More than half the awards went to artists who published under their own labels. Even the song of the year has no major label backing.
So, why is Amazon so afraid of independents when they appear to be gaining popularity, respect, and success? They’re not. It’s the big publishers who are.
Independent authors are usually also marketing machines and spend hours promoting their own books. And one of the best ways was by encouraging readers and friends to ‘like’ and tag. Which book would grab your interest more, one published by Random House that has twenty ‘likes’ or an independent book that has 300 ‘likes’? That’s what scares the big three. Getting rid of the ‘likes’ and tags greatly diminish the opportunity for readers to stumble upon a book just by searching random keywords. What was once a level playing field between indies and the traditionally published author has become greatly skewed. And that only hurts the reader looking for a good story.
All my books had many more than 100 ‘likes’ each and I think that definitely drew attention to the content. Think about it, if you had two books side by side, both with great reviews, one book with ten ‘likes’ or one with a hundred, which would you take a look at?
My sales have dropped since Amazon incorporated these new “indie buffers” so the big publishers can sell more books. What puzzles me is why Amazon would continue to try and keep the independents from selling thousands of copies? After all, royalties is money no matter who is selling. It just doesn’t make good business sense to hamper a segment of profit.
Though Amazon gives traditionally published books precedence over indies, as the recent Grammy Awards showed, there is no stopping the rising tide of new age artists. The internet will allow us to sell our books worldwide forever with no limit on the possible audience. Whether on Amazon, Smashwords, Nook, Kobo, or any of the thousands of other bookselling sites, a good story will always find its readership.
That said, I bid farewell to the combined 2,500 + ‘likes’ my books used to have and I thank all those that took the time to check me out and hit the buttons. I ask that you re-tweet and repost this blog to as many sites and social media as you can to let Amazon know that the indie author is here to stay and we can all work together to share our stories with the world.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com