Such a fascinating topic! You gave me much to think through and, goodness, the conundrum is SO REAL. Regardless, thanks for shedding some insight into this topic from both the perspective of an author and a reader. It's a worthwhile conversation.
I pre-ordered one copy from Amazon and one copy from Baker. Don’t know if that solved/helped anything, and it was mostly because I forgot the second time around that I had already pre-ordered a copy! 😂
My husband and I have had really bad experiences with Amazon Canada for preorders and we’re done using them for that. We still order books from there, but not preordered ones. They never came in on the day, and more than once didn’t come at all and we had to follow up. I wish the advantages of ordering from the publisher applied to Canada, like free shipping or 40% off. 😉But alas, since that’s not the case, this year we got so fed up we decided to try out a local option. I preordered your book through a small indie bookstore here in Montreal. I hope to bless their small business while supporting and encouraging great work from authors like you, whose insight and beautiful craft serve me so well. ♥️
I really connect to this discussion. As an author, I don’t want to solely sell through Amazon, but I’m still learning the ropes of the other publishing and distribution platforms of how to make that possible. The ranking might make it easier for people to find it, but if readers are getting something out of the stories we tell, and we’re doing the leg work and trusting that those books will reach the people who will get something from them, that’s what matters. The impact that story, whatever kind it is, has and the truth it contains.
It is true that that's what matters, but it's also true that there is a LOT of noise in the world and even if we're doing good work, it's hard to get it into the hands of those who need or want it. I can't tell you how many times I discover a writer who's been writing books for *years* and I never heard of them because they're not marketable in the normal sense of the word. It's a pretty complex game we've got to play =(
Well your link the day I bought was Baker. But that does not preclude me from reviewing it on Goodreads, nor from giving a copy to my library, or recommending it to friends, who may choose Amazon. Do a book signing at the library as a local author. And I also would suggest at this point that anyone with a podcast ought to invite you as a guest. Before you leave your New England home, get a spot on local, regional radio. The book is relevant in an election year. Broaden your scope. You have excellent thoughts.
Thank you for pointing out the good deal at Baker. I pre-ordered there and I’m looking forward to the package in the mail in May! Working on my delayed gratification is always a good thing. 🙂
Of course. It helps me to write this stuff too, helps me to do something with the ick factor I feel every time I link to Amazon. I try to link to Bookshop and Baker and other places regularly too, but I'm still linking to the big A...
As an author with a guided journal coming out tomorrow and a nonfic book in spring 2025 I am constantly thinking about "the Amazon problem". I know Amazon makes it incredibly easy for the consumer to purchase books, and of course, I want to reduce that friction as much as I can for my potential readers. I also know that Amazon creates a lot of problems for pretty much everyone else, from indie bookstores to authors to Amazon workers, which this article does a great job of laying out! I wish this problem wasn't one that consumers and working authors had to try to solve on our own. Lord knows Amazon and Bezos have little to no incentive to make things better.
PS, Lore, I purchased your book through Baker Books and was very grateful that you have repeatedly reminded us of that amazing discount. Sometimes we need a lot of reminders for something to sink in...and buying the book only took a couple of minutes.
As a side note, with apps like Google and Apple Pay, Shop Pay, etc, I'm finding that it's becoming increasingly fast and easy to shop from places where I have no login and have never shopped before. Those platforms have their own potential issues, I'm sure, but it's a good reminder that just because Amazon seems like it'll be the fastest, easiest, and cheapest option, that doesn't always mean it's true.
It's totally true, Apple Pay might be my downfall =/
It is also ABSOLUTELY true that just because Amazon seems the fastest, easiest, or cheapest option, it's not usually. When I was doing graphic design I had a poster on my wall that said "Fast, Cheap, Good. You can only pick two," and I think about that a lot. We're making choices that work the best for us in the season and time and place we're in, but something's getting left out of the picture.
I appreciate this peek behind the curtain. Our household has made it well over a year without buying anything from Amazon but I understand there is some privilege there making that possible (time to find other vendors, ability to pay more at other places, an ability to do without if needed). I pre-ordered your book from Baker and I'm excited to read it!!
