I’m sharing this link because (even though it’s geared toward freelance creators and consultants), some of it may actually apply to you (whatever you do). Especially since it’s reached the point where people who write and publish the traditional way are as desperate for their work to be visible as those of us who choose to publish ourselves. As a result, many of said writers have become consultants and/or freelancers (or Uber drivers) just to cover the damn bills.
Nine Years In: Nine things I would tell myself if I was launching my freelance consultant career now.
Isn’t it interesting that freelance writers (and other creators, presumably) have a damn union? So … how are indie authors any different? We are free to publish our work anywhere we want and would hope to get paid for our efforts, like anyone else. Yet, we’re supposed to not care about all that, because writing books is such a reward in itself. And authors apparently don’t need medical insurance, dental care, or food and lodging without roach infestation.
We don’t license our work to any one entity, unless, of course, your books are exclusive to Amazon, in which case, none of this applies to you. I’m sure Amazon is looking out for your interests. Yeah, right. Or maybe the Writer’s Guild or the National Writers Union. I remember going to a meeting of the latter group where an attorney stated that an author’s IP was “leverage” for negotiating better terms in a publishing contract. Whatever happened to the notion that our work has value and that “non-exclusive” means just that? And what’s so hard about the concept about not putting all your eggs in one (Amazon) basket?
Why are writers ceding our power and devoting our energies toward supporting this company? I’ve taken all my ebooks down from Amazon and see no evidence of an extreme drop in what was already a paltry income from book sales.
Any thoughts on this? I’ll leave the comments section open for anyone who’d like to weigh in on the subject.
PS: How can an entity that describes itself as the “Everything Store” not be a monopoly? Doesn’t that nickname tell you otherwise? :)
Fire away! I’m sure someone has an opinion or two.
And do try to keep it somewhat polite, eh? :)
PPS: This is why incessant tweeting, YouTubing, and TikToking are fine, but won’t sell your work. Via Cal Newport, who just came out with an interesting-looking book and, naturally, boasted about its Amazon rank in a newsletter. I’d laugh if that weren’t so telling.
Too many people assume burnout is unavoidable. It is, but only if you decide it is.
PPPS: Why Kanopy May Be Uniquely Positioned to Survive the Great Streaming Consolidation.
Kanopy is awesome!
Technically, I'm not "exclusively" Amazon, but I haven't sold anything on B&N. CreateSpace was easy to use and free. (Once they folded CreateSapce into KDP, I started having problems with images that fit just fine in MY files being flagged as too big for non-full-bleed printing in THEIR system.) On other sites, I've run into file-size limits (many of my books are heavily illustrated), complex account set-ups, requirements of text-authentication (I'm cellphone-less), or fees that I can't afford.
So my only income is what gets put on Amazon.