A Prediction for 2012: Amazon Prime will be the Netflix of E-Books

[Benjamin Sobieck]

For a fee, Amazon Prime lets you read e-books for "free." Hmmm, kind of sounds like what Netflix does with movies. That leads me to think Amazon Prime will be the Netflix of e-books before the year is up.

What do you think?

[I. J. Parker]

Yes, authors have been signing up, myself included.  It's Amazon Select for writers who want their books on the list.  Nobody knows how much money is in this.  Presumably they pay every month, but checks don't reach authors until two months after the fact. There is a bonus in form of a 5-day freebie offering for promotion. That seems to work better for popular subjects like thrillers.

[Eric Christopherson]

It was just announced that for December each borrowed ebook nets the author $1.70. The pot for January has increased from 500K to 700K so perhaps the payment will increase too.

[Stacy]

Are commercial authors on the list or just self-published authors? If I can sign up and read John Grisham or somebody's new book for free, I'm in. But do they mean only SP books for free? And no disrespect to SP authors but I want to be able to read commercial published books from my favorite authors for free or else what's the use? LOL!

[Eric Christopherson]

The major publishers have chosen not to participate in the Kindle lending library. So the books are from small publishers and the self-published.

Currently, each Prime member can borrow only one book per month.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

All the ebooks you can read for a set monthly fee. That's what I'm seeing it turn into.

[Eric Christopherson]

I don't see Amazon increasing the price of Prime to incorporate an unlimited ebook borrowing option, but I can see it as happening outside of Prime, at least theoretically, as an option for serious book readers. Amazon is all about market share and I'm sure they don't want to hike prices for Prime and lose customers.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Yeah, maybe a separate program is what they'll do. I see the current Prime model as dipping its toes in that direction.

[EDWARD C MORGAN]

Ben,

I think you are pointed in the right direction, but I'm not sure of the business model.

I pay $79/year for Amazon Prime membership.

If I read one book a month, and the author makes $1.70, that's $20.40 of that $79 paid to someone else, if I read one book a month. I don't know what, but I assume Amazon has to pay someone something when I watch a free streaming movie on prime? And with Prime, I get free shipping.

Essentially, there are a lot of expenses on Amazon's part when it comes to a Prime membership. Of course, they feel they are going to make it back via additional movie rentals and product purchases. I suppose books work the same way.

The "Prime" business model seems tight, but then again, those Amazon folks are pretty smart. I'm sure they've got it all worked out.

[Susan]

Speaking of Amazon Select. Here's the deal and it's Just in time for Mardi Gras!

 Tomorrow, Monday Feb 20 and Tuesday (Mardi Gras!) Feb 21 you can get a Kindle copy of my crime thriller Absolution for FREE!  No bucks to go to New Orleans? No problem

Experience the sights and sounds of Mardi Gras: hot sweaty crowds, Mardi Gras floats with riders tossing beads, free-flowing beer, babes baring breasts ... okay, maybe you'd have no interest in that ....

How about a serial killer preying on young women? In New Orleans, everyone has something to hide. Dark secrets in a parish church. Racial tensions. Religious controversy. NOPD Detective Frank Renzi desperately tries to catch the killer before he snares another woman and delivers his twisted version of ABSOLUTION.

Best Mystery-Suspense-Thriller 2009 -- Premier Book Awards

"Relentless tempo ... sharp writing." -- Kirkus Discoveries  "A killer thriller!" -- Jan Herman, Arts Journal

"Creole-flavored suspense!"  -- The Sun Chronicle

Get it on Amazon  Absolution-kindle

Check out the trailer and more reviews at ABSOLUTION trailer

[Steven Gomez]

As a newbie, it seems like it's kin of like the wild west right now in publishing, and it is just possible that Amazon Prime will be the wave of the future. Having said that, the future of publishing seems to be changing by the nano-second, so if you have something that works for you, perhaps you should ride that horse....

Just to keep up my western analogy.

 

Taco Noir-Free to borrow for Amazon Prime members! (always be closing!)

 

[I. J. Parker]

Update:  I'm not enthused by the money that can be earned.  And the "free" promotions are just so-so.  As for it's future: as long as libraries are free, it will not be Netflix.