I’m bummed that there wasn’t REALLY an answer to the question, lol. I have used Amazon to buy way more than books (though I remember the beginning when it was all books and it seems so sweet and innocent then, me a house-bound new mother in the depths of winter, ordering all that Penelope Leach and then, later, books about toddlers and then preschool and then…)
Now I go to it because I don’t have the time to go from store to store to MAYBE find what I’m looking for. I bought a walker for my dad because the only medical supply store that might have carried it is an hour away. I bought the little brass beads I needed for the class craft because trolling multiple Michael’s in search of that tiny box would have driven me mad (and I’d likely have walked out with more than just that tiny box, let’s be honest). I’d be willing to pay a little more if shopping in person wasn’t so fraught. Maybe the trouble is that there are no guardrails to an Amazon becoming an Amazon. There should be some laws about fair compensation and proper taxing of businesses AND of extravagantly rich individuals. I’ll bet my tax rate is higher than both Amazon’s and Bezos. Therein lies the trouble I think, because if that weren’t true, maybe then Amazon could be looked at in a positive manner because not only dies it give us choices (we never knew we needed maybe) but it paid its workers well and Bezos extreme wealth could help the economy by being sliced and diced like yours and mine is.
It doesn’t solve the issue of independent bookstores and such, but I do love a good bookstore and will visit as often as I can. Maybe if my taxes weren’t so high (and had more of my hard-earned cash to spend), I’d be able to frequent them more often.
Well, I don't know that there really is an answer to the question, but if you've been around here any length of time, you know we major on the questions and minor on the answers ;)
I absolutely agree with you about monopolization and tax rates and all the things that separate Jeff Bezos from the rest of us.
Swoboda's endorsement alone convinces me to order this: "Part Wendell Berry, Eugene Peterson, and Madeleine L'Engle. The result is sheer magic." Bravo.
I get it.
Being a purist feels good, until the bills arrive. I still struggle with the Amazon problem as a writer, too. Thank you for sharing this.
Such a fascinating topic! You gave me much to think through and, goodness, the conundrum is SO REAL. Regardless, thanks for shedding some insight into this topic from both the perspective of an author and a reader. It's a worthwhile conversation.
I pre-ordered one copy from Amazon and one copy from Baker. Don’t know if that solved/helped anything, and it was mostly because I forgot the second time around that I had already pre-ordered a copy! 😂
Thank you! I could not agree more.. just as I ordered a book on Amazon…
I try to keep somewhat of a balance.. buy locally in person, buy from small businesses, order direct.
We all know how bad any monopoly is. We can’t stop the juggernauts all we can do is try to balance it out somewhat with alternate choices.
My husband and I have had really bad experiences with Amazon Canada for preorders and we’re done using them for that. We still order books from there, but not preordered ones. They never came in on the day, and more than once didn’t come at all and we had to follow up. I wish the advantages of ordering from the publisher applied to Canada, like free shipping or 40% off. 😉But alas, since that’s not the case, this year we got so fed up we decided to try out a local option. I preordered your book through a small indie bookstore here in Montreal. I hope to bless their small business while supporting and encouraging great work from authors like you, whose insight and beautiful craft serve me so well. ♥️
Lore,
This resonates with me and has stirred my thoughts. Thanks!
I really connect to this discussion. As an author, I don’t want to solely sell through Amazon, but I’m still learning the ropes of the other publishing and distribution platforms of how to make that possible. The ranking might make it easier for people to find it, but if readers are getting something out of the stories we tell, and we’re doing the leg work and trusting that those books will reach the people who will get something from them, that’s what matters. The impact that story, whatever kind it is, has and the truth it contains.
It is true that that's what matters, but it's also true that there is a LOT of noise in the world and even if we're doing good work, it's hard to get it into the hands of those who need or want it. I can't tell you how many times I discover a writer who's been writing books for *years* and I never heard of them because they're not marketable in the normal sense of the word. It's a pretty complex game we've got to play =(
Well your link the day I bought was Baker. But that does not preclude me from reviewing it on Goodreads, nor from giving a copy to my library, or recommending it to friends, who may choose Amazon. Do a book signing at the library as a local author. And I also would suggest at this point that anyone with a podcast ought to invite you as a guest. Before you leave your New England home, get a spot on local, regional radio. The book is relevant in an election year. Broaden your scope. You have excellent thoughts.
THank you!
