Indie Authors and Exclusivity

[A.F.]

Do you think exclusivity is the new trend in indie publishing? With the appearance of Amazon’s Kindle Select and Apple’s new iBooks Author program it seems there may be a push for exclusive contracts between indie authors and retailer publishing. What do you think of this developing inclination?

[Lexi]

I think it's a hugely encouraging sign that indies are beginning to be taken seriously as a force to be reckoned with.

[Lee]

Whether exclusivity is a trend remains to be seen. I note that the Kindle Select exclusivity is very time limited (which makes it worth considering to me). Of course, unlike the traditional author exclusivity that was with a publisher, we are now talking about distribution exclusivity that is potentially much more restrictive. However, as I understand it Kindle Select exclusivity is limited to the eBook and doesn't cover print versions. I find it remarkable how separated Createspace and KDP are. I have royalty payment problems with the former and not with the latter even though the payment mechanisms are exactly the same.

[Sheila]

Exclusivity feels kind of backwards to me. Here I am, wishing more people could find me, and there they are keeping books in one location only. Big haystack. Little needle. There again, needles are pretty invisible no matter how many haystacks they end up hiding in.

[Marianne]

Hi All, I'm with Shelia on this, exclusivity is worrying. It's manipulation of the market place at the expensive of the individual author. The more exclusive, the more Amazon (or whoever) can dictate the terms, and the less say the individual author has. At least that's how it seems to me. Interestingly, Amanda Hocking (the self published Kindle million writer with her Troll books), has chosen not to be exclusively published by Amazon, quoting their lack of a physical sales force/ distribution network to sell paperbacks as one of the reasons ( at least I think that's what she said). And while, it would be nice to think KDP type deals means Indie authors are being taken seriously, I tend to think it means, rather, they are being taken advantage of. Hope I a proven wrong :)

[V.R.]

I agree with Marianne. It seems we've fought hard for the power we now have. Amazon made it possible, and for that I'm grateful, but I've seen this pattern before. They gave us huge incentives, and now they seem to be slipping the rope around our necks. I hope I'm wrong. But I think Amazon as a monopoly is a frightening thing. I confess I am tempted to try Select, and maybe if I don't see significant sales in the next few months, I will. I don't want to, though. I really don't.