ROBUST discussion
Book Talk & Exchange of Views
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Amazon's new "crowdsourcing" isn't really.
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However, those aren't bad terms at all for people who start from nothing. Note the really good reversion clauses, "no questions asked". Amazon may not be ahead of the crowd on this one, but it is just possible that, unlike the crowd that failed with this scheme before, they have the clout to make it work.
All the same, one wonders how long Amazon can or will keep it going. Regardless of how much the public gets involved, I reckon it will still be labour-intensive in Amazon staff attention.
Authonomy was interesting. At one point it was the best place to find a beta-reader, all you had to do was swap reads.It got swamped with wanna-bees just after the Indie Revolution. The smart ones self-published, the rest turned on each other in the frenzy to get an (often poorly done) review from a Harper Collins junior editor with a major resentment.
The peer reviews were a mixed lot, but the average writer there was still in the throws of 'well my mother loved it.' Which is dangerous territory to tread for the more seasoned writer.
Amazon's Breakout Novel Award was also a 'crowd sourced' award. The reviews I got were interesting, but not helpful.
IMHO - It might be interesting to put a book up, just to see what kind of reviews and peer-input is going around. Any time you can generate some 'buzz' from a crowd, it helps. A dozen reviews, if you can get that many, would be a boost.
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That sort of nonsense can poison a writer's self-confidence for good.
It upset some folks. I know they never published a book that made it all the way to the top 5 spot. But there were publishers and agents scanning the top 100 and picking the best of the best.
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No, sure can't. The only author I remember is Lexi Revellian because her's was the first book I reviewed there and I still follow her blogs.
She self-published first and I followed her by a couple weeks.
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The only author I remember is Lexi Revellian because her's was the first book I reviewed there and I still follow her blogs.
She self-published first and I followed her by a coup..."
I know Lexi, an energetic promoter. Haven't seen her around in a while.
I haven't either. I usually get notifications when she's blogging. Been kinda busy here, getting ready for winter and so forth. I'm not keeping up with folks like I usually do.
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I think Amazon just pulled the smoothest 5 year contract of getting new ebooks into their KDP Select program. No more opting out after 90 days. 5 years, people. That is what their contract demands. $1500 advance? 50% of royalties?
Yuck.
Amazon will stop all of their schemes the day people stop buying from them. They do this because they're looking to dominate markets in new ways.
As it is, when my books don't sell a single copy in any given month, I yank it down forever. My Darya series will be the last series published to KDP, because I already published the first two books. I don't like leaving readers hanging with an incomplete series.
All other future works will go through Smashwords only. Egads, the 'Zon has a lot to answer for. I knew they were dirty rotten from the start, but did what everybody suggested way back when. I can't wait to fully get out, but I have to do it slow. Leaving even one reader hanging on what I've offered bothers me enough to do it like that.
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5 years, people. That is what their contract dem..."
Where'd you hear this, Daniel? Is it to be a general rule or some special subclass of Select?
Where'd you hear this, Daniel? Is it to be a general rule or some special subclass of Select?Go to Matt's original first post at the top, and click on the link he provided. Scroll down to the bullet list of things for this 'new' service will provide. Bullet number 3 and number 6 are on different lines, but the implications are clear.
I've not been to Amazon to fact check it yet, but I'm sure it's there. I know I got that Amazon email the blog post is talking about, so I can't hogwash the details.
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Which goes to show that one should always read the terms and conditions.
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Which also goes to show that Amazon, like all revolutionaries, really wants to become the new establishment, but do worse to the little people than the old establishment, and then will do anything at all, no matter how immoral, to keep power.
I remember in 2010 people on KB telling me, in their outrage that I should dare not be as enthusiastic as they about Amazon, that "Amazon is my friend". Idiots. I wonder how they will rationalize this latest outrage by Amazon. (Well, those that didn't fall by the wayside, or hypocritically grab the first opportunity to join trad publishing.
Shared via Seb Kirby in a Facebook group.
Publisher's weekly has picked this up.
I was at first intrigued because it looks like a shot at free advertising if one can submit an already published book. Someone pointed out that it is like Authonomy which was a fiasco apparently. I don't have direct experience. What do Robust members know or think about it?