Thank you for pointing out the good deal at Baker. I pre-ordered there and I’m looking forward to the package in the mail in May! Working on my delayed gratification is always a good thing. 🙂
delayed gratification is a GREAT thing! (Says I, who is waiting, waiting, waiting for UPS to drop off a special package today)
Thanks for laying this out so clearly.
Of course. It helps me to write this stuff too, helps me to do something with the ick factor I feel every time I link to Amazon. I try to link to Bookshop and Baker and other places regularly too, but I'm still linking to the big A...
a conundrum, for sure. but i'm wishing you well on your book release, Lore.
Thank you, Linda!
As an author with a guided journal coming out tomorrow and a nonfic book in spring 2025 I am constantly thinking about "the Amazon problem". I know Amazon makes it incredibly easy for the consumer to purchase books, and of course, I want to reduce that friction as much as I can for my potential readers. I also know that Amazon creates a lot of problems for pretty much everyone else, from indie bookstores to authors to Amazon workers, which this article does a great job of laying out! I wish this problem wasn't one that consumers and working authors had to try to solve on our own. Lord knows Amazon and Bezos have little to no incentive to make things better.
PS, Lore, I purchased your book through Baker Books and was very grateful that you have repeatedly reminded us of that amazing discount. Sometimes we need a lot of reminders for something to sink in...and buying the book only took a couple of minutes.
As a side note, with apps like Google and Apple Pay, Shop Pay, etc, I'm finding that it's becoming increasingly fast and easy to shop from places where I have no login and have never shopped before. Those platforms have their own potential issues, I'm sure, but it's a good reminder that just because Amazon seems like it'll be the fastest, easiest, and cheapest option, that doesn't always mean it's true.
It's totally true, Apple Pay might be my downfall =/
It is also ABSOLUTELY true that just because Amazon seems the fastest, easiest, or cheapest option, it's not usually. When I was doing graphic design I had a poster on my wall that said "Fast, Cheap, Good. You can only pick two," and I think about that a lot. We're making choices that work the best for us in the season and time and place we're in, but something's getting left out of the picture.
I appreciate this peek behind the curtain. Our household has made it well over a year without buying anything from Amazon but I understand there is some privilege there making that possible (time to find other vendors, ability to pay more at other places, an ability to do without if needed). I pre-ordered your book from Baker and I'm excited to read it!!
I love that! I would like to do that and I've felt challenged to do it more and more.
I’m bummed that there wasn’t REALLY an answer to the question, lol. I have used Amazon to buy way more than books (though I remember the beginning when it was all books and it seems so sweet and innocent then, me a house-bound new mother in the depths of winter, ordering all that Penelope Leach and then, later, books about toddlers and then preschool and then…)
Now I go to it because I don’t have the time to go from store to store to MAYBE find what I’m looking for. I bought a walker for my dad because the only medical supply store that might have carried it is an hour away. I bought the little brass beads I needed for the class craft because trolling multiple Michael’s in search of that tiny box would have driven me mad (and I’d likely have walked out with more than just that tiny box, let’s be honest). I’d be willing to pay a little more if shopping in person wasn’t so fraught. Maybe the trouble is that there are no guardrails to an Amazon becoming an Amazon. There should be some laws about fair compensation and proper taxing of businesses AND of extravagantly rich individuals. I’ll bet my tax rate is higher than both Amazon’s and Bezos. Therein lies the trouble I think, because if that weren’t true, maybe then Amazon could be looked at in a positive manner because not only dies it give us choices (we never knew we needed maybe) but it paid its workers well and Bezos extreme wealth could help the economy by being sliced and diced like yours and mine is.
It doesn’t solve the issue of independent bookstores and such, but I do love a good bookstore and will visit as often as I can. Maybe if my taxes weren’t so high (and had more of my hard-earned cash to spend), I’d be able to frequent them more often.
Well, I don't know that there really is an answer to the question, but if you've been around here any length of time, you know we major on the questions and minor on the answers ;)
I absolutely agree with you about monopolization and tax rates and all the things that separate Jeff Bezos from the rest of us.
Swoboda's endorsement alone convinces me to order this: "Part Wendell Berry, Eugene Peterson, and Madeleine L'Engle. The result is sheer magic." Bravo.
Oh thank you friend! I got your email too, going to forward it over to the folks at Brazos =)
Good to know!