Ursula K Le Guin launches broadside on Amazon's 'sell it fast, sell it cheap' policy

Fantasy author accuses the online giant of using its market dominance ‘to control what we write and what we read’The grande dame of fantasy Ursula K Le Guin has weighed in forcefully to the debate about Amazon’s role in publishing. In a blogpost on the site Book View Cafe, entitled “Up the Amazon with the BS Machine, or Why I Keep Asking You Not to Buy Books from Amazon”, the American author has spoken out against what she describes as the company’s increasing influence not only on the bookselling market but also on which books get published, promoted and read. Her fierce conclusion is: “Every book purchase made from Amazon is a vote for a culture without content and without contentment.”After an analysis of how the “Best Seller Machine” has worked in the last decades, Le Guin writes that the online retailer is changing the culture of publishing. The Amazon model, she writes, is “easy salability, heavy marketing, super-competitive pricing, then trash and replace”. The ideal book, under this template, is “a safe commodity, a commercial product written to the specifications of the current market, that will hit the BS list, get to the top, and vanish. Sell it fast, sell it cheap, dump it, sell the next thing.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #online retailer #current market

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Take The Fast Company News Quiz: Amazon's Reshuffle, Zuck's Book Club, And More

Show how much you know! Here's our quiz for January 9, 2015.What the heck happened this week? Research says that one of the best ways to solidify new information is to be tested on it. Here's a chance to bolster your knowledge of current events—and earn a special emoji badge. Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches 60-minute delivery service in New York

Amazon has launched a one-hour new delivery service in selected areas of Manhattan, New York, today (19th December), which it plans to expand in 2015. The service, called Prime Now, promises to deliver in one hour a range of more than 25,000 daily essentials, such as “paper towels, shampoo,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaign group launches 'Amazon Free' shopping guide

Independent booksellers and WH Smith feature on an “alternative” shopping guide for Christmas created by campaign group Amazon Anonymous. The group has teamed up with Ethical Consumer to create an alternative shopping guide for those who have signed up to its “Amazon Free Challenge” – in which... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaign group launches Amazon Christmas boycott

Amazon Anonymous has raised £7,000 for a campaign urging people not to shop with Amazon this Christmas. The campaign group is asking people to sign up to its Amazon Free Challenge, where customers boycott shopping with Amazon from the 1st to the 25th of December to show the retailer that: “if... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches Kindle in Holland

Amazon has launched three Kindle e-readers and the Kindle ebook store in Holland. The e-commerce giant launched its Dutch ebook arm today (12th November), offering customers 20,000 Dutch ebooks alongside 3million books in other languages, reports Dutch news outlet NU. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Launching New Crowdsourcing Publishing Program

After rumblings surfaced that Amazon is creating a new crowd-sourcing publishing platform, the e-tailer has confirmed that the new program is "in the works." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches children's books KDP programme

Amazon has launched a dedicated self-publishing service for children's books, KDP Kids.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches credit card reader

Amazon has released a new device for local businesses to take credit and debit card transactions... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches second campus store

Amazon is to launch its first ever staffed customer order pickup locations at the campus of an... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches Kindle Unlimited ebook service

Amazon.com Inc. on Friday introduced Kindle Unlimited, an all-you-can-read ebook subscription service available for $9.99 a month. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches Kindle Unlimited in US

Amazon has officially launched its Kindle Unlimited ebook subscription service in the US today (... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon to Launch “Netflix for Ebooks” Subscription Service

Amazon will likely introduce an ebook subscription service, Kindle Unlimited, in the near future. Subscribers will have access to over 600,000 ebooks and audiobooks for $9.99 per month. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie authors launch pro-Amazon petition

A second petition about the Amazon Hachette dispute has been launched - this time a pro-Amazon... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Reportedly Will Launch Music-Streaming Service This Summer

Amazon will launch a music-streaming service under its Prime membership plan, BuzzFeed reported Thursday. According to the news site, the e-commerce giant has inked deals with two out of the three major music labels, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. The service, slated for June... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon 'Not Optimistic' It Will Resume Selling Hachette Books Normally Soon

Amazon.com said it is "not optimistic" that a dispute with publisher Hachette Book Group will be resolved soon and added that it is acting "on behalf of customers."The comments, which Amazon made yesterday in an online post, are the first extensive remarks by the world's largest online retailer... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing launches German language programme

Amazon Publishing is launching a German language programme, after being "delighted"... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Brazil, Amazon Starts Selling Kindles Direct, Books are Next

After 13 months of using partners to sell Kindles in Brazil, Amazon is now offering direct sales. If they can do that, books are not likely far behind. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon US launches Christian imprint

Amazon.com has launched a new Christian publishing imprint called Waterfall Press. The imprint,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches short story imprint

Amazon Publishing has launched a new digital short story imprint in the US called StoryFront.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's Source program invites indie stores to sell Kindles

Amazon's new program invites indies to sell Kindles and receive a commission from ebooks bought by their customers (if the store is eligible). Many stores are unimpressed, with one bookstore worker likening the program to 'being complicit in your execution.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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