More on the Amazon Macmillan flap, from the NYT

[Jon Loomis]

Amazon Removes Macmillan Books

Amazon.com has pulled books from Macmillan, one of the largest publishers in the United States, in a dispute over the pricing on e-books on the site.

The publisher’s books can be purchased only from third parties onAmazon.com.

A person in the industry with knowledge of the dispute, which has been brewing for a year, said Amazon was expressing its strong disagreement by temporarily removing Macmillan books. The person did not want to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Macmillan, like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of e-books to around $15 from $9.99.

Macmillan is one of the publishers signed on to offer books to Apple, as part of its new iBookstore on the iPad tablet unveiled earlier this week.

More here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/technology/30amazon.html

So yeah, it appears to be about the iPad deal: if Amazon has to follow the iBooks pricing structure, the Kindle's dead, basically.

[I. J. Parker]

Thanks for the link, John. Maybe we should have Sandra's blog on the forum.

[Eric Christopherson]

Oh, let me go get my popcorn. I love a good legal thriller!

[minervaK]

Ten bucks says it's all about money, and they meet somewhere in the middle. Should we set up a pool? I call $8.99.

[Joe Barone]

For a strong opinion on this see--

http://drowningmachine.blogspot.com/2010/01/big-bully.html

[I. J. Parker]

A very articulate rant.

I don't understand why writers are getting upset. As someone on that blog said, the author will get screwed one way or the other.

[Jon Loomis]

Because we're losing sales, IJ.

[Eric Christopherson]

Amazon just caved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2...

I think the appropriate maxim here is: "Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it." Kindle owners are very price sensitive.

[Jon Loomis]

Look for other major publishers to follow suit--mostly because Apple's going to charge $14.99 for new releases (or so the rumor goes). Good for Macmillan; and yeah, if any old recorded music can sell on iTunes for $9.99 and up per album, there's no reason you can't sell new releases of best-selling ebooks for $14.99. You've got to leave some room to discount as titles "age" and lose their just-released momentum, and you don't want to undercut your main product lines by underpricing ebooks, either. Interesting times, folks--interesting times.

[Jon Loomis]

Also, I'll believe it's over when my stuff is back up on Amazon.

Jesus. What a bunch of douchebags they are. Got a beef with the publisher? Take it out on the authors!

[B.R.Stateham]

There's been movement on this issue. Read this little ditty I found. Puts a different light on the issue.

http://aprillhamilton.blogspot.com/

[Jon Loomis]

It's factually inaccurate. Macmillan did not say "sell them at $14.99 or you can't sell them at all." It said "sell new releases at $14.99 or you don't get them right away--we'll hold the ebook version until the hardcover's had a chance to have its run." Macmillan authors are applauding because they are leery of the trend toward big box or big net retailer domination of the industry, leaving publishers and authors little say in the deal. Midlist authors who are working with traditional publishers aren't cheering for the whole structure to collapse: we want our publisher to do well because it means we'll at least be able to maintain the status quo, while elsewhere in the publishing world even well-known, good-selling authors are getting dropped--and if Macmillan is flush it may mean a return to better advances and bigger promotional budgets. Would I like a bigger royalty on ebooks? Sure. Will Amazon pay me an advance so I can keep a roof over my head while I write them? Hell no.

[B.R.Stateham]

John--I agree with